, previously and still famously known as Sunrise Inc., is a Japanese

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals ...

founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo. Its former names were also Soeisha, Nippon Sunrise and Sunrise Studio. Its primary division, , is renowned for critically praised and popular original anime series such as ''

Gundam is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with '' Mo ...

'', '' Cowboy Bebop'', '' Space Runaway Ideon'', '' Armored Trooper Votoms'', '' Magic God Hero Legend Wataru'', '' Yoroiden Samurai Troopers'', '' Future GPX Cyber Formula'', '' Crush Gear Turbo'', ''

The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26- episode Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori and Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony' ...

'', '' Love Live!'', '' Witch Hunter Robin'', '' My-HiME'', '' My-Otome'', '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'', ''

Tiger & Bunny ''Tiger & Bunny'' (stylized as ''TIGER & BUNNY'') is a 2011 Japanese anime superhero television series produced by Sunrise and directed by Keiichi Sato. The screenplay was written by Masafumi Nishida with original character design by Ma ...

'', and '' Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon'', as well as its numerous adaptations of acclaimed

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language ...

s including '' Crest of the Stars'', '' Dirty Pair'', ''

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere ''Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere'' is a Japanese light novel series written by Minoru Kawakami and illustrated by Satoyasu. The series is set in the distant future when Japan has been conquered by other countries and divided up into feudal ...

'' and '' Accel World'', and

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

such as ''

City Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1985 to 1991 and collected into 35 ''tankōbon'' volumes by its publisher Shueisha. The manga was adapted in ...

'', ''

Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

'', ''

Outlaw Star is a Japanese anime Television show, television series produced by Sunrise (company), Sunrise and Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Itō. The series takes place in the "Toward Stars Era" universe i ...

'', '' Yakitate!! Japan'', '' Planetes'', '' Sgt. Frog'', '' Gin Tama'', and ''

Kekkaishi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe. The series is about Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs to rival families of ''kekkai'' (barrier magic) users, who must defend their school from the spirits dra ...

''. Their productions usually feature fluid animation and action sequences and many fans refer to the quality of their work as "Sunrise Smooth". Most of their work are original titles created in-house by their creative staff under a collective pseudonym, Hajime Yatate. They also operated a defunct video-game studio,

Sunrise Interactive , previously and still famously known as Sunrise Inc., is a Japanese animation studio founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo. Its former names were also Soeisha, Nippon Sunrise and Sunrise Studio. Its primary division, , is re ...

. Sunrise launched a light-novel publisher, ''Yatate Bunko Imprint'', on September 30, 2016, to publish original titles and supplement their existing franchises with new materials. Anime created by Sunrise which have won the

Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Ot ...

Anime Grand Prix are ''

Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting ...

'' in 1979 and the first half of 1980, '' Space Runaway Ideon'' in the second half of 1980, '' Crusher Joe'' (a co-production with Studio Nue) in 1983, '' Dirty Pair'' in 1985, '' Future GPX Cyber Formula'' in 1991, '' Gundam SEED'' in 2002, '' Gundam SEED Destiny'' in 2004 and 2005, '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'' in 2006 and 2007 and ''

Code Geass R2 The second and final season of the ''Code Geass'' anime series, titled , is produced by Sunrise, Mainichi Broadcasting System, and Project Geass. The series was directed by Gorō Taniguchi who has also worked with Ichirō Ōkouchi on the script. ...

'' in 2008, making Sunrise the studio which won the largest number of Animage Awards.

History

According to an interview with Sunrise members, the studio was founded by former members of Mushi Production in 1972 as . Rather than having anime production revolve around a single creator (like Mushi, headed by

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him suc ...

), Sunrise decided that production should focus on the producers. The market for mainstream anime (such as manga adaptations, sports shows, and adaptations of popular children's stories) was already dominated by existing companies, so Sunrise decided to focus on robot anime, known to be more difficult to animate but which could be used to sell toys. Sunrise has been involved in many popular and acclaimed anime television series, including ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' (and its spin-offs and sequels since 1979), the ''Magic God Hero Legend Wataru'' series (1988–1997), the

Brave Brave most commonly refers to: *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage *Braves (Native Americans), a EuroAmerican stereotype for Native American warriors Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Brave'' (199 ...

(1990–1997) and ''Eldran'' series (1991–1993), both of which were co-produced with Takara Tomy, and the '' Crest of the Stars'' series (1999–2001). They produced the apocalyptic '' Space Runaway Ideon'' in 1980. The company have co-produced a number of series with

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

, including '' Majokko Tickle'' (from episode 16), the ''

Robot Romance Trilogy The were three Super Robot anime series created by "Saburo Yatsude" (a collective name for the staff at Toei), directed by Tadao Nagahama, and aired on TV Asahi and its affiliates from late 1976 through early 1979. The trilogy, consisting of ' ...

'' ('' Chōdenji Robo Combattler V'' (1976), '' Chōdenji Machine Voltes V'' (1977), '' Tōshō Daimos'' (1978)), '' Daltanious'', and '' Cyborg 009'' (a 1979 co-production with

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Sl ...

). Sunrise is well known for their

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

anime series (including ''Gundam''), such as '' Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3'' (1978), '' Fang of the Sun Dougram'' (1981), the ''Armored Trooper Votoms'' and '' Aura Battler Dunbine'' series (1983), '' Blue Comet SPT Layzner'' (1985), ''

Patlabor , also known as ''Patlabor'' (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor"), is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of manga artist Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori ...

'' (1989), ''

'' (1996), '' The Big O'' (1999/2003), '' Overman King Gainer'' (2002), '' Zegapain'' (2007), ''Code Geass'' (2006/2008), ''

'' (2011), and '' Valvrave the Liberator'' (2013), and worked with

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producin ...

to animate ''

The Ultraman is a Japanese animated television series co-produced by Tsuburaya Production and Tokyo Broadcasting System and animated by Sunrise. The series aired on TBS Television affiliates on the Wednesday 7:00 PM time slot from April 4, 1979 to Marc ...

'' (1979). On April 1, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings adopted a new logo that had been initially revealed in October 2021, and with it, a major organization shuffle occurred, resulting in Sunrise subsuming the visual arts division of Bandai Namco Arts, which was dissolved that same day. Following this, the company has adopted the same logo as its parent, and adopted the name of Bandai Namco Filmworks. Its music division, Sunrise Music, has similarly subsumed Bandai Namco Arts' music operations, including Lantis, and changed its name to Bandai Namco Music Live. The Sunrise name has been kept as one of the major brands of the company.

Studios

*Studio 1 was created when Sunrise was founded in 1972. Notable works include ''

'', '' Space Runaway Ideon'', '' Armored Trooper Votoms'', ''

'', and ''

''. It was also the studio responsible for various later

installments: '' G'', ''

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

'', '' X'', '' Turn A'', ''

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicor ...

'', '' Reconguista in G'', ''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the Proto-Indo-European mythology#Sky Father, 'Sky Father'; this ...

'', ''

Narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller Thriller may r ...

'', and '' Hathaway''. *Studio 2 was created around 1974–75, and some key members left to form Bones in 1998. Notable works include '' Aura Battler Dunbine'' and some installments of Gundam: including ''

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label=Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived fr ...

'', '' ZZ'', ''

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a ...

'', ''

Char's Counterattack is a 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film set in the Universal Century timeline of the '' Gundam'' franchise. Making its theatrical debut on March 12, 1988, ''Char's Counterattack'' is the culmination of the original saga begun in ...

'' and '' F91''. It also worked on ''

'' and '' Cowboy Bebop'', co-producing a film adaptation of each with Bones. *Studio 3 was created in 1975. Early works included '' Blue Comet SPT Layzner'' and ''

''. It was responsible for many Gundam installments, including '' 0083'', '' 08th MS Team'', and TV series of the franchise: '' 00'', '' AGE'', '' Build Fighters'', '' Build Fighters Try'', and '' Iron-Blooded Orphans''. *Studio 4 was created in 1979, and notable works include ''

'' anime. The studio became inactive in 1987. The current Studio 4 began as support for Studio 2, and was known as Studio Iogi (井荻スタジオ) (named after the pseudonym of longtime Sunrise director

Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese mecha anime creator, animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the '' Gundam'' anime franchise. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College ...

). The studio's first major work was 1985's '' Dirty Pair'', and other notable works include '' Planetes'', '' s-CRY-ed'' and ''

Code Geass , often referred to simply as ''Code Geass'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. ...

''. *Studio 5 was also created in 1979. One of its producers was Mikihiro Iwata, a founder of

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex- Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production divisio ...

. Notable works include '' Crest of the Stars'', the ''

InuYasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

'' movies, '' Daily Lives of High School Boys'', ''

Aikatsu! is an arcade collectible card game in Bandai's '' Data Carddass'' line of machines, which launched in October 2012. The game revolves around using collectible cards featuring various clothes to help aspiring idols pass auditions. An ...

'', '' Good Luck Girl!'', '' Gin Tama'', ''

Mobile Suit SD Gundam is a series of animated shorts released in theaters and as original video animation between 1988 and 1993 by Sunrise. Part of the ''SD Gundam'' media franchise, the anime was based on the popular ''Gashapon'' capsule toys and model kits ...

