TMS Entertainment
In 1946, a company named Kyokuichi opened its doors in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. It began as a textile manufacturer before changing its trade name to Kyokuichi Shine Industries in 1957. The business expanded into fur production with the establishment of Shine Mink Co., Ltd. in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1961. This venture included a mink breeding farm that started operations in 1962. By 1974, the company merged with Shine Mink to form the Mink Division.
The shift toward animation began when Yutaka Fujioka established Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1964. He was a former staff member of Hitomi-za, which had produced puppet theater programs for Tokyo Broadcasting System. TBS encouraged Fujioka to create an animation studio after watching Astro Boy air on Fuji Television the previous year. The studio's first project was Big X, an adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga. However, the team lacked animation experience and suffered huge financial losses.
To recover from this crisis, Kokusai Hōei provided capital participation. Rokuzo Abe became president while Fujioka was demoted to director. In 1965, Fujioka founded A Production to rebuild the system. He recruited talent like Tsutomu Shibayama and Yoshio Kabashima from Toei Animation. Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki also joined the fold after leaving Toei due to budget issues on Horus, Prince of the Sun.
Tokyo Movie Shinsha became independent from Kokusai Hōei in 1971. Fujioka returned as president and produced hits including Obake no Q-Tarō, Star of the Giants, and Lupin the 3rd Part I. By 1989, Kyokuichi Shine Industries was acquired by Watchman Group and changed its business format to entertainment. This marked the beginning of a new era for what would eventually become TMS Entertainment.
The studio produced a string of popular works during the 1960s and 1970s that defined an entire generation of Japanese animation. Obake no Q-Tarō ran from 1964 to 1966 and was adapted from Fujiko Fujio's manga serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday. Star of the Giants followed, running until 1971 with 182 episodes based on Ikki Kajiwara's sports manga.
Moomin aired on Fuji TV from 1969 to 1970, adapting Tove Jansson's book into 65 episodes. Attack No. 1, a drama about female volleyball players, ran for 104 episodes between 1968 and 1970. Tensai Bakabon, another comedy series, continued from 1971 to 1976 with 40 episodes. Lupin the 3rd Part I debuted in 1971 and became one of the most iconic franchises in anime history.
Aim for the Ace! focused on tennis and ran from 1973 to 1980 with 26 episodes. Gamba no Bouken, an adventure series, concluded in 1975 after 26 episodes. These productions established Tokyo Movie Shinsha as one of the five major studios in early Japanese animation. The studio also produced Sherlock Hound starting in 1981, which was directed by Hayao Miyazaki before being completed by other directors after six episodes were finished.
The studio's output included diverse genres ranging from sports dramas like Karate Baka Ichidai to fantasy adventures such as Jungle Kurobee. Each series contributed to building a reputation that would later support international expansion efforts. By the late 1970s, the company had become a powerhouse capable of handling complex co-productions.
In June 1976, Tokyo Movie spun off its sales division to establish Telecom Animation Film. This new entity aimed to train animators who could draw full animations rather than relying on limited animation techniques common in Japan at the time. Fujioka chose Little Nemo as the basis for his ambitious animated film project and began acquiring rights in 1977.
Telecom received over 1,000 applications for employee recruitment and hired 43 people with no prior animation experience. Sadao Tsukioka served as lecturer during the first year while Yasuo Otsuka joined the following year. The goal was to create world-class animation films that could compete with Disney productions.
In 1981, TMS partnered with DiC Audiovisuel to produce Ulysses 31, directed by Tadao Nagahama. Lupin VIII followed in 1982 but remained unaired. Sherlock Hound ran from November 1984 to May 1985 with 26 episodes before being completed by Gallop after six episodes were produced.
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland became a seven-year project costing 5.5 billion yen (43.3 million dollars) by 1992. The initial budget was about 3.6 billion yen (16 million dollars). Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata originally planned to direct but dropped out due to conflicts with producer Gary Kurtz. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston from Disney's Nine Old Men provided training sessions in 1982.
The film released in Japan on the 15th of July 1989, and grossed around 900 million yen (7 million dollars). It reached American theaters in August 1992 across 2,300 venues and sold 4 million videos. Despite these numbers, production costs were never recouped. Fujioka took responsibility for the failure and retired from the industry.
Kyokuichi Co., Ltd. opened its first amusement arcade in 1991 and joined the Sega Group through a business alliance with Sega and Sega Toys in 1992. Tokyo Movie Shinsha became a subsidiary of Sega that same year via stock acquisition. On the 1st of November 1995, Sega absorbed Tokyo Movie Shinsha into Kyokuichi, making Kyokuichi the surviving company.
Telecom Animation Film and TMS Photo became subsidiaries under this new structure. A Tokyo branch office launched an animation production division called Tokyo Movie Division. International prints used the name TMS-Kyokuichi while domestic credits credited Kyokuichi Tokyo Movie until 2000.
In January 2000, Kyokuichi changed its official name to TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd. The name Tokyo Movie remained as the brand for animation production. By 2003, the company completely withdrew from textile operations. American brokerage group Merrill Lynch acquired a 7.54 percent stake purely for investment purposes without seeking management control.
Sega Sammy Holdings purchased a 50.2 percent stake in 2005, making TMS Entertainment a subsidiary. The Los Angeles studio was reorganized as TMS ENTERTAINMENT, USA, INC. in 2006. Headquarters moved from Nagoya to Shinjuku, then relocated again to Nakano, Tokyo, in November 2012.
TMS Entertainment announced completion of Building D in February 2007, establishing Nakano as the base for production divisions. In 2010, the company delisted and became wholly owned by Sega Sammy Holdings through share exchange. By April 2015, it became a subsidiary of newly formed Sega Group after restructuring.
The company maintains numerous animation subsidiaries and internal sub-divisions that support main operations. Telecom Animation Film serves as the leading studio behind recent Lupin the Third titles while also producing Chain Chronicle: The Light of Haecceitas and Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation. Marza Animation Planet handles CG work including Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Resident Evil: Vendetta before moving back under Sega in 2023.
Studio 1, 3xCube, Trois Studios, Rogue Studio, and Double Eagle operate under production headquarters with unique nicknames assigned to specific works. Each unit has dedicated producers and production assistants who manage projects on a work-by-work basis. Head creators sometimes receive exclusive contracts with personal desks within the company.
TMS Jinni's (formerly Jinni's Animation Studio) focuses on VFX and CG production since becoming a group company in 2015. TMS Entertainment USA, Inc. was established in 1996 as the Los Angeles division. TMS Entertainment Europe SAS operates from Paris since 2001. Tokyo Movie Online launched as a video subscription platform in October 2005.
Anpanman Digital LLP formed in June 2008 with Nippon Television and Froebel-Kan Co., Ltd., each investing 100 million yen. Seoul Movie operated as a South Korean studio until closing in the late 2000s. These subsidiaries enable TMS to handle diverse genres ranging from sports dramas like Blue Box to fantasy series such as The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse.
Madhouse received funding directly from Yutaka Fujioka when it was founded in 1972. Spectrum Animation emerged from former TMS animators who helped animate Batman: The Animated Series episodes between September 1992 and February 1995. Brain's Base also traces its origins to staff members who left TMS during various periods.
Ufotable developed from Telecom Animation Film animators while Oh! Production formed under direct TMS Entertainment sponsorship. These spin-offs demonstrate how the original company served as an incubator for industry talent. Many creators gained skills through subcontracting work for Western studios like Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The Little Nemo project specifically laid foundations for subsequent expansion into American markets despite its commercial failure. Relationships established between Japanese animators and Disney's Nine Old Men influenced generations of filmmakers. Even failed productions contributed valuable lessons about cross-cultural collaboration and production management techniques.
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Common questions
When was TMS Entertainment founded and what was its original name?
TMS Entertainment traces its origins to 1946 when Kyokuichi opened in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. The company changed its trade name to Kyokuichi Shine Industries in 1957 before evolving into the animation studio known today.
Who founded Tokyo Movie Shinsha and when did it begin operations?
Yutaka Fujioka established Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1964 after being encouraged by Tokyo Broadcasting System. He recruited talent like Tsutomu Shibayama and Yoshio Kabashima from Toei Animation to rebuild the system following financial losses on Big X.
What major animated series did TMS Entertainment produce during the 1970s?
The studio produced Obake no Q-Tarō from 1964 to 1966 and Star of the Giants until 1971 with 182 episodes. Other notable works included Moomin running from 1969 to 1970 and Lupin the 3rd Part I which debuted in 1971.
Why did the Little Nimer film project fail financially despite high production costs?
Little Nimer: Adventures in Slumberland cost 5.5 billion yen (43.3 million dollars) by 1992 but never recouped its production costs. The film released in Japan on the 15th of July 1989 and reached American theaters in August 1992 across 2,300 venues without achieving profitability.
When did Kyokuichi change its name to TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd?
Kyokuichi changed its official name to TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd. in January 2000. By 2003, the company completely withdrew from textile operations and became a subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings after purchasing a 50.2 percent stake in 2005.