Creator / AIC

AIC (short for Anime International Company) is a Japanese-based animation company established in 1982. It currently has twelve subsidiaries — AIC ASTA, AIC Art Dept., AIC Background Dept., AIC Build, AIC Classic, AIC Digital, AIC Frontier, AIC Iidabashi Studio, AIC PLUS (and PLUS+), AIC Spirits and AIC Takarazuka. Another company, Artmic, was their partner for many OVAs^note the vast majority of Artmic's properties became AIC's in the mid 1990s, thus their work is to be listed here as well. ^{additional note}  AIC is also the pioneering studio —Alongside Studio Pierrot — that popularized OVAs as a concept; Megazone 23 was a smash hit on Japanese home video while it, alongside many of their other late 1980s - early 1990s OVAs are considered cult classics by many fans for their intriguing plots and gorgeous animation - in fact some consider AIC's animation style to be among the best in the entire history of animation.

Since 2006, the company (along with Singapore's NTU) has been involved with the development of software that generates in-between frames from key frames^note akin to the Adobe Flash technique, and has since been adopted by CACANi in 2011, seeing heavy use by David Production in their works..

AIC has been on a decline since The New '10s, with most of their former staff members establishing Production IMS (which went bust in 2018), Snowdrop, and TROYCA, with their former headquarters as of 2022 being occupied by Studio Bihou (one of their regular background partners). In 2015, the production department was dismantled and withdrew from the animation business. On December of that same year, AIC Rights was established through the company split, in which AIC Rights received the transfer of some of the copyrights of AIC's work. In 2021, AIC Rights would partner up with Toei Agency to produce new material for several of the studio's properties.

For more credits from the main studio, go to Anime News Network.

Not to be confused with Alice in Chains, which is often abbreviated as AIC

---

AIC and Artmic's notable productions include:

• Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (for TMS Entertainment, served as the series' uncredited "B" unit)
• Ah! My Goddess (OVAs, movie and series. The Adventures of Mini-Goddess was produced by OLM Incorporated)
• Ai no Kusabi
• Amagami SS
• Angel's Drop
• Appleseed (original 1988 OVA, produced with Studio Gainax)
• Armitage III (all entries, OVA series with Mook DLE)
• Bamboo Blade
• Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy
• Battle Athletes
• Battle Programmer Shirase
• Battle Skipper
• Beat Shot (with Gainax)
• Black Magic M-66 (with Anime R)
• Blessing of the Campanella
• Bubblegum Crisis (OVA and 2040)
  • Bubblegum Crash!
  • AD Police Files
  • Parasite Dolls

• Basted^note An RPG made in association with NEC

• Blue Gender
• Burn Up! ^note W and Excess co-produced with ADV Films and Magic Bus (the latter for Excess only)
• Call Me Tonight
• Campus Special Investigator Hikaruon
• Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future ("Future Force Training", "Bio-Dread Assault", and "Raid On Volcania")^note the latter two with an uncredited Anime R
• Casshan: Robot Hunter (With Tatsunoko Production and Tokyo Kids)
• Cat God
• Cat Planet Cuties
• Cosmos Pink Shock

• "Creating Anime" - Volume 9 of Graphic-sha Publishing's How to Draw Manga book series^note assisted by Anime Spot and Studio Bihou

