Mushi Production

Mushi Production (虫プロダクション, Mushi Purodakushon, lit. "Bug Production") or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan.[1] It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima.[2]

Mushi Production headquarters in Tokyo

The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka.[3] Tezuka started it as a rivalry with Toei Animation, 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 television series, such as Astro Boy, Gokū no Daibōken, Princess Knight, Kimba the White Lion, Dororo and Ashita no Joe, as well as more adult-oriented feature films such as 1001 Nights, Cleopatra (the first Japanese X-rated animated film) and Belladonna of Sadness.

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' Videocraft International (now Rankin/Bass Productions) in New York, New York, including the Christmas special Frosty the Snowman, 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) low profitability.[3] Mushi, plagued by financial difficulties, declared bankruptcy in 1973 and its assets were divided.[3] Tezuka had already left the company by then, having stepped down as acting director in 1968 and formed a new animation studio, Tezuka Productions (which made such works as Marvelous Melmo and Unico). A new Mushi Production company was later founded in 1977. This company continues to operate today.

Original productions

(based on the works of Osamu Tezuka)

  • The Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) (1963–1966)
  • Ginga Shōnen Tai (Galaxy Boys Squad) (1963–1965)
  • Astro Boy: Hero of Space (movie; 1964)
  • Shin Takara Jima (New Treasure Island) (TV special; 1965)
  • Wonder 3 (The Amazing 3) (1965–1966)
  • Kimba the White Lion (1965–1966)
  • Son Goku ga Hajimaruyō (TV special; 1966)
  • Kimba the White Lion: the Movie (1966)
  • Leo the Lion (1966–1967)
  • Princess Knight (TV special; 1966)
  • Gokū no Daibōken (The Adventures of Goku) (Jan.-Sept.1967)
  • Princess Knight (1967–1968)
  • Vampire (1968–1969)
  • Dororo (original TV series) (Apr.-Sept.1969)
  • Wansa-kun (1973)
  • Adventures of the Polar Cubs (1979)

Non-original productions

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

See also

References
  1. Home. Mushi Production. Retrieved on March 15, 2012. "〒177-0034 東京都練馬区 富士見台2-30-5"
  2. "Inquiries." Mushi Production. Retrieved on February 26, 2010. "本社：〒169-0075 東京都新宿区高田馬場 ４丁目32番11号'
  3. Morisawa, T. (19 August 2014). "Managing the unmanageable: Emotional labour and creative hierarchy in the Japanese animation industry". Ethnography. 16 (2): 262. doi:10.1177/1466138114547624.
  4. . Cartoon Research. Retrieved on February 3, 2015.
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