was 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 ...

based in

Kokubunji, Tokyo file:Kondoato.JPG, 250px, Ruins of Musashi Kokubun-ji temple is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 126,791, and a population density of 11,000 persons per km ...

, founded by former

Tatsunoko Production and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and " sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are ...

animators on May 1, 1995. They have worked on many popular series such as '' Fafner'', ''

Martian Successor Nadesico , sometimes referred to as simply , is a Japanese anime television series produced by TV Tokyo, Yomiko Advertising and Xebec and directed by Tatsuo Satō, with manga artist Kia Asamiya providing original character designs, Keiji Gotoh servi ...

'', ''

Love Hina is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The ...

'', ''

Shaman King is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. It follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King by winning the Shaman Fight. Takei chose shamanism as the ma ...

'', ''

To Love Ru is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from April 2006 to August 2009, and the chapters collected into 18 ''tank ...

'', ''

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tadahiro Miura. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from February 2016 to June 2020, and collected into twenty-four ''tankōbon'' volumes. In North Am ...

'', and '' Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2202''. The company logotype is interesting in that it includes the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...

transcription: íːbek not of the Japanese pronunciation, but of a presumed "English" pronunciation.

Closure

On November 20, 2018, Xebec's parent company,

IG Port is a Japanese holding company that was established on December 1, 2007, as a result of a merger between the Japanese anime studio Production I.G and manga publisher Mag Garden. History The merger between Production I.G and Mag Garden was ann ...

, sold the studio to Sunrise after constant deficits that the subsidiary had in different years. On March 5, 2019, Sunrise announced that they established a new company, Sunrise Beyond, at Xebec's address, with Xebec's operations being transferred to it. Xebec ceased to exist as a business entity on May 31, 2019. Its post-production teams, which were not part of the sale to Sunrise, were broken up and consolidated into several IG Port companies, but Production I.G inherited the company's assets. Copyright of Xebec's past works reverted to the IG Port group as a whole.

Works

TV

* ''

Sorcerer Hunters is a Japanese light novel and manga series, written by Satoru Akahori and illustrated by Ray Omishi. Akahori and Omishi also published ''Sorcerer Hunters Special'', a one-volume story set sometime after the series' conclusion. In the U ...

'' (1995–1996) * ''

'' (1996–1997) * ''

Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! is a manga series created by Tetsuhiro Koshita, first serialized in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine from July 1994 to October 1999. The manga centers on Retsu and Go Seiba, twin brothers who focus on the world of miniature car raci ...

'' (1996–1998) * '' Super Yo-Yo'' (1998–1999) * '' Steam Detectives'' (1998–1999) * ''Shogun Recuts'' (1998–2000) * ''

Burst Ball Barrage!! Super B-Daman is a Japanese manga series serialized in ''Coro Coro Comics'', based on Takara's B-Daman toy. It was first released in 1995. An anime series produced by Xebec was shown in TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known collo ...

'' (1999) * ''

Dai-Guard is an anime television series, produced and animated by XEBEC, and directed by Seiji Mizushima. It aired from October 5, 1999, to March 28, 2000, on TV Tokyo, running for 26 episodes. 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD. The serie ...

'' (1999–2000) * '' Zoids: Chaotic Century'' (1999–2000) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Pilot Candidate'' (2000) * '' Tales of Eternia: The Animation'' (2001) * ''

'' (2001–2002) * ''

Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan , also known as ''Earth Defender! Mao-chan'', is a 26-episode anime created by Xebec. It stars three eight-year-old girls, Mao, Misora and Sylvia, as they try to defend the earth against invading aliens. The world's defense has fallen to ...

'' (2002) * '' Rockman.EXE'' (2002–2006) * ''

Bottle Fairy is an anime series about four fairies who discover the secrets of the world from inside their little house. The show originally aired from October to December 2003 on UHF syndication in Japan, and each episode has a run time of only 12 minute ...

'' (2003) * ''

D.N.Angel ''D.N.Angel'' (stylized as ''D•N•ANGEL'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yukiru Sugisaki. The manga premiered in Japan in the Kadokawa Shoten magazine ''Monthly Asuka'' in November 1997. After two extended hia ...

'' (2003) * ''

Stellvia , also known as ''Stellvia of the Universe'', is an anime series set in space. As a prelude to the series, the Earth of year 2167 AD is shown to be devastated by a powerful electromagnetic shockwave. This is caused by a nearby star, Hydr ...