• Cybernetics Guardian
• Dangaioh
• Date A Live (season 1; season 2 and Mayuri Judgment movie by Production IMS)
• Day Break Illusion
• Detonator Orgun
• De:vadasy
• Dragon Century
• Ebiten
• El-Hazard: The Magnificent World
• Elementalors
• Fight! Iczer One
• GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class
• Ga-Rei -Zero- (with Asread)
• Gall Force
• Gatchaman (OVA, with Tatsunoko and Artland)
• Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (With Tatsunoko)
• Genesis Survivor Gaiarth
• Genocyber
• Girls Bravo
• Godannar (with OLM)
• Green Legend Ran
• GUN×SWORD
• Hades Project Zeorymer
• Haganai
• Heaven's Lost Property (except the Eternal My Master movie, which was produced by Production IMS)
• Humanity Has Declined
• Inspector Gadget (season 1 only)^note with TMS Entertainment, Ajia-Do, Oh Production, Wang Film Productions (as Cuckoo's Nest Studio) and an (uncredited) Toei Animation
• Jewelpet Attack Chance!?
• Kishin Corps
• Kotoura-san
• The Legend of Black Heaven
• Legend of Lemnear
• Lemon Angel
• Lovedol ~Lovely Idol~
• Love, Election & Chocolate
• Macross II
• Madox-01
• Megane na Kanojo
• Magical Canan
• Magical Play
• Maji de Otaku na English! Ribbon-chan: Eigo de Tatakau Maho Shojo
• Maken-ki!
• Megazone 23
• Moegaku*5
• Moldiver
• My Bride is a Mermaid (with GONZO)
• Myth II: Soulblighter (cutscenes, replacing Canuck Creations)
• Nightwalker
• Now and Then, Here and There (with APPP)
• Oni (Animation sequences)
• Oreimo (first season and ONA. Second season produced by A-1 Pictures)
• Outlanders (with Tatsunoko)
• Persona 3: The Movie (Spring of Birth)
• Persona 4: The Animation
• Petite Princess Yucie (with Gainax)
• Photon (Anime. Artmic also did the miniatures for the DiC produced show)
• Place to Place
• Pole Position (with KK C&D Asia and Visual 80)
• Pumpkin Scissors (with GONZO)
• Quiz Magic Academy
• R15
• Riding Bean

• Sakura Taisen: New York NY
• Sakyo Komatsu's Animation Theater (with Gainax)

• Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi
• Serial Experiments Lain (with Triangle Staff)
• Silent Möbius (Movies, series by Radix)
• Sol Bianca
• SoltyRei (with GONZO)
• Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (with Xebec)
• Spaceship Agga Ruter
• Special A (with GONZO)
• Strike Witches (2nd season and the movie only, Also provided Production Cooperation and Paint for the first season)
• Student Council's Discretion (second season. Also provided in-between animation for the first season)
• Tenchi Muyo!
  • Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki
  • Tenchi Universe
  • Tenchi in Tokyo
  • Pretty Sammy
  • Sasami: Magical Girls Club
  • Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (with Studio Shaft)
  • Tenchi Muyo! GXP
  • Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar
• Tentai Senshi Sunred
• Tokkô (with Group TAC)
• Tokyo Majin
• To Heart - Remember my memories (with OLM)
• Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~
• Trouble Chocolate
• Vampire Princess Miyu (with Group TAC)
• Viper's Creed
• Virgin Fleet
• Wandering Son

Their Work on Other Projects Include:

• A Channel (Key, 2nd Key & Finish Animation)
• Afro Samurai: Resurrection (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint, VFX Support)
• AKB0048 (2nd Key Animation)
• Aldnoah.Zero (Finish & In-Between Animation; 3D Modeling; Production Cooperation)
• Angel Beats! (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• Angel Sanctuary (In-Between Animation)
• Angelic Layer (Key & In-Between Animation)
• The Animatrix (In-Between Animation for Studio 4°C)
• Antique Bakery (In-Between Animation)
• Another (In-Between Animation)
• Argento Soma (Key, Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Armored Trooper VOTOMS (Key, Finish & In-Between Animation for the series. In-Between Animation for Pailsen Files)
• Asura Cryin' (2nd Key Animation)
• Bakusou Kyoudai! Let's & Go!! Max (In-Between Animation)
• Basquash! (2nd Key Animation)
• Batman: Gotham Knight (In-Between Animation)
• Beast Wars Neo (Key Animation)
• Beelzebub (Backgrounds)
• Betrayal Knows My Name (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
• Birdy the Mighty: Decode (In-Between Animation; Paint)
• BackGuiner (In-Between Animation)
• Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (2nd Key Animation)
• Blade of the Immortal (In-Between Animation)
• Blassreiter (Finish Animation)
• Blood: The Last Vampire (In-Between Animation)
  • Blood+ (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint; Production Assistance)
  • Blood-C (In-Between Animation)
• Blue Exorcist (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• Blue Seed (Finish & In-Between Animation; Planning)
• Bodacious Space Pirates (In-Between Animation)
• Boogiepop Phantom (Key Animation)
• Brave Command Dagwon (In-Between Animation)
• Canaan (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Case Closed (Finish Animation)
• Catherine (In-Between Animation, cutscenes)
• Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter (2nd Key & In-Between Animation; Backgrounds)
• Corpse Princess (In-Between Assistance)
• Cyborg 009 (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint, 2001 series)
• Dai-Guard (In-Between Animation)
• The Daichis - Earth Defence Family (In-Between Animation)
• Daimidaler the Sound Robot (In-Between Animation)
• Dancougar (Key & Finish Animation for the series. Key, Finish & In-Between Animation for Requiem for Victims. Finish Animation for God Bless Dancougar)
• Demon City Shinjuku (In-Between Animation, In-Between Animation Cooperation)
• Dennis the Menace (Key Animation, Color Styling)
• Detroit Metal City (In-Between Animation)
• Dirty Pair (Finish Animation for the series and Affair on Nolandia)
• Dog Days (In-Between Animation)
• Dominion Tank Police (Finish Animation)
  • New Dominion Tank Police (Paint Cooperation)
• Dragonaut: The Resonance (Finish Animation)
• Eden of the East (In-Between Animation)
• End of Evangelion (Finish & In-Between Animation)
  • Rebuild of Evangelion (In-Between Animation, You Are (Not) Alone)
• Eureka Seven (Digital Paint)
  • Eureka Seven AO (In-Between Animation)
• Evil Zone (Anime segments)
• Excel♡Saga (Assistance on certain episodes)
• Eyeshield 21 (Finish Animation, series)
• Fairy Tail (In-Between Animation)
• FAKE (In-Between Animation)
• Fate/Zero (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• Full Metal Panic! (In-Between Animation)
• Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) (In-Between Animation)
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (In-Between Animation)
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (Photography Assistance)
• Future GPX Cyber Formula (Finish Animation for the series, In-Between Animation & Paint for Zero and Sin)
• Gasaraki (In-Between Animation)
• Garaga (Finish Animation)
• Genesis of Aquarion (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
  • Aquarion Evol (2nd Key Animation; In-Between Animation Assistance)
• Geobreeders (In-Between Animation)
• Geppy X (Finish & In-Between Animation; Photography)
• Get Backers (In-Between Animation)
• Ghost Hound (In-Between Animation)
• Ghost in the Shell (1995) (Paint for the first movie, In-Between Animation for Innocence)
  • Ghost in the Shell: Arise (Digital Paint)
• Giant Robo (Finish Animation)
• The Girl Who Leapt Through Space (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
• Glass Mask (Production Cooperation)
• God Mars: The Untold Legend at 17 (Paint)
• Golden Boy (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Golgo 13: The Professional (Ink & Paint; Animation Assistance)