'' and '' Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket''. *Studio 6 was created in 1983. Notable works include '' The Big O'', '' Sgt. Frog'', and ''

''. they also provided animation to '' Batman: The Animated Series''. Some members left to form

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in 2007. *Studio 7 was created in 1985. Its first work, uncredited, was on the American cartoon series '' Centurions: Power Xtreme'', and it is noted for '' Sacred Seven'', '' s-CRY-ed'' and the ''Yūsha'' series. Some members left to form Manglobe in 2002. *Established around 1995, Studio 8 is notable for '' My-HiME'', '' Buddy Complex'', '' Idolmaster: Xenoglossia'', '' The Girl Who Leapt Through Space'', ''

'', '' Accel World'' and '' Love Live!''. *Studio 7's sister studio, Studio 9 was established in 1996. Notable works include '' Gasaraki'', '' Infinite Ryvius'', '' Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' and ''

SEED Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise. It retains most of the staff from ''Gundam SEED'', including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Se ...

'', '' Argento Soma'' and '' Battle Spirits''. *Studio 5's sister studio, Studio 10 was established around 1996. Notable works include ''

'', '' Dinosaur King'' and '' Phi Brain: Puzzle of God''. *Studio 8's sister studio, Studio 11 was established in 2009 and worked on ''

Kurokami is a Japanese-Korean manhwa series written by Dall-Young Lim and illustrated by Park Sung-woo. Square Enix published the manga in Japan's bi-monthly seinen magazine '' Young Gangan''. The story is initially set in modern-day Tokyo, then c ...

'' and the '' SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors'' series. *Sunrise's CG production studio, D.I.D. helps creating CG for many of the company's shows (notably ''

'', '' Zegapain'', '' Cross Ange'', '' Valvrave the Liberator'', '' Gundam MS Igloo'' and ''

Gundam The Origin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It is a retelling of the story from the 1979 anime television series ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', of which Yasuhiko was the original character designer. An original vide ...

''). They also produce CG work for other animation studios, including

Xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...

's '' Space Battleship Yamato 2199''. *Formerly known as Ogikubo Studio (荻窪スタジオ) or Sunrise Emotion, Nerima Studio is best known for the ''

Freedom Project ''Freedom Project'' is a Japanese promotional project by Nissin Cup Noodles for their 35th anniversary in 2006. As part of the project, the 7-part OVA series, titled ''Freedom'', was commissioned with and designed by Katsuhiro Otomo (of ...

'', '' Valvrave the Liberator'', the ''

King of Thorn is a Japanese fantastique manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Iwahara. It was published in by Enterbrain in the seinen magazine ''Monthly Comic Beam'' between October 2002 and October 2005 and collected in six bound volumes. It is ...

'' anime film and '' Cross Ange''. *Sunrise Origin Studio (サンライズオリジンスタジオ) is Sunrise's in-between animation studio that does in-between animation for other studios' anime titles such as ''

My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected i ...

'' to '' The Boy and the Beast''. *Sunrise Beyond Inc. is a subsidiary of Sunrise established after the purchase and closure of

. Some of their works include '' Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise'' and '' King's Raid: Successors of the Will''. *White Base is a new studio to open in November 2021 and is named after the famous battle ship from Gundam.

TV animation

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Films

OVAs/ONAs

Non-Japanese productions

Video game animation work

Miscellaneous work

* '' Nagoya TV'' (1981-1987, The ""Space Boy"" mascot opening/closing credits) * ''Pink Crows'' (did the animation and designs for this animated band and their music videos) * ''

Pop Team Epic is a Japanese four-panel surreal comedy webcomic and digital manga series written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa (alternatively romanized as "Bukubu Okawa"), which started serialization on Takeshobo's ''Manga Life Win'' website in August 2014 ...

'' (2020-2022, Series 1 Special Episode 1 1st half prologue skit and opening animation; Series 2 Episode 2 story part and ending animation) * '' Cowboy Bebop'' (2021, live action TV series co-produced with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

, Midnight Radio and Tomorrow Studios)

International distribution

Most anime produced by Sunrise and Bandai and licensed by Bandai Visual in Japan was licensed and distributed in the United States by Bandai Entertainment and in Europe by

Beez Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and f ...

, but both companies shut down in 2012 after Bandai Entertainment's restructuring. In North America, distributors such as

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializ ...

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is ...

, NIS America and

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal of ...

, as well as Sunrise USA, have licensed Sunrise properties. In Europe, Anime Limited and

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

(in the UK) and Kazé (in France) have begun to distribute titles distributed by Beez and other unreleased Sunrise productions. In Australia, Sunrise productions are licensed and distributed by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...

. At Anime Boston 2013, Sunrise confirmed that they would begin licensing anime in North America and were negotiating with Sentai, Funimation, and Viz to distribute their titles on DVD and Blu-ray. Right Stuf agreed to distribute and re-release '' Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn'' on DVD in North America. In 2014 the deal expanded, releasing the Gundam previously licensed by Bandai Entertainment (''

'', '' Turn A Gundam'') and several works not released in North America (including '' Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ'') in 2015.

References

External links

*
Official Website for Sunrise
**

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bandai Namco Filmworks Animation studios in Tokyo Animax Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries Mass media companies established in 1972 Japanese animation studios Japanese companies established in 1972