'' (2003) * ''

Fafner in the Azure is a Japanese mecha anime franchise created by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The first se ...

'' (2004) * ''

D.I.C.E. ''D.I.C.E.'' (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises) is an English language-originated anime series produced by Bandai Entertainment, Xebec, and Studio Galapagos (computer animation). Originally made for the United States, the series was firs ...

'' (2005) * ''

Elemental Gelade is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mayumi Azuma. The fantasy adventure and a tale of a group of five who are on a journey to Edel Garden, the birthplace of mystical beings called Edel Raids who are described as "living ...

'' (2005) * ''

Petopeto-san is a light novel series written by Kou Kimura, with illustrations by Yug. A television anime adaptation ran from July 9, 2005, to October 1, 2005. The show takes place in a Japanese school where everything is normal, except for students fro ...

'' (2005; XEBEC M2) * ''

Negima! Magister Negi Magi ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from February 2003 to March 2012, with its chapters co ...

'' (2005) * ''

Saru Get You -On Air- is a CGI anime television series produced by Xebec based on Sony's '' Ape Escape'' video game franchise. The series aired on TV Tokyo between April 8, 2006 and September 29, 2007, and loosely adapts storylines from '' Million Monkeys'', ''A ...

'' (2006) * ''

The Third is a light novel series, that has also been made into manga and anime series by Ryo Hoshino and illustrated by Ariko Ito. The anime series goes under the name . According to the New York Comic Convention, ''The Third'' has been licensed by ...

'' (2006) * ''

Buso Renkin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It follows Kazuki Muto, who becomes an alchemical warrior in the battle against alchemical monsters known as homunculi. Watsuki envisioned the manga as his last '' shō ...

'' (2006–2007) * '' Shooting Star Rockman'' (2006–2008) * '' Heroic Age'' (2007) * '' Over Drive'' (2007) * ''

Hitohira is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Izumi Kirihara. The story revolves around a shy girl named Mugi Asai who is unsure of what club to join in her school, but before she knows it she gets dragged into the Drama Research Soc ...

'' (2007; XEBEC M2) * ''

Zombie-Loan ''Zombie-Loan'' (stylized as ''ZOMBIE-LOAN'') is a Japanese manga series created by Peach-Pit: Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara. It is published by Square Enix and is serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine '' GFantasy''. The series is ...

'' (2007; XEBEC M2) * ''

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chil ...

'' (2008) * ''

Kanokon is a Japanese light novel series by Katsumi Nishino, with illustrations by Koin. The first novel was released by Media Factory on October 31, 2005 under its MF Bunko J imprint, and it published 15 volumes until December 24, 2010. A manga ...

'' (2008) * ''

Kyō no Go no Ni is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga series created by Koharu Sakuraba, the author of ''Minami-ke''. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''Bessatsu Young Magazine'' from 2002 to 2003, and the twenty-two chapters were later collected togeth ...

'' (2008) * ''

Pandora Hearts ''Pandora Hearts'' (stylized as ''PandoraHearts'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Monthly GFantasy'' from May 2006 to March 2015, with its ...

'' (2009) * ''

Ladies versus Butlers! is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Kōzuki, with accompanying illustrations by Munyū. The series includes 13 novels released between September 2006 and March 2012, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imp ...

'' (2010) * ''

MM! is a Japanese light novel series by Akinari Matsuno, with illustrations provided by the group QP:flapper made up of Tometa Ohara and Koharu Sakura. Media Factory published 12 novels under their MF Bunko J imprint between February 2007 an ...

'' (2010) * ''

Motto To Love Ru ''To Love Ru'' is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The second season of the anime series, titled , was produced by Xebec and directed by Atsushi Ōtsuki. It aired for 1 ...

'' (2010) * ''Hanakappa'' (2010–present; taken over from

Group TAC was a Japanese animation and computer graphics studio located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and founded in 1968 from former Mushi Pro staff. They worked on movies, videos, TV shows, and commercials, and contributed to all stages of the process, including p ...

with

OLM The olm or proteus (''Proteus anguinus'') is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and br ...