• Go Shogun: The Time Étranger (Production Assistance)
• Gosick (In-Between Animation)
• Great Teacher Onizuka (Color Plan; Paint)
• Guilty Crown (In-Between Animation)
• Guyver: Out of Control (Production Assistance)
• Hanasaku Iroha (In-Between Animation)
• Hard Corps: Uprising (Animation Support for Studio 4°C)
• Harukaze Sentai V-Force (In-Between Animation)
• Heroman (In-Between Animation)
• Hero Tales (In-Between Animation)
• Hex Moon Guardians (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
• Hidamari Sketch × 365 (In-Between Animation Assistance)
• The Idolmaster (In-Between Animation)
• Infinite Ryvius (Key Animation; Paint)
• Infinite Stratos (2nd Key, Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Inuyasha: The Final Act (2nd Key Animation)
• IRIA: Zeiram the Animation (Ink & Paint)
• Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders (Paint, OVA)
• Jyu-Oh-Sei (Production Assistance)
• Kaitou Saint Tail (Ink & Paint)
• Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (2nd Key & In-Between Animation; In-Between Assistance)
• Karin (In-Between Animation)
• Kemeko Deluxe! (In-Between Animation)
• Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho (Digital Paint)
• Kiddy GiRL-AND (In-Between Animation)
• Kotetsushin Jeeg (Production Assistance)
• Kuroko's Basketball (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• Black God (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• Kurozuka (2nd Key Animation)
• Level E (Finish Animation)
• Linebarrels Of Iron (Finish Animation)
• Loups=Garous (In-Between Animation)
• Love Hina (Key & Finish Animation)
• Lupin III
  • Lupin III: Part III (Animation)
  • Lupin III Elusiveness Of The Fog (In-Between Animation)
  • Legend of the Gold of Babylon (In-Between Animation)
  • Lupin III: The Last Job (2nd Key Animation)
  • Lupin III: The Italian Adventure (In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation; Animation Assistance)
• Macademi Wasshoi (In-Between Animation)
• Machine Robo: The Revenge of Chronos (Finish & In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation)
  • Leina Stol in Wolf Sword Legend (In-Between Animation; Ink & Paint)
• Madlax (Finish Animation)
• Magic Knight Rayearth (Finish Animation)
• Magic User's Club (Final Line, series)
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (Digital Color)
• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Production Cooperation)
• Magical Emi, the Magic Star (Key & In-Between Animation, through Takashi Hashimoto)
• Major (In-Between Animation)
• Mars Daybreak (Paint)
• Martian Successor Nadesico (Finish & In-Between Animation; Finishing Check)
• Marvel Anime: X-Men (2nd Key Animation)
• Mayo Chiki! (In-Between Animation)
• Medabots Spirits (Finish Animation)
• Mega Man 8 (Animation)
• Mega Man: Upon a Star (Finish Animation)
• Michiko & Hatchin (In-Between Animation)
• Minami-ke (In-Between Animation; Paint)
• Mind Game (In-Between Animation)
• Mnemosyne (Animation Cooperation)
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (In-Between Animation)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (In-Between Animation)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (In-Between Animation)
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (In-Between Animation)
• My Little Monster (In-Between Animation)
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Animation Support)
• New Cutey Honey (Finish Animation)
• Night Wizard (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Nobunaga the Fool (2nd Key Animation)
• Noein (In-Between Animation)
• Noir (Finish Animation)
• Ouran High School Host Club (In-Between Animation)
• Outlaw Star (In-Between Animation)
• PandoraHearts (In-Between Animation)
• Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (In-Between Animation)
• Patlabor (In-Between Animation and Paint for The New Files; Sweetening Cooperation for the second movie)
• Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ (In-Between Animation)
• Plawres Sanshiro (Finish Animation)
• Please Teacher! (Finish & In-Between Animation; Photography)
• Po Po Lo Crois Monogatari (In-Between Animation)
• Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Project A-Ko (In-Between Animation)
• Psycho-Pass (In-Between Animation)
• RahXephon (In-Between Animation)
• Real Drive (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Rideback (Key Animation)
• Robot Carnival (Production Cooperation)
• Robotics;Notes (In-Between Animation)
• R.O.D the TV (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Saber Marionette J to X (In-Between Animation)
• Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning? (In-Between Animation)
• Sands of Destruction (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
• School Days (Offline Editing)
• School Rumble (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
• Crayon Shin-chan (In-Between Animation)
• Sailor Moon (Animation Production for the TurboGrafx-16 game for Toei Animation)
• Shangri-La (Production Assistance)
• SHUFFLE! (Key & In-Between Animation; Digital Paint; Animation Production Assistance)
• SilverHawks (Additional Animation, uncredited)^note with Hanho Heung-Up, Anime R and Wang Film Productions
• Skull Man (In-Between Animation)
• Sky Girls (Co-Production for episodes 4, 14 and 15)
• Slayers Evolution-R (Digital Paint; Also produced the PC-98 video game's animation)
• Soreike! Anpanman (In-Between Animation for the series and three movies)
• Soul Eater (In-Between Animation)
• Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko (Finish Animation, series)
• Steam Detectives (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Steamboy (In-Between Animation)
• Steins;Gate (Finish Animation Cooperation)
• Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (Associate Animation Production with Group TAC)
• Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (Finish Animation; Production Cooperation)
• Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Key, Finish & In-Between Animation)
  • Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Finish, Clean-Up & In-Between Animation)
  • Macross Frontier (In-Between Animation)
  • Macross Zero (In-Between Animation)
• Oni (Opening and ending animations)
• Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (In-Between Animation)
• Tari Tari (In-Between Animation)
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Key, Finish & In-Between Animation; Animation Assistance)
• They Were 11 (Animation Assistance)
• Thunder Cats (Additional animation, uncredited)^note As with SilverHawks, done with Hanho, Wang and Anime R
• Toradora! (In-Between Assistance)
• Transformers: Generation One (Toy designs for Perceptor, Soundwave,the cassette spies and Reflector^note Originally for the Microman toyline through Shinji Aramaki)^* It is unclear if the studio had any involvement with the cartoon itself, though are presumed to have animated the 1987 toy commercials for Toei (though series regular Satoshi Urushihara and animator Kinji Yoshimoto).
• Transformers Victory (Key Animation, through Takashi Hashimoto)
• Triage X (In-Between Animation; Production Assistance)
• Trinity Blood (Finish Animation)
• Twin Princess of Wonder Planet (Paint)
• Umisho (Finish Animation)
• Un-Go (In-Between Animation)
• Urusei Yatsura (Cel Painting, series; Production Assistance, Lum The Forever and Only You)
• Unlimited Psychic Squad (Production Assistance)
• Vampire Hunter D (Production Assistance)
• Violence Jack 2 (Finish & In-Between Animation)
• Wangan Midnight (In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
• White Album (In-Between Animation)
  • White Album 2 (Production Cooperation for episode 2)
• The World God Only Knows (In-Between Animation)
• You're Under Arrest! (Finish Animation for the OVA, In-Between Animation and Cel Painting for the first & second seasons.)
• YuruYuri (2nd Key Animation)
• Zettai Shonen (Paint)

---

Tropes Revolving Around The Company:

• all lowercase letters: The 'A' in their logo is stylized as the lowercase equivalent.
• Animated Adaptation: Plenty, chief among them are Tenchi Muyo!, Ah! My Goddess, Magical Cannan, Captain Power and Persona 4.
• Animation Bump: Visible in much of their OVA and film work.
• Animesque: Captain Power, Inspector Gadget and Pole Position.
• Easter Egg/Shout-Out: The company has put their name in the backgrounds of several of their productions.
• Fanservice
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Were one of the biggest names in anime for the better part of 3 decades. As of 2013, the studio mostly exists to hold on to their properties with most of its staff either forming or joining other studios or becoming freelancers, while their former HQ is now Studio Bihou's.
• Humongous Mecha: Started off as a subcontractor for such series (Votoms, Macross) before releasing Megazone 23, their first major production. A fair bit of their other OVA and TV series work are also from this genre.
• Stock Sound Effects: The Captain Power videos recycle a fair bit of soundbytes from Bubblegum Crisis.

---