Sunrise (company)

is a Japanese entertainment company owned by Bandai Namco Holdings with its business focused on production, planning, and management of anime. It was founded in September 1972 by former Mushi Production staff as the animation studio branch of . In 1977, it gained independence from Shoeisha and Tohokushinsha and rebranded itself to In 1987, the studio rebranded to a name which would remain in use for over 35 years. In 1994, the company was acquired by toy and entertainment company Bandai and was integrated into Namco Bandai Holdings in 2005.

In 2022, as part of a major group restructuring of the Bandai Namco Group, the company would merge with the home video division of Bandai Namco Arts and Bandai Namco Rights Marketing to form Bandai Namco Filmworks. As part of this restructuring, Sunrise would continue to operate as a division within the company with the changes taking effect on April 1, 2022.

History

According to an interview with Sunrise members, the studio was founded by former members of Mushi Production in 1972 as Sunrise Studio. Rather than having anime production revolve around a single creator (like Mushi, headed by Osamu Tezuka), 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 (mecha) 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 '' Mashin Hero Wataru'' series (1988–1997), the '' Brave'' (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, including '' Majokko Tickle'' (1978), the '' Robot Romance Trilogy'' ('' Combattler V'' (1976), '' Voltes V'' (1977), '' Tōshō Daimos'' (1978)), '' Daltanious'' (1979), and '' Cyborg 009'' (1979). Sunrise is well known for their mecha 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'' (1989), '' The Vision of Escaflowne'' (1996), '' The Big O'' (1999/2003), '' Overman King Gainer'' (2002), '' Zegapain'' (2007), ''Code Geass'' (2006/2008), '' Tiger & Bunny'' (2011), and '' Valvrave the Liberator'' (2013), and worked with Tsuburaya Productions to animate '' The Ultraman'' (1979).

In February 1994, Sunrise Inc. became part of the Bandai Group.

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 as of August 2023.

On March 1, 2024, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced the acquisition of anime studio Eight Bit, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

On February 4, 2025, Bandai Namco Holdings USA announced the establishment of Bandai Namco Filmworks America to handle the company's licensing and brand management activities internationally, which will take effect on April 1st. The announcement coincided with the start of the co-financing and co-production of the ''Gundam'' film with Legendary Pictures.

Sunrise

the trade name of the company's IP Production Group division, is an animation studio founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo. Its former names were also Soeisha, Sunrise Studio and Nippon Sunrise.

The studio is renowned for critically praised and popular original anime series such as ''Gundam'', ''Cowboy Bebop'', '' Space Runaway Ideon'', '' Armored Trooper Votoms'', '' The Big O'', '' Mashin Hero Wataru'', '' Yoroiden Samurai Troopers'', '' Future GPX Cyber Formula'', '' Crush Gear Turbo'', '' The Vision of Escaflowne'', ''Love Live!'', '' Witch Hunter Robin'', '' My-HiME'', '' My-Otome'', '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'', '' Tiger & Bunny'', and '' Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon'', as well as its numerous adaptations of acclaimed light novels including '' Crest of the Stars'', '' Dirty Pair'', '' Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere'' and '' Accel World'', and manga such as '' City Hunter'', '' Inuyasha'', '' Yashahime'', '' Outlaw Star'', '' Angel Links'', '' Yakitate!! Japan'', '' Planetes'', ''Sgt. Frog'', '' Gin Tama'', and '' Kekkaishi''. 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. 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 Anime Grand Prix are ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' 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'' in 2008, making Sunrise the studio which won the largest number of Animage Awards.

