To streamline the page, both Mushi Productions (虫プロダクション; in both its 1961-1973 & 1977-present incarnations) and Tezuka Productions (手塚プロダクション) will be on the same page.
Established in 1961 after his contract for Toei Animationnote expired, Mushi Productions
is an Anime company established by renowned Manga artist Osamu Tezuka. The companies (both Mushi and Tezuka Pro) are best known for adapting his works into animation, though the first incarnation of Mushi was also Rankin/Bass Productions' overseas partner for a while. Many household names of the early anime industry started their career as Tezuka-disciples in Mushi Pro, including highly influential directors such as Yoshiyuki Tomino, Osamu Dezaki and Rintaro, who all shaped the Anime of The '70s to considerable degree.
Between 1962 (the year Astro Boy went into production) to 1968, Tezuka himself headed the studio and give the company to the husband and wife duo of Hideaki & Yoko Hatta and lead director Osamu Dezaki in 1969. This persisted until the studio bankruptcy in 1973. By then, Dezaki, along with Masao Maruyama, Yoshiaki Kawajiri and Rintaro had left to establish Madhouse (in 1972). Everyone else that played a big part of Mushi also left to form other studios (see below), Tezuka himself forming Tezuka Pro shortly after. The company reopened in 1977 by Hideaki & Yoko Hatta, who then left in 1981 to establish Kyoto Animation.
The studio is well-regarded for producing both commercial series such as Astro Boy and deeply uncommercial avant-garde works such as Belladonna of Sadness.
More credits can be found on Anime News Network. See also Animation Staff Room, Sunrise, Group TAC, Studio Shaft, Studio Live, Studio Gallop, APPP, Studio Pierrot, Tama Productions, Nakamura Productions, AIC, Knack Productions, Grouper Productions, and the above mentioned Madhouse and Kyoto Animation, studios established by former animators of the company after the initial bankruptcy.
Credits Include:
Main Studio
- A Thousand & One Nights
- Allison and Lillia (With Madhouse)
- Ambassador Magma (OVA, with Dogakobo)
- Andersen Monogatari
- Astro Boy
- Belladonna of Sadness
- Black Jack
- Blue Sonnet
- Cleopatra
- Dagashi Kashi (second series)
- Dear Brother
- Dororo (2019) (co-production with MAPPA)
- Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte
- Fables of the Green Forest (co-production with Zuiyo Eizo, which later evolved into Nippon Animation)
- Festival of Family Classics (With Topcraft and Rankin/Bass Productions)
- Frosty the Snowman (animation production; as Mushi Studio, with Rankin-Bass)
- Golgo 13: Queen Bee
- Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick (Last 8 episodes only)
- How Not to Summon a Demon Lord (Second Season)
- The Jackson 5ive (With Topcraft, Halas and Batchelor and Estudios Moro)
- Kid Power
- Kimba the White Lion
- Lovely Complex (With Toei Animation & Magic Bus)
- The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians
- Metropolis (2001) (With Madhouse)
- Mokke
- Moomin (Replacing TMS Entertainment)
- New Treasure Island
- Phoenix
- Princess Knight
- The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show
- Space Journey - The First Dream of Wonder-kun
- Tales of the Street Corner
- Tomorrow's Joe (First series only)
- Unico (both films co-produced with Sanrio with animation by Madhouse)
- Wandering Son
- Wansa-kun (The original Mushi's final production in 1973; a Zuiyo Eizo coproduction. The creative team went on to make Space Battleship Yamato, originally planned as a Mushi production, with other studios.)
- Wonder Beat Scramble (With Magic Bus)
- Wonder Three
- World Masterpiece Theater (the first four entries only — the Dororo 1969 anime, Anderson Stories and the 1969 and 1972 Moomin series — Replaced by Nippon Animation/Zuiyo Enterprise)
- Yasashii Lion (a collaboration with Japanese children's book author Takashi Yanase)
- Yamataro Comes Back
Support Studio
- 8 Man After (Photography)
- Angelic Layer (In-Between Animation)
- Aikatsu! (In-Between Animation for season 1; Backgrounds for seasons 2 through 4, Friends and Stars)
- AKIRA (Animation Cooperation)
- The Animatrix (In-Between Animation, Beyond)
- Appleseed (1988 OVA, Animation; Photography)
- Atom: The Beginning (Production Cooperation)
- Barefoot Gen (Photography Cooperation)
- Battle Angel Alita (Photography Cooperation; Editing)
- Battle Athletes (In-Between Animation)
- Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III (Key Animation)
- Big Wars (In-Between Animation; Editing)
- Big Windup ~Natsu no Taikai-hen~ (In-Between Animation)
- Black God (In-Between Animation)
- Black★Rock Shooter (Background Art and Design)
- Blue Seed (Backgrounds)
- Brave Story (Animation)
- Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (Photography)
- Buddy Complex (2nd Key Animation)
- Capeta (2nd Key & In-Between Animation; Production Assistance)
- Case Closed (Key, Finish & In-Between Animation)
- The Case Files of Yakushiji Ryoko (2nd Key & In-Between Animation; Photography)
- CLANNAD (Production assistance for the movie)
- The Cockpit (Editing)
- Cop Craft (Backgrounds)
- Cross Ange (2nd Key Animation)
- Death Note (Backgrounds)
- Devil Hunter Yohko (Finish & In-Between Animation; Backgrounds; Photography; Editing)
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (Production Cooperation)
- Eden of the East (Key & 2nd Key Animation)
- éX-Driver (Background art, through Kazuo Okada, Masato Shibata, Takanobu Sugano, Tetsuhiko Nagashima and Kiyohiro Iwasaki)
- Eyeshield 21 (Photography, series)
- Fairy Tail (In-Between Animation)
- Fatal Fury - The Motion Picture (Animation Assistance; Cel Painting Assistance)
- Fullmetal Alