Bandai Namco Pictures
A Japanese animation studio specializing in character-driven properties, children’s and family entertainment, and cross-media franchises within the Bandai Namco Group.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Bandai Namco Pictures Inc., commonly known as BN Pictures, is a Japanese animation production and planning company within the Bandai Namco Group. It was established in Tokyo in 2015 as part of Bandai Namco Holdings’ effort to reorganize and strengthen its intellectual-property creation activities. The company was formed as a spin-off of Sunrise, now part of Bandai Namco Filmworks, with the transfer of Sunrise production departments, copyrights, and anime properties aimed primarily at children and families. The studio’s creation reflected a broader strategic goal: to develop new intellectual properties and marketable characters more quickly while connecting animation production more closely with the group’s Toy and Hobby businesses. This structure allows animated series and characters to support products, games, trading cards, events, and other forms of entertainment across the wider Bandai Namco ecosystem. The company therefore operates not only as a conventional animation contractor but also as an IP-development and franchise-management organization. BN Pictures began operations in April 2015 under the leadership of Masayuki Ozaki, then representative director of Sunrise. Its initial portfolio included properties transferred from Sunrise, among them Aikatsu!, Sgt. Frog, Battle Spirits, Gintama, and Zorori. Aikatsu! was particularly important to the company’s launch because it originated as an anime adaptation of a Bandai trading-card arcade game and exemplified the close relationship between animation, toys, games, and collectible products that the new company was designed to reinforce. Although the studio has a strong focus on children’s and family programming, its output is not limited to that demographic. The transferred and subsequently produced portfolio has also included titles aimed at older viewers, such as Gintama and Tiger & Bunny. The company has worked on established franchises while also developing original projects, including the stop-motion series Milpom!. In 2016 it collaborated with Bandai Namco Entertainment on Dream Festival!, a multimedia project combining games, original net animation, music, and character-based entertainment. To improve production efficiency, BN Pictures opened the BN Pictures Osaka Studio in August 2018. The Osaka operation was intended to support the digital transfer of animation and reduce production time, with the possibility of creating a foundation for additional domestic and overseas operations. In October 2019, the company absorbed Studio Dub, an animation subcontractor founded by former Sunrise animators. The acquired operation became BN Pictures Iwaki while continuing to use the Studio Dub name for project work. Today, BN Pictures remains an active animation company serving as one of the Bandai Namco Group’s principal platforms for developing and producing animated content. Its business scope includes animation planning, television series, theatrical and video animation, original net animation, franchise continuation, and production support. Its strategic identity is built around the combination of animation expertise, recognizable characters, and the commercial capabilities of Bandai Namco’s toys, games, music, and other entertainment businesses.
History
Bandai Namco Pictures was created during a restructuring of Bandai Namco Holdings’ content businesses. On February 12, 2015, the group announced a three-year management plan that placed greater emphasis on creating new intellectual properties, developing commercially viable characters, and shortening the time required to plan and launch content. The plan also called for closer coordination between the group’s IP Creation activities and its Toy and Hobby businesses. Animation was viewed as an important means of establishing characters and stories that could later support toys, games, trading cards, music, events, and other products. As part of this restructuring, Bandai Namco established Bandai Namco Pictures in Nerima, Tokyo. The company began operations in April 2015 and was organized as a spin-off of Sunrise, the animation studio that later became part of Bandai Namco Filmworks. Masayuki Ozaki, who was associated with Sunrise’s leadership, headed the new company at its formation. Sunrise transferred production departments and copyrights connected with anime properties primarily directed toward children and families. The transfer created a separate organization with a focused mandate to produce and develop character-based content while maintaining access to the wider Bandai Namco corporate network. Aikatsu! was the company’s first major project. The franchise was based on a Bandai trading-card arcade game and had previously been produced by Sunrise. Its combination of television animation, arcade play, collectible cards, music, live events, and merchandise made it a clear example of the integrated IP model behind BN Pictures. The studio also received or continued work on properties including Sgt. Frog, Battle Spirits, Gintama, and Zorori. These properties gave the new company an operating base while it developed additional projects. The studio’s audience strategy has been broader than its original children-and-family emphasis. BN Pictures has continued to work on youth-oriented and family programming, but its portfolio has also included projects aimed at older audiences, including Gintama and Tiger & Bunny. Alongside established franchises, the company has pursued original concepts. Milpom!, a stop-motion animation project, represented one example of original production rather than continuation of an inherited Sunrise property. BN Pictures has also participated in Bandai Namco’s cross-company franchise initiatives. In 2016 it collaborated with Bandai Namco Entertainment on Dream Festival!, a multimedia project centered on games, original net animation, music, and character development. This type of cooperation illustrates the company’s role within the group: animation is used both as a standalone entertainment product and as one component of a broader, coordinated intellectual-property strategy. Operational expansion followed. In August 2018, BN Pictures opened the BN Pictures Osaka Studio to handle digital transfer work and help decrease production times. The company indicated that improved productivity at the Osaka operation could support further offices in Japan and potentially overseas. In October 2019, it absorbed Studio Dub, an animation subcontractor established by former Sunrise animators. The acquired organization became BN Pictures Iwaki, although it continued using Studio Dub as a production name. The company remains active as a Bandai Namco animation studio. Its continuing significance comes from the combination of inherited Sunrise franchises, new character and IP development, production infrastructure, and access to Bandai Namco’s toy, game, and entertainment businesses. Rather than being positioned solely as a service studio, BN Pictures functions as a strategic content company whose animation projects can extend across multiple media and commercial categories.