Studios

*Studio 1 was created when Sunrise was founded in 1972. Notable works include ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', '' Space Runaway Ideon'', '' Armored Trooper Votoms'', ''Patlabor'', and '' Inuyasha''. It was also the studio responsible for various later ''Gundam'' installments: '' G'', ''Wing'', '' X'', '' Turn A'', ''Unicorn'', '' Reconguista in G'', '' Thunderbolt'', ''Narrative'', 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'', '' ZZ'', ''Victory'', '' Char's Counterattack'' and '' F91''. It also worked on '' The Vision of Escaflowne'' 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 '' City Hunter''. It was responsible for many Gundam installments, including '' 0083'', '' 08th MS Team'', and TV series of the franchise: '' SEED Destiny'', '' 00'', ''AGE'', '' Build Fighters'', '' Build Fighters Try'', '' Iron-Blooded Orphans'' and '' The Witch from Mercury.''
*Studio 4 was created in 1979, and notable works include '' The Ultraman'' 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). The studio's first major work was 1985's '' Dirty Pair'', and other notable works include '' Planetes'', '' s-CRY-ed'' and '' Code Geass''.
*Studio 5 was also created in 1979. One of its producers was Mikihiro Iwata, a founder of A-1 Pictures. Notable works include '' Crest of the Stars'', the '' InuYasha'' movies, '' Daily Lives of High School Boys'', '' Aikatsu!'', '' Good Luck Girl!'', '' Gin Tama'', '' Mobile Suit SD Gundam'' and '' Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket''.
*Studio 6 was created in 1983. Notable works include '' The Big O'', ''Sgt. Frog'', and '' Tiger & Bunny''. they also provided animation to '' Batman: The Animated Series''. Some members left to form Bridge 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 ''Brave'' 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'', '' Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere'', '' Accel World'' and ''Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live!''.
*Studio 7's sister studio, Studio 9 was established in 1996. Notable works include ''Gasaraki'', ''Infinite Ryvius'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'', ''Argento Soma'' and ''Battle Spirits Trading Card Game, Battle Spirits''.
*Studio 5's sister studio, Studio 10 was established around 1996. Notable works include '' Outlaw Star'', ''Dinosaur King'' and ''Phi Brain: Puzzle of God''.
*Studio 8's sister studio, Studio 11 was established in 2009 and worked on ''Black God (manga), Kurokami'' 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 '' Tiger & Bunny'', '' Zegapain'', ''Cross Ange'', '' Valvrave the Liberator'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO, Gundam MS Igloo'' and ''Gundam The Origin''). They also produce CG work for other animation studios, including Xebec (studio), Xebec'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'', '' Valvrave the Liberator'', the ''King of Thorn'' 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'' to ''The Boy and the Beast''.
*White Base is a new studio that recently opened in November 2021 and is named after the famous battleship from the original Gundam.

Former

* Sunrise Beyond Inc. was a subsidiary of Sunrise established after the majority purchase and closure of Xebec (studio), Xebec. Some of their works include ''Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise'' and ''King's Raid: Successors of the Will''. In January 2024, it was announced that the studio will be dissolved and be merged with Sunrise.

TV animation

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Films

OVAs/ONAs

Foreign production history

Video game animation work

Miscellaneous work

* ''Nagoya Broadcasting Network, 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)
* ''Shadow of China'' (1989 live action movie)
* ''Cold Fever'' (1994, live action movie co-produced with Icelandic Film Corporation, Iciclefilm, Pandora Film, Zentropa, Zentropa Entertainments and George Gund III
* ''Pop Team Epic'' (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 TV series), Cowboy Bebop'' (2021, live action TV series co-produced with Netflix, 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, but both companies shut down in 2012 after Bandai Entertainment's restructuring. In North America, distributors such as Funimation, Viz Media, Sentai Filmworks, Nippon Ichi Software, NIS America and Aniplex of America, as well as Sunrise USA, have licensed Sunrise properties. In Europe, Anime Limited and Manga Entertainment (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. 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 Inc., 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 (''Mobile Suit Gundam'', ''Turn A Gundam'') and several works not released in North America (including ''Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ'') in 2015.

Anime studios founded by former Sunrise staff

* Studio Deen (founded in March 1975) by Hiroshi Hasegawa and Takeshi Mochida.
* Studio Dub (founded in January 1983) by Masa Yahata, acquired and became Bandai Namco Pictures, BNP Iwaki Studio in 2019.
* Lifework (company), Lifework (founded in 1984) by Yutaka Kanda and Masahiro Toyozumi, closed.
* Studio Takuranke (founded in September 1987) by Yasuhiko Kondō and Hiroyuki Yamada.
* Studio Gazelle (founded in September 1993) by Ikuo Sato.
* Bones (founded in October 1998) by Masahiko Minami.
* Manglobe (founded in February 2002) by Shinichirō Kobayashi and Takashi Kochiyama, filed for bankruptcy on 29 September 2015.
* A-1 Pictures (founded in May 2005) by Masuo Ueda and Mikihiro Iwata.
* Bridge (founded in August 2007) by Chie Ohashi.
* Odd Eye Creative (founded in February 2011) by Naotake Furusato.
* Yaoyorozu (founded in August 2013) by Tatsuki, closed in 2020, animation business transferred and integrated to new company 8million.
* Buemon (founded in April 2014) by Kiyohiko Takayama.

Notes

References

External links

*
Official Website for Sunrise

**


*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandai Namco Filmworks
Sunrise (company),
Animation studios in Tokyo
Home video distributors
Animax
Bandai Namco Filmworks
Mass media companies established in 1972
Japanese animation studios
Japanese companies established in 1972
Suginami
Film distributors of Japan