Line #57 Creator/TsuburayaProductions


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5	[[quoteright:242:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsuburaya_logo.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:242:The company's logo, derived from ''Series/MightyJack'']]
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8	Tsuburaya Productions (円谷プロダクション ''Tsuburaya Purodakushon'') is a Japanese television and film producer most famous for creating the ''Franchise/UltraSeries''. It was founded in 1963 by Creator/EijiTsuburaya, the Showa-era ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies' special effects wizard and founding father of {{Toku}}satsu.
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10	Developed from the Tsuburaya Film Technique Labs that Eiji Tsuburaya had set up in 1948 during his freelance period when he was not bound to Creator/{{Toho}}, the company's first production was Nikkatsu's ''Alone On The Pacific'' (1963). Providing several miniature scenes for the film, they eventually produced ''Series/UltraQ'' (1966), easily the most expensive production in Japanese TV history until its more famous sorta-sequel ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' (1966). For a period in the 90s and 2000s, the company also assisted in the production of multiple anime, including ''Manga/CaseClosed'', ''Anime/BeastWarsII''[[note]]specifically, the ''Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!'' movie with Creator/ToeiAnimation[[/note]] and ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''.
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12	Although Tsuburaya Pro. is widely seen as being under Toho and {{Creator/Toei\|Company}} in terms of tokusatsu popularity and output, they can lay claim to a number of notable achievements (asides from creating the ''Franchise/UltraSeries''):
13	* Filming the first shot-on-video tokusatsu with ''Series/AndroMelos''.
14	* Making the switch to digital video for TV series with ''Series/DenkouChoujinGridman'' years before Toei did with ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'' and ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', for ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' respectively.
15	* Having several staff members hopping between studios, ranging from original Godzilla suit actor Creator/HaruoNakajima in the company's early days to contemporary director Koichi Sakamoto who regularly juggles work between Tsuburaya and Toei.
16	* Producing TV toy commercials for ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/KamenRider''. (A significant portion of the ''Sentai'' mecha toy commercials have new stop motion and miniature scenes produced by Tsuburaya for Toei.)
17	* Having the (rather dubious) honor of some of their works[[labelnote:*]]Specifically, ''Film/TimeOfTheApes'', ''Series/MightyJack'', and ''Film/FugitiveAlien''[[/labelnote]] being hacked to shreds by Sandy Frank and later mocked during season 3 of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.
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19	Tokusatsu fans have observed that Tsuburaya's effects work has been at least 5 ahead of Toei since at least the 1970s, with Tsuburaya adopting new camera technology, digital video, and HD filming years before ''Kamen Rider'' and ''Super Sentai'' respectively did. However, as mentioned above, the two have a working relationship.
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21	Tsuburaya's history has been plagued with rather bizarre [[ScrewedByTheLawyers legal troubles]]. One student of Eiji Tsuburaya, a fellow from Thailand named Sompote "Sands" Saengduenchai, allegedly stormed into the offices of Eiji's son Noboru around the time the company was going through financial troubles and demanded the foreign distribution rights for the first six ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' and ''Series/JumborgAce'', using them to produce the notorious ''Film/HanumanVs7Ultraman'' and ''Jumborg Ace and Giant''. Noboru granted him them, however the story gets very shady from there, with allegations of document forging and other things which might get too heated for a site like this. [[http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2018/04/26/tsuburaya-productions-releases-statement-over-ultraman-rights-win/ Fortunately, it was finally resolved in 2018, with Tsuburaya Productions winning the distribution rights back]].
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23	In March 17th, 2021 Tsuburaya announced a [[NoExportForYou Japanese-only]] streaming service "Tsuburaya Imagination" where every ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' installment along with other series and movies produced by them and literature, manga and American comics based on their properties will be available to watch and read alongside exclusive new miniseries. Luckily, they also offer the overseas equivalent of Tsuburaya Imagination, called "Ultraman Connection."
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25	The company is currently co-owned by Tsuburaya Fields Holdings and Creator/BandaiNamcoHoldings. Home video distribution in Japan goes to both Bandai Namco and Creator/{{Disney}}.
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27	Their Platform/YouTube channel can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/user/tsuburaya here]].
28	----
29
30	!!Works by Tsuburaya Productions:
31	[[index]]
32	* ''Film/TheBermudaDepths'' (co-produced with Creator/RankinBassProductions)
33	* ''Series/BioPlanetWoO''
34	* ''Bokura Yakyu Detective Team''
35	* ''Chibira-kun''
36	* ''Film/DaigoroVsGoliath''
37	* Series/TsuburayaDinosaurTrilogy:
38	** ''Dinosaur Expedition Born Free''
39	** ''Dinosaur Great War Izenborg''
40	** ''Dinosaur Squadron Koseidon''
41	* ''Emergency 10-4, 10-10''
42	* ''Series/{{Fireman}}''
43	* ''Gridman Universe''
44	** ''Series/DenkouChoujinGridman'' (adapted in United States as ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'')
45	** ''Anime/SSSSGridman'' (produced with Creator/StudioTrigger)
46	** ''Anime/SSSSDynazenon''
47	** ''Anime/GridmanUniverse''
48	* ''Horror Theater Unbalance''
49	* ''The Ivory Ape'' (co-produced with Creator/RankinBassProductions)
50	* ''Series/JumborgAce''
51	* ''Series/KaijuBooska''
52	* ''Film/TheLastDinosaur'' (co-produced with Creator/RankinBassProductions)
53	* ''Series/MightyJack''
54	* ''Series/{{Mirrorman}}''
55	* ''Moon Spiral''
56	* ''Series/{{Monkey}}''
57	* ''Mr. Mystery''
58	* ''Operation Mystery''
59	* ''Series/ProWresNoHoshiAzteckaiser''
60	* ''Series/{{Redman}}''
61	* ''Star Wolf'' (edited for American release as ''Film/FugitiveAlien'')
62	* ''Film/TimeOfTheApes''
63	* ''Triple Fighter''
64	* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' (for full list of shows and movies, see its page)
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66	[[/index]]
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69	!!Tsuburaya Productions and their works provide examples of:
70	* FamilyBusiness: Eiji's sons and grandsons have all been president of the company since his death, though as of 2007 the company is partially owned by both Creator/BandaiNamco and Fields Corporation.
71	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The company as a whole has several. For ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'', Eiji Tsuburaya had already planned out ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'' to have a completely different premise, with Hayata reclaiming his Ultraman identity.
72	** ''Series/{{Mirrorman}}'' was intended to be another whole franchise.
73	** A sequel to ''Series/DenkouChoujinGridman''.
74	** In a more meta sense, what could have Eiji Tsuburaya made had he not died in 1970? Could the new technology being created around the time have been used more in their works of the time? For reference, Tsuburaya often claimed technologies no one else was using at the time, such as optical printers. Think of what could have occurred if Tsuburaya had taken up interest in CG or the improved modeling techniques of the late 70s.
75	** Creator/GeorgeLucas nearly loaned out the effects production of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' to the studio, but [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] nixed the idea. One wonders how would Creator/IndustrialLightAndMagic have formed if Tsuburaya got the gig.

Context Creator / TsuburayaProductions