or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai,

Nerima, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City. , the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons ...

, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima. The studio was headed by manga artist

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

. Tezuka started it as a rivalry 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. Slu ...

, his former employer, after Tezuka's contract with Toei expired in 1961. The studio pioneered TV animation in Japan, and was responsible for many successful

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series, such as ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

'', '' Gokū no Daibōken'', ''

Princess Knight ''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pin ...

'', ''

Kimba the White Lion ''Kimba the White Lion'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese ''shōnen manga, shōnen'' manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the ''Manga Shōnen'' magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An ani ...

'', '' Dororo'' and '' Ashita no Joe'', as well as more adult-oriented feature films such as '' A Thousand and One Nights'', ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (the first Japanese

X-rated An X rating is a film rating that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of graphic violence or explicit sexual acts that may be disturbing or offensive ...

animated film) and ''

Belladonna of Sadness is a 1973 Japanese adult animated drama film produced by the animation studio Mushi Production and distributed by Nippon Herald Films. It is the third and final entry in Mushi Production's adult-oriented '' Animerama'' trilogy, following '' ...

''. In addition to doing their anime productions, Mushi was best known for its overseas work on five traditionally animated TV projects from Arthur Rankin, Jr. and

Jules Bass Julius Caesar Bass (; September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft ...

' Videocraft International (now

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

) in New York, New York, including the Christmas special ''

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante in that year. It was written after the success of Autry's ...

'', with the production artwork being done by Paul Coker, Jr., along with the animation supervision by Yusaku "Steve" Nakagawa. Morisawa argues that Tezuka "proposed an unrealistically suppressed production budget... in an attempt to outbid his competitors", a budget that contributed to the Studio's (and industry at the time) low profitability. Mushi, plagued by financial difficulties, declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1973 and its assets were divided. Tezuka had already left the company by then, having stepped down as acting director in 1968 and formed a new animation studio,

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as ''Marvelous Melmo'', the Astro Boy (1980 TV series), 1980 and Astro Boy (2003 TV series), 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and ''Black Jack ...

(which made such works as '' Marvelous Melmo'' and '' Unico''). The company was later reestablished on November 26, 1977, and has continued to operate as "legacy company".

Productions

Original (1962-1973)

(based on the works of Osamu Tezuka)

Films

*''Tales of a Street Corner'' (November 5, 1962) - experimental film *''Male'' (November 5, 1962) - experimental film *''Memory'' (September 21, 1964) - experimental film *''Mermaid'' (September 21, 1964) - experimental film *''Mighty Atom, the Brave in Space'' (July 26, 1964) *''Cigarettes and Ashes'' (October 1, 1965) - experimental film *''The Drop'' (October 1, 1965) - experimental film *''Jungle Emperor Leo Movie'' (July 31, 1966) *'' Pictures at an Exhibition'' (November 11, 1966) - experimental film *''Genesis'' (October 1, 1968) - experimental film

Television series

*'' Tetsuwan Atomu'' (''

'') (January 1, 1963 – December 31, 1966) *'' Ginga Shōnen Tai'' ('' Galaxy Boy Troop'') (April 7, 1963 – April 1, 1965) *'' Wandā Surī'' (''

The Amazing 3 ''The Amazing 3'', or , is a Japanese comic series and a black-and-white Japanese animated television series created by Osamu Tezuka in the 1960s. It involves the adventures of three agents from outer space who are sent to Earth to determ ...

'') (June 6, 1965 – June 27, 1966) *'' Janguru Taitei'' (''

'') (October 6, 1965 – September 28, 1966) *'' Shin Janguru Taitei: Susume Reo!'' ('' Leo the Lion'') (October 5, 1966 – March 29, 1967) *'' Gokū no Daibōken'' ('' Adventures of the Monkey King'') (January 7, 1967 – September 30, 1967) *'' Ribon no Kishi'' (''

'') (April 2, 1967 – April 7, 1968) * '' Banpaiya'' (''

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

'') (October 5, 1968 – March 29, 1969) *'' Dororo'' (April 6, 1969 – September 28, 1969) *'' Wansa-kun'' (''

Little Wansa is a mascot for Sanwa Bank designed by Osamu Tezuka. It was later turned into a manga series (which was left unfinished) by Tezuka in 1971, and later a complete anime series in 1973. The hero of ''Wansa-kun'' was Wansa, a puppy who is sold f ...

'') (April 2, 1973 – September 24, 1973)

Television specials

*'' Shin Takarajima'' ('' New Treasure Island'') (January 3, 1965) *'' Son Goku ga hajimaru yo! kofudaio no maki'' (''Son Goku Is About to Begin! Volume of the Great Yellow Wind'') (June 12, 1966) - Pilot *'' Ribon no Kishi'' ('' Ribbon Knight'') (1966; produced in November 1966, unaired) - Pilot *''Flying Ben'' (September 1967) - Pilot *'' Dororo'' (January 1968) - Pilot *'' Gum Gum Punch'' (April 1968) - Pilot *''Zero-Man'' (June 1968) - Pilot *''Norman'' (July 1968) - Pilot *'' Space Journey: The First Dream of Wonder-kun'' (January 2, 1969) *'' Astro Boy vs. the Giants'' (''Kyojin no Hoshi tai Tetsuwan Atomu'') (June 9, 1969, co-production with Tokyo Movie Shinsha and A Production) *''Till a City Beneath the Sea is Built'' (February 2, 1969) *'' Blue Triton'' (October 1971) - Pilot