) * '' Rio: Rainbow Gate!'' (2011) * '' Hen Semi'' (2011) * ''

Softenni is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Ryō Azuchi. Beginning serialization in Mag Garden's ''Comic Blade'' in 2008, Softenni consists of eight volumes. An anime adaptation by Xebec aired on April 7, 2011 on Tokyo MX and finished on Ju ...

'' (2011) * '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' (2012) * '' Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199'' (2012–2013; with

AIC AIC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alice in Chains, American rock band * Alice in Chains: AIC 23, a 2013 mockumentary * Anime International Company, a Japanese animation studio * Art Institute of Chicago, an art museum in Chicago Busin ...

on episodes 1–10) * '' Nyaruko: Crawling with Love'' (2012) * '' Upotte!!'' (2012) * '' To Love Ru Darkness'' (2012) * '' Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W'' (2013) * ''

Pokémon Origins ''Pokémon Origins'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television mini series based on Nintendo's '' Pokémon'' franchise which follows the plot of ''Pokemon Red'' and ''Blue''. Like the television series, it was not owned by Media Fac ...

'' (2013; episodes 2–3) * ''

Future Card Buddyfight was a Japanese collectible card game created by Bushiroad. The first products began releasing simultaneously worldwide from January 24, 2014. On June 15, 2020, Bushiroad announced it would end production of the card game, with the fina ...

'' (2014–2015; with OLM) * '' Maken-ki! Tsū'' (2014) * '' Broken Blade TV'' (2014; with Production I.G) * '' Argevollen'' (2014) * ''

Tokyo ESP is a Japanese manga series by Hajime Segawa. It began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's '' Shōnen Ace'' magazine on February 26, 2010, and finished on July 26, 2016. It follows a high school girl named Rinka Urushiba who lives with her fat ...

'' (2014) * '' Fafner in the Azure: -EXODUS-'' (2015; XEBECzwei) * ''

Triage X is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It has been serialized in Fujimi Shobo's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Dragon Age'' since 2009 and collected in 25 ''tankōbon'' volumes so far, as of August 2022. ...

'' (2015) * '' Future Card Buddyfight 100'' (2015–2016; with OLM) * ''

To Love Ru Darkness 2nd ''To Love Ru'' is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. A fourth and final season of the anime series titled, ''To Love Ru Darkness 2nd'', aired in Japan between July 7 and ...

'' (2015) * '' Future Card Buddyfight Triple D'' (2016–2017; with OLM) * '' Keijo!!!!!!!!!'' (2016) * ''

BanG Dream! ''BanG Dream!'', also known as , is a Japanese music media franchise owned by Bushiroad. Created by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani in January 2015 with original story by Kō Nakamura, the project began as a manga before e ...

'' (2017; with ISSEN) * '' Future Card Buddyfight X'' (2017–2018; with OLM) * ''

Clockwork Planet is a Japanese light novel series, written by Yuu Kamiya and Tsubaki Himana, and illustrated by Shino. Kodansha has published four volumes since April 2, 2013, under their Kodansha Ranobe Bunko imprint. The story is set in a clockpunk fanta ...

'' (2017) * '' Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidō Kyūkyū Keisatsu'' (2017; with OLM) * '' Future Card Buddyfight X: All-Star Fight'' (2018; with OLM) * '' Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory'' (2018) * '' Future Card Buddyfight Ace'' (2018–2019; with OLM) * ''

'' (2018) * '' Space Battleship Yamato 2202'' (2018–2019) * '' Fafner in the Azure: The Beyond'' (2019; XEBECzwei; Note: Zwei was transferred over to Production I.G before production was complete)

OVA

* ''

'' (1996–1997) * '' Blue Seed Beyond'' (1998, episode 3) * '' Gekiganger III'' (1998) * '' Love Hina: Christmas Special'' (2000) * '' Love Hina: Spring Special'' (2001) * ''

Love Hina Again is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The ...

'' (2002) * '' Special Curriculum: The Candidate for Goddess'' (2002) * '' Mahō Sensei Negima! Introduction Film'' (2004–2005) * '' Majokko Tsukune-chan'' (2005–2006) * '' Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left'' (2005) * '' Petit Eva: Evangelion@School'' (2007; episodes 10–24) * ''

'' (2009–2010) * '' Kanokon: Manatsu no Daishanikusai'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Pandora Hearts Omake'' (2009–2010) * '' Hen Semi'' (2010–2011) * '' Rinne no Lagrange: Kamogawa Days'' (2012) * '' To Love Ru Darkness'' (2012–2015) * ''

Maken-ki! is a Japanese manga series by Hiromitsu Takeda. It was published by Fujimi Shobo's magazine ''Dragon Age Pure'', and later ''Monthly Dragon Age'', after the former magazine ceased publishing. It has been adapted into an anime series by Anim ...

