Tezuka Productions

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese mass-media and animation company established by manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka in 1968. The company was created after Tezuka separated from Mushi Production, the animation organization he had founded earlier in the 1960s. Tezuka Productions initially concentrated on manga production and the administration of copyrights connected with Tezuka's extensive body of work, but it later became an animation producer and a broad intellectual-property business. The company's activities span animation production, publishing-related work, film and television projects, licensing, merchandising, toys, video games, and other uses of Tezuka's characters and stories. Its portfolio is centered on major works by Osamu Tezuka, including Astro Boy, Black Jack, Kimba the White Lion, Phoenix, Dororo, Unico, The Three-Eyed One, and Marvelous Melmo. Astro Boy, also known as Mighty Atom, functions as the company's best-known character and mascot. The brand's business model combines direct production with supervision, rights management, and partnerships involving other studios, broadcasters, publishers, game companies, and consumer-product licensees. During its early years, Tezuka Productions accepted subcontracted animation work from Mushi Production while continuing its manga and copyright functions. Its first major television production was Marvelous Melmo, broadcast in the early 1970s. When Mushi Production entered bankruptcy proceedings in 1973, Tezuka Productions expanded its own animation operations. The company subsequently produced a wide range of television series, television films, theatrical films, short films, original video animations, and later digital and online projects. A major turning point came with the 1980–1981 Astro Boy television series, a remake of the earlier Mushi Production adaptation. Tezuka had sought a new version because he was dissatisfied with aspects of the first series. Tezuka Productions later returned repeatedly to the property, including through the 2003 Astro Boy series and subsequent international licensing and game projects. Black Jack became another important production and licensing franchise, appearing in television, film, original-video, and online formats. The company also serves as a custodian of Tezuka's artistic legacy. In 2007 it began a long-term effort to digitize and color more than 150,000 pages of his published manga. The project used color references from Tezuka's former assistants to preserve the visual intentions of the original works. In a related continuation of his unfinished creative work, Tezuka's son Makoto announced in 2008 that he would complete Legend of the Forest. The resulting film premiered at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 2014 and later received a North American presentation. Tezuka Productions operates an animation studio in the former location of Tezuka's studio office in Niiza, Saitama, while its corporate base is in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Although the company is strongly associated with Osamu Tezuka's characters, it has also produced or co-produced adaptations and original projects not based on his work, including Kids on the Slope, Dororo with MAPPA, The Quintessential Quintuplets, The Fable, and other contemporary television and film titles. Its present identity therefore combines animation production, franchise stewardship, archival preservation, and international intellectual-property licensing.

Osamu Tezuka established an animation and video-production unit called Osamu Tezuka Mushi Production in 1961, and the organization was incorporated as Mushi Productions the following year. Tezuka remained involved with Mushi Production until 1968, when he left to establish Tezuka Productions. The new company was organized as a separate studio and rights-management business, with an initial emphasis on manga production and copyright administration. In 1970 the company moved its headquarters to premises near Fujimidai Station in Nerima. The office arrangement reflected its small-studio origins: employees and production assistants occupied one floor, while Tezuka used another as his personal workspace. During its first years, Tezuka Productions accepted subcontracted animation assignments from Mushi Production. Among these projects was Marvelous Melmo, a 26-episode television series broadcast from October 1971 to March 1972. Mushi Production's bankruptcy in 1973 changed the competitive and operational context. Tezuka Productions began undertaking animation production more fully while retaining its manga and copyright activities, and the company expanded as a studio. It moved to the Takadanobaba Seven Building in Shinjuku in 1976. The company subsequently developed an extensive production record covering television series, television films, theatrical features, experimental shorts, original video animations, and video games. Tezuka Productions' 1980–1981 remake of Astro Boy was one of its most important early undertakings. The 52-episode series was broadcast on Nippon Television and represented Tezuka's effort to revisit a property whose first animated version had been produced by Mushi Production. The company continued to build its identity around Tezuka's characters while also producing projects based on other creators' works. The catalogue expanded through adaptations and original productions involving properties such as Black Jack, Phoenix, Unico, Kimba the White Lion, Dororo, and The Three-Eyed One. Black Jack in particular appeared across several formats, including television, film, original video, and online animation. The studio also participated in co-productions with companies including Madhouse, Toei Animation, MAPPA, Tatsunoko Production, and other partners. Preservation and rights stewardship became increasingly important as Tezuka's work moved into digital distribution and international markets. In 2007 the company launched a multi-year project to digitize and color more than 150,000 pages of published manga. Former assistants supplied color references, allowing the new editions to reflect the palette used during Tezuka's working life. In 2008 Makoto Tezuka announced that the company would complete Legend of the Forest, an unfinished work by his father. The completed film premiered in Hiroshima in 2014 and was later shown in North America. Tezuka Productions maintains an animation studio at the site of Tezuka's former studio office in Niiza, Saitama, while its corporate headquarters remain in Shinjuku, Tokyo. In the twenty-first century the company has continued producing Tezuka adaptations and licensing his characters while broadening its production slate through non-Tezuka properties. Recent credits include co-productions and series such as Dororo, Kids on the Slope, The Quintessential Quintuplets, Girlfriend, Girlfriend, My Home Hero, Under Ninja, The Fable, and Pluto. The company therefore operates both as an active animation studio and as the principal corporate steward of a major Japanese manga and animation legacy.