Non-original (1968-present)

(original TV/film productions, or adaptations of other material)

Television series

*'' Wanpaku Tanteidan'' (February 2, 1968 - September 26, 1968) *'' Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae'' (October 3, 1968 – September 24, 1969; co-production with

and Studio Zero) *'' Animal 1'' (April 1, 1968 – September 30, 1968) *'' Moomin'' (October 5, 1969 – December 27, 1970; produced the anime from episode 27 to the final episode, the production from episode 1 to episode 26 was from Tokyo Movie Shinsha) *'' Ashita no Joe'' (April 1, 1970 – September 29, 1971; original; second series was created by Tokyo Movie Shinsha) *'' Andersen Monogatari'' (January 3, 1971 – December 26, 1971; co-production with Zuiyo Enterprise) *'' Wandering Sun'' (April 8, 1971 – September 30, 1971) *'' Kunimatsu-sama no Otōridai'' (October 6, 1971 - September 25, 1972) *'' Vicky the Viking'' (1974; episodes 1-26 only) *'' Wonder Beat Scramble'' (April 16, 1986 – November 19, 1986) - co-produced with Magic Bus

Films

*'' Animerama'' (film series) **'' A Thousand and One Nights'' (June 14, 1969) **''

'' (September 15, 1970) - Next-to-first film to be given the self-applied "X" rating in the United States. **''

'' (June 30, 1973) *'' Yasashii Lion'' (March 21, 1970) - short film *'' Adventures of the Polar Cubs'' (July 21, 1979) *'' Ashita no Joe'' (March 8, 1980) - compilation film of the 1970–1971 series *'' Yuki'' (August 9, 1981) *''

Wata no Kunihoshi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumiko Ōshima. It was serialized by Hakusensha in '' LaLa'' magazine from 1978 to 1987 and collected in seven ''tankōbon'' volumes. The story is about an abandoned kitten called Chibi ...

'' (February 11, 1984) *'' Hi no Ame ga Furu'' (September 15, 1988) *'' Ise-wan Taifu Monogatari'' (November 4, 1989) *'' Ushiro no Shoumen Daare'' (March 9, 1991) *'' Zō Ressha ga Yatte Kita'' (July 4, 1992) *'' Senbon Matsubara: Kawa to Ikiru Shōnen-tachi'' (July 11, 1992) - co-produced with Magic Bus *'' Tsuru ni Notte - Tomoko no Bōken'' (July 17, 1993) - short film *'' Raiyantsūrii no Uta'' (January 6, 1994) *'' Pipi Tobenai Hotaru'' (March 23, 1996) *'' Maya no Isshou'' (August 20, 1996) *'' Eikō e no Spur: Igaya Chiharu Monogatari'' (September 13, 1997) *''Ecchan no Sensou'' (January 13, 2002) *'' Asu o Tsukutta Otoko - Tanabe Sakuro to Biwako Sosui'' (March 13, 2003) *'' Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane'' (September 9, 2005) *'' Pattenrai!! ~ Minami no Shima no Mizu Monogatari'' (November 15, 2008) *'' Hikawa Maru Monogatari'' (August 22, 2015)

OVAs

*'' Toki-iro Kaima'' (March 20, 1989 - February 25, 1990) *'' Blue Sonnet'' (July 16, 1989 – June 25, 1990) *''

Legend of the Galactic Heroes , sometimes abbreviated as ''LOTGH'', ''LOGH'', ''LGH'' or in Japanese (and also depicted as ''Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel'' in the anime intro), is a series of Epic (genre), epic science fiction novels written by Yoshiki Tanak ...

'' (1997, episodes 100 and 106) *'' Kuzuryuugawa to Shounen'' (October, 1998) *'' Legend of the Galactic Heroes: A Hundred Billion Stars, A Hundred Billion Lights'' (1998, episodes 15, 18, and 19) *''Kaitou Gary no Nihonjin Kouryakuhou!'' (1999) *''Kuma no Minakuro to Kouhei Jiisan'' (1999) *''Kochira Tamago Outou Negaimasu'' (2008)

Commission work

*''

'' (December 7, 1969; American production by

with animation by Mushi Production) *'' The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians'' (April 7, 1970; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production) *'' The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show'' (September 12, 1970 – December 26, 1970; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production) *'' Mad Mad Mad Monsters'' (September 23, 1972; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production) *'' Festival of Family Classics'' (January 1, 1972 – November 26, 1973; American production by Rankin/Bass Productions with animation by Mushi Production and

Topcraft Topcraft Co., Ltd. (株式会社トップクラフト ''Kabushiki-gaisha Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established in 1972, by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was f ...

; 17 episodes)

Notes

References

External links

*
Article and interview over Mushi Production
* {{Authority control Mushi Production Japanese companies established in 1961 1973 disestablishments in Japan Japanese companies established in 1977 Mass media companies established in 1961 Mass media companies disestablished in 1973 Mass media companies established in 1977 Japanese animation studios Osamu Tezuka Nerima Animation studios in Tokyo

Productions

Original (1962-1973)

Films

Television series

Television specials

Non-original (1968-present)

Television series

Films

OVAs

Commission work

See also

Notes

References

External links