is a Japanese

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

studio founded in 1963 by

wizard

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ' ...

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 producing the ''

Ultra Series ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman (character), Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman (1966 ...

''. Since 2007, the head office has been located in Hachimanyama, Setagaya,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

.The Official Tsuburaya Productions English Webpage
company profile

History

First established in 1963, it was responsible for the creation of such classic shows as ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

'' (and its many sequels), ''

Kaiju Booska is a famous children's sitcom, and the first to feature the friendly monster Booska. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show aired on Nippon TV from November 9, 1966 to September 27, 1967, with a total of 47 episodes. There was a Booska reviva ...

'' and many other spectacular

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

family/children's shows. The company's current logo was originally the arrow-like logo from their 1968 TV series, ''

Mighty Jack was a tokusatsu science fiction/espionage/action TV series. Created by Japanese effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, the show was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 6, 1968 to June 29, 1968, with a total of 13 o ...

'', designed by that show's art director, Tohl Narita. Tohl Narita left the company the same year. The company, when first formed in 1963, was called . In 1968,

Toho Company Ltd. is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...

forced the company to change its name to the simpler "Tsuburaya Productions", not only because its executives thought Eiji was acting as though only he could have done special effects, but also because they felt that his own TV shows were becoming a strong competition to the movies he was doing for them. Although Eiji had strong political power at Toho, he and the company were at odds with each other until his death in 1970. Tsuburaya's more recent work includes the "Ultra N-Project" (''

Ultraman the Next ''Ultraman: The Next'', released in Japan simply as is a 2004 Japanese superhero film directed by Kazuya Konaka and produced by Tsuburaya Productions. It is a reimagining of the Ultraman character and franchise, and is part of the "''Ultra N Pr ...

'' and ''

Ultraman Nexus was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC), and Dentsu. It was the 18th entry in the Ultra Series. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System, including TBS, CBC, MBS, etc. The show ran from October 2, 2004 until Ju ...

'') based loosely on an unused concept which was planned before the production of ''

Ultra Q is a tokusatsu science fiction kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films. Produced in black and white by Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast ...

,'' but never actually filmed. Tsuburaya has officially made their Ultraman and non-Ultraman content widely available on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, even simulcasting several of their series with English subtitles, the channel has reached over 2 million subscribers.

Corporate buyout

In October 2007, due to rising production costs, the Tsuburaya family sold the company to Japanese advertising agency TYO Inc., which then held an 80% stake in the company.

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

, the main licensor of merchandise for the Ultra Series, acquired a 33.4% stake in 2007 with TYO transferring another 15.6% in 2009 giving Bandai a total of 49.9%. As a result, the old Kinuta office used by Tsuburaya as its head office was razed, and the company moved to newer facilities. Kazuo Tsuburaya, Eiji's grandson, stayed with the company on its board of directors. In 2010,

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

maker Fields Corporation bought out TYO's 51% stake in Tsuburaya Productions, with Bandai retaining the remaining 49%.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

* *
Tsuburaya Youtube channelEiji Tsuburaya Official Site
{{Authority control Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries Film production companies of Japan Special effects companies Entertainment companies established in 1963 Japanese companies established in 1963