• 2014

  Legend of the Forest is completed

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The completed film based on Tezuka's unfinished work premieres at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival.

• 2007

  Digital manga preservation project begins

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The company begins digitizing and coloring more than 150,000 pages of Tezuka's published manga.

• 1980

  Astro Boy remake begins

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Tezuka Productions produces a new 52-episode Astro Boy television series, broadcast from 1980 to 1981.

• 1976

  Headquarters move to Takadanobaba

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates to the Takadanobaba Seven Building in Shinjuku.

• 1973

  Animation production becomes a core activity

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Following Mushi Production's bankruptcy, Tezuka Productions takes on animation production more fully and expands its studio operations.

• 1971

  Marvelous Melmo reaches television

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Tezuka Productions produces Marvelous Melmo, its first major television animation project, for a 26-episode broadcast run.

• 1968

  Tezuka Productions is founded

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Osamu Tezuka leaves Mushi Production and establishes Tezuka Productions as a separate company focused initially on manga production and copyright management.

• 1961

  Osamu Tezuka establishes an animation unit

  [1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Tezuka creates Osamu Tezuka Mushi Production as a video and animation production unit, preceding the later establishment of Tezuka Productions.

A heritage Japanese animation and intellectual-property company that combines production capabilities with stewardship and licensing of Osamu Tezuka's influential manga and animation catalogue.

• Television animation and media franchise · 1980

  Astro Boy

  Astro Boy is Tezuka Productions' most recognizable franchise and serves as the company's mascot. The studio produced the 1980–1981 television remake and the 2003 series, while the character has also supported films, games, merchandise, and international licensing. The property is a central example of the company's role in extending Tezuka's manga characters across multiple media.

• Television, film, OVA, and online animation · 1996

  Black Jack

  Black Jack is one of the company's principal Tezuka adaptations. Tezuka Productions has developed the property through television series, television specials, theatrical films, original video animations, and online animation. Its recurring medical themes and distinctive protagonist have made it a substantial production and licensing property within the company's catalogue.

• Animated film and television franchise · 1986

  Phoenix

  Phoenix is a major Tezuka work adapted by the company in television and film formats, including Phoenix: Karma Chapter, Phoenix: Space Chapter, and the Phoenix television project. The franchise is associated with themes of mortality, rebirth, and human civilization and represents the studio's work in adapting Tezuka's more ambitious philosophical material.

• Television and film animation · 1989

  Kimba the White Lion

  Kimba the White Lion is a long-running Tezuka property represented in the company's television and film work. Tezuka Productions produced The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion and later feature-related projects, maintaining the franchise as part of its broader animation and licensing catalogue.

• Television animation · 2019

  Dororo

  Dororo is a historical-fantasy adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga. Tezuka Productions co-produced the 2019 television series with MAPPA. The project illustrates the company's approach of combining stewardship of Tezuka properties with production partnerships involving contemporary specialist studios.

• Animated short film · 2014

  Legend of the Forest

  Legend of the Forest is an unfinished Tezuka project completed by Tezuka Productions after Makoto Tezuka announced the continuation in 2008. The completed film premiered in 2014 and represents the company's preservation and completion role as guardian of Osamu Tezuka's artistic estate.

• 2008

  Complete Legend of the ForestProduct launch

  Background

  Osamu Tezuka had left Legend of the Forest unfinished, creating an opportunity for the next generation of his family and studio to complete the project.

  Action taken

  Makoto Tezuka announced that Tezuka Productions would finish the work, which ultimately premiered in 2014.

  Aftermath

  The completed film extended Tezuka's legacy while demonstrating the company's role in preserving and developing unfinished material.

  Source

• 2007

  Digitize and recolor the Tezuka manga catalogueStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to preserve and modernize a large historical manga archive for continued publication and licensing.

  Action taken

  Tezuka Productions began a multi-year project covering more than 150,000 pages, using color references from former assistants.

  Aftermath

  The initiative supported continued access to Tezuka's work in digital and color formats while attempting to retain the look of the original publications.

  Source

• 1968

  Create a separate manga and rights-management companyStrategy

  Background

  Osamu Tezuka left Mushi Production and required a separate organization to continue manga-related work and manage rights associated with his creative catalogue.

  Action taken

  Tezuka established Tezuka Productions as a new company rather than continuing those functions solely within Mushi Production.

  Aftermath

  The company later expanded into animation production, licensing, publishing-related activities, merchandising, films, toys, and games.

  Source

• 2023

  Tezuka Productions expands contemporary anime production slate[1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The studio's recent production activity included projects such as Endo and Kobayashi Live!, My Home Hero, The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses, Under Ninja, and Pluto, illustrating its continued work beyond adaptations of Tezuka's own catalogue.

• 2014

  Legend of the Forest premieres at Hiroshima International Animation Festival[1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The completed continuation of Tezuka's unfinished project received its first public premiere at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival.

• 2008

  Makoto Tezuka announces completion project for Legend of the Forest[1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  Osamu Tezuka's son announced that Tezuka Productions would complete the unfinished work Legend of the Forest. The film was completed and premiered in 2014.

• 2007

  Tezuka Productions begins large-scale digitization and coloring project[1]Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company began a multi-year effort to digitize and color Tezuka's published manga catalogue, using historical color references to maintain continuity with the original artwork.

1. 1Tezuka Productionsen.wikipedia.org