'' (2013) * '' Haiyore! Nyaruko-san F'' (2015) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Fantasista Stella'' (2015) * ''

'' (2016–2017) * '' Black Clover'' (2017; XEBECzwei) * ''

'' (2018) * '' Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidō Kyūkyū Keisatsu'' (2018; with

)

Movies

* '' Let's & Go'' (1997) * '' Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture – Prince of Darkness'' (1998; with

Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...

) * '' Cyber Team in Akihabara: Summer Vacation of 2011'' (1999; with Production I.G) * ''

Rockman EXE Hikari to Yami no Program Rockman may refer to: * ''Rockman'', the Japanese name for the ''Mega Man'' franchise ** Rockman, the Japanese name of Mega Man (character), the titular protagonist of the ''Mega Man'' video games * Alexis Rockman (born 1962), American contemporary ...

'' (2005) * '' Major: Yūjō no Winning Shot'' (2008) * '' Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth'' (2010) * '' Broken Blade'' (2010–2011; with Production I.G) * '' Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and White—Victini and Zekrom'' (2011; with Production I.G and

) * ''

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 ''Star Blazers 2199'', known in Japan as , is a 2012–2013 Japanese military science fiction anime television series that is a remake of the first ''Space Battleship Yamato'' television series created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Mats ...

'' (2012–2013; with

) * '' Space Battleship Yamato 2199: A Voyage to Remember'' (2014) * '' Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark'' (2014) * '' Space Battleship Yamato 2202'' (2017–2019) * '' Eiga Drive Head: Tomica Hyper Rescue Kidō Kyūkyū Keisatsu'' (2018; with OLM)

Game animation

* ''Martian Successor Nadesico'' * ''Macross VFX'' * ''

Mega Man 8 ''Mega Man 8'' is an action-platform video game developed and released by Capcom in 1996. It was directed by Hayato Kaji and produced by Keiji Inafune, both of whom had previously worked on the series as artists. It is the eighth installment i ...

'' * ''

Mega Man X3 ''Mega Man X3'' (stylized as ''MEGA MAN X³''), known as in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was originally released in Japan on December 1, 1995, and later in North American ...

'' * ''

Mega Man X4 ''Mega Man X4'', originally released in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom. It is the fourth game in the ''Mega Man X'' series and the second game in the series to be released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The two versions were ...

'' * ''

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X ''Mega Man Maverick Hunter X'' is an action- platforming video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable (PSP); it is a remake of the 1993 video game ''Mega Man X'' originally released for the Super NES, the first game i ...

'' * ''Sorcerer Hunters'' * ''

killer7 is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game was written and directed by Goichi Suda and produced by Hiroyuki ...

'' * '' Shaman King: Spirit of Shamans'' (PSX)

Divisions

In 2003 the subsidiary Xebec M2 was established, which focuses in providing animation assistance for their main studio and other companies (including OLM, as in '' Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys''). It has also produced three full series: ''Petopeto-san'', ''ZOMBIE LOAN'' and ''Hitohira''. Its last activity was in 2009/2010. In 2010, it was followed by Xebeczwei, which handled in-between, key, and 2nd key animation for Xebec's main studio and other anime studios. It later produced the full series '' Fafner in the Azure: Exodus'', which ran throughout 2015. In late 2018, it was announced the coloring department of Xebec would be transferred to

Signal.MD is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2014 by Production I.G holding company IG Port. Establishment In 2014, IG Port announced it was forming a new animation studio named SIGNAL.MD. Production I.G board member Katsuji Morishita ...

following the release of the former from

. In addition, Xebeczwei would be transferred to

as a subsidiary and subsequently be renamed IGzwei.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Japanese animation studios Defunct mass media companies of Japan Mass media companies established in 1995 Mass media companies disestablished in 2019 Japanese companies established in 1995 Japanese companies disestablished in 2019 Animation studios in Tokyo IG Port