- 2019
Studio Dub is absorbed
[1]Studio Dub becomes BN Pictures Iwaki after being absorbed by BN Pictures, while retaining Studio Dub as a project-facing name.
- 2018
BN Pictures Osaka Studio opens
[1]The company opens an Osaka division focused on digital animation transfer and production-efficiency improvements.
- 2016
Dream Festival! collaboration
[1]BN Pictures works with Bandai Namco Entertainment on Dream Festival!, a multimedia property incorporating games, original net animation, music, and character entertainment.
- 2015
Bandai Namco announces the restructuring framework
[1]Bandai Namco Holdings presents a management plan emphasizing new intellectual properties, marketable characters, faster development, and closer links between content creation and the Toy and Hobby businesses.
- 2015
BN Pictures is established and begins operations
[1]The company is formed in Nerima, Tokyo, as a Sunrise spin-off, with relevant production departments, copyrights, and children’s and family-oriented properties transferred to it.
- 2015
Aikatsu! becomes the first major BN Pictures project
[1]BN Pictures takes responsibility for the anime associated with the Aikatsu! trading-card arcade franchise.
Products and positioning
A Bandai Namco-affiliated animation and intellectual-property studio combining Japanese animation production with children’s, family, character, toy, game, and cross-media franchise development.
Television anime and multimedia franchise
Aikatsu!
Aikatsu! is a character and idol-themed franchise originating from a Bandai trading-card arcade game. BN Pictures took over production of its anime component after the property had been produced by Sunrise. The franchise exemplifies the studio’s cross-media model, linking animation with arcade play, cards, music, live entertainment, merchandising, and character development.
Television anime and trading-card franchise
Battle Spirits
Battle Spirits is a trading-card-centered property supported by animated storytelling and related merchandise. It was among the intellectual properties transferred from Sunrise to BN Pictures during the studio’s formation and fits the Bandai Namco strategy of connecting animation with collectible and play-based products.
Television anime franchise
Sgt. Frog
Sgt. Frog is a comedy-oriented animated property included among the children’s and family-related intellectual properties transferred from Sunrise to BN Pictures. It extends the studio’s portfolio beyond purely toy-led projects and demonstrates its role in maintaining established anime characters.
Television anime and film franchise
Gintama
Gintama is an anime property aimed at an older audience than BN Pictures’ core children’s and family programming. The franchise was among the Sunrise-related properties associated with BN Pictures, illustrating that the studio’s activities include mature comedy and action-oriented entertainment as well as children’s content.
Children’s television anime franchise
Zorori
Zorori is a children’s animation property associated with the studio’s inherited portfolio. Its inclusion reflects BN Pictures’ original mandate to manage and produce character-led entertainment for younger viewers and families.
Television anime franchise
Tiger & Bunny
Tiger & Bunny is a superhero-themed anime property associated with BN Pictures’ broader production activities. Although the company was established with a strong children’s and family focus, this title demonstrates its participation in projects directed toward older anime audiences and wider international fandoms.
Stop-motion animation series
Milpom!
Milpom! is an original stop-motion animation project produced by BN Pictures. It is notable because it was not simply an inherited Sunrise property, showing the studio’s intention to develop original characters and concepts alongside established Bandai Namco and Sunrise-linked franchises.
Multimedia franchise · 2016
Dream Festival!
Dream Festival! was developed with Bandai Namco Entertainment as a cross-media property incorporating games, original net animation, music, and character-based entertainment. It represents the close operational relationship between BN Pictures and other Bandai Namco companies.
Brand decisions
2019
Absorb Studio DubM&ABackground
BN Pictures needed additional production resources and had an existing relationship with Studio Dub, an animation subcontractor founded by former Sunrise animators.
Action taken
The company absorbed Studio Dub and renamed the organization BN Pictures Iwaki, while allowing the Studio Dub name to continue in project production.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded BN Pictures’ internal production structure and preserved the acquired studio’s established working identity.
2018
Increase production capacity through an Osaka studioStrategyBackground
The company sought to reduce animation production times and improve digital workflow efficiency.
Action taken
BN Pictures opened the BN Pictures Osaka Studio to handle digital transfer work and explore a platform for future domestic and overseas expansion.
Aftermath
The Osaka operation became part of the company’s production-efficiency and capacity-building structure.
2016
Expand into coordinated multimedia IP developmentStrategyBackground
Bandai Namco sought to connect animation production with games, music, characters, and other entertainment formats.
Action taken
BN Pictures collaborated with Bandai Namco Entertainment on Dream Festival!, combining animation, games, music, and character content.
Aftermath
The project demonstrated the studio’s role as a cross-company IP creation partner rather than only an animation production unit.
2015
Separate children’s and family animation activities from SunriseStrategyBackground
Bandai Namco Holdings wanted to strengthen IP creation, accelerate development, and establish closer links between animation content and the Toy and Hobby businesses.
Action taken
The group established BN Pictures and transferred selected Sunrise production functions, copyrights, and children- and family-oriented anime properties to the new company.
Aftermath
BN Pictures began operations in April 2015 as a dedicated animation and character-development company within the Bandai Namco structure.
Recent events
VIVEPORT and BANDAI NAMCO Pictures announce strategic alliance for VR anime experiences[3]
Reported:
VIVEPORT announced a strategic alliance with BANDAI NAMCO Pictures to bring its animated content to virtual reality. The collaboration is set to focus on integrating animation content and development and distribution resources, along with new animation and IP development and other business opportunities.
HTC and Bandai Namco Pictures partner on VR anime content[4]
HTC and Bandai Namco Pictures announced a partnership to create virtual-reality anime content for HTC's Viveport. The partnership will integrate animated content and distribution resources and develop new animated content and intellectual property.
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