Cine Bazar

Cine Bazar Co., Ltd. is a Japanese film and entertainment studio founded in 1994 by film producer Kazutoshi Wadakura. The company is headquartered at Toho Studios in Seijo, Setagaya, Tokyo, placing it within one of Japan’s most important film-production environments. Wadakura remains the company’s president and chief executive officer. The studio’s work spans a broad range of Japanese commercial and auteur-oriented cinema. Its credited filmography includes literary adaptations, youth and relationship dramas, comedies, fantasy projects, manga and anime adaptations, historical stories, disaster and war films, and large-scale franchise productions. The company has been associated with films such as Hiroshima, Love & Pop, Party 7, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, The Taste of Tea, Cutie Honey, Spring Snow, The Magic Hour, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I and II, 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption, and Bleach. This range indicates a production profile built around collaboration with major Japanese directors, screenwriters, performers, distributors, and rights holders rather than a narrowly specialized genre label. Cine Bazar is particularly recognized internationally for its connection with the Shin series. It co-produced Shin Godzilla, the 2016 reimagining of Toho’s Godzilla property, and Shin Ultraman, released in 2022. Both films combined established Japanese science-fiction characters with new creative approaches and contemporary social or cultural concerns. Cine Bazar was also associated with Shin Kamen Rider, released in 2023, extending its involvement in a major Japanese tokusatsu-oriented production cycle. The company’s filmography additionally includes Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, released in 2021, another prominent Japanese animation and franchise production. Alongside film production activities, Cine Bazar operates a casting division known as the Cine Bazar Casting Department. The department is located in Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya, Tokyo, and supports the company’s broader involvement in screen production. The available reference material does not specify the company’s ownership structure, revenue, workforce, distribution arrangements, or a separate corporate parent. Cine Bazar is therefore best characterized as an independent Japanese production studio with a substantial body of feature-film credits and recurring participation in high-profile collaborations with Toho and other Japanese entertainment partners.

Cine Bazar was established in Japan in 1994 by film producer Kazutoshi Wadakura, who is identified as the company’s president and chief executive officer. The studio operates from Toho Studios in Seijo, Setagaya, Tokyo, and also maintains a casting division in Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya. Its organizational structure and ownership details are not specified in the available reference material. From the 1990s onward, Cine Bazar developed a broad feature-film production portfolio. Early credited works included Hiroshima in 1995, Love & Pop in 1998, and Party 7 in 2000. During the 2000s, the studio participated in a particularly varied group of projects, including Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Nin x Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun, the Movie, The Taste of Tea, Otakus in Love, Cutie Honey, Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean, Spring Snow, Shining Boy & Little Randy, Sugar & Spice, Bubble Fiction: Boom or Bust, Hero, Closed Diary, Argentine Baba, Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess, The Magic Hour, After School, Paco and the Magical Book, and My Darling of the Mountains - Tokuichi in Love. The company continued its work in the following decade with productions and co-productions such as Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I and II, 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption, Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess, Oba: The Last Samurai, Andalucia: Revenge of the Goddess, Rock: Wanko no Shima, A Ghost of a Chance, and Pieta in the Toilet. These credits show the studio’s continuing involvement in adaptations, ensemble entertainment, dramatic features, and projects connected to established Japanese media properties. Cine Bazar’s international profile was strengthened by Shin Godzilla, released in 2016 and co-produced with Toho. The film reimagined the Godzilla concept for a contemporary Japanese audience and became the studio’s most prominent association in the available reference material. Cine Bazar later appeared in the credits for Bleach in 2018 and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021. The studio then continued its connection with Toho and Japanese tokusatsu culture through Shin Ultraman in 2022 and Shin Kamen Rider in 2023. These projects placed Cine Bazar within a recurring production network focused on renewed interpretations of historically important Japanese character franchises. Across its filmography, the company’s role is best understood as that of a Japanese production studio working through project-based partnerships rather than as a vertically integrated global entertainment conglomerate. The available sources do not establish later corporate developments, financial results, or a change in leadership.

1. 2023Shin Kamen Rider

   The studio was associated with Shin Kamen Rider, another modern Japanese character-property production.

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2. 2022Shin Ultraman

   Cine Bazar co-produced Shin Ultraman with Toho.

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3. 2021Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

   The studio was credited in connection with the major Evangelion animated feature.

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4. 2016Shin Godzilla

   Cine Bazar co-produced Shin Godzilla with Toho, one of its most internationally recognizable credits.

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5. 1998Love & Pop

   Cine Bazar was associated with Love & Pop, an early feature in its expanding Japanese film portfolio.

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6. 1995Hiroshima

   Hiroshima became one of the earliest films listed in Cine Bazar’s production history.

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7. 1994Cine Bazar founded

   Film producer Kazutoshi Wadakura founded Cine Bazar in Japan.

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A Japanese feature-film studio positioned around collaborative production across mainstream entertainment, adaptations, original dramas, and major character-driven franchises.

• Feature-film production and co-productionFilm production1994

  Cine Bazar’s principal activity is participation in Japanese feature-film production. Its credited works range from dramas and literary adaptations to comedy, fantasy, historical films, animation, manga adaptations, and large-scale franchise projects. The studio generally appears as part of a collaborative production structure involving other Japanese entertainment companies and rights holders.

• Shin GodzillaFranchise film2016

  Shin Godzilla is a 2016 reimagining of Toho’s Godzilla property and one of Cine Bazar’s most prominent credits. The production placed the studio within a major Japanese science-fiction franchise and demonstrated its involvement in ambitious, high-profile feature films made for both domestic and international attention.

• Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a TimeAnimated feature film2021

  Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is a 2021 animated feature associated with Cine Bazar. It belongs to the influential Evangelion franchise and represents the studio’s participation in a major Japanese animation production alongside its live-action film work.

• Shin UltramanTokusatsu franchise film2022

  Shin Ultraman is a 2022 film co-produced by Cine Bazar and Toho. It applies a contemporary creative approach to the Ultraman property and continued Cine Bazar’s involvement in renewed interpretations of foundational Japanese special-effects characters.

• Shin Kamen RiderTokusatsu franchise film2023

  Shin Kamen Rider is a 2023 film associated with Cine Bazar. Its inclusion in the studio’s credits extended the company’s relationship with major Japanese character franchises and with the broader Shin series of reinterpretations.

• Cine Bazar Casting DepartmentCasting services

  The Cine Bazar Casting Department is the company’s casting division for its film work. It is located in Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya, Tokyo. The available reference material identifies the division but does not provide further detail about its staff, client base, or operating procedures.

• 2023Cine Bazar associated with Shin Kamen Rider

  The studio was credited in connection with Shin Kamen Rider, extending its participation in the Shin series of Japanese character-property films.

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• 2022Cine Bazar associated with Shin Ultraman

  Cine Bazar co-produced Shin Ultraman with Toho, continuing its involvement in contemporary reinterpretations of established Japanese tokusatsu characters.

  Product launchOther
  Source
• 2021Cine Bazar associated with Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

  The studio was credited in connection with Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, a major Japanese animated franchise production.

  Product launchOther
  Source
• 2016Cine Bazar associated with Shin Godzilla

  Cine Bazar co-produced Shin Godzilla with Toho. The film became one of the studio’s best-known productions and represented a contemporary reworking of a major Japanese science-fiction property.

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1. Cine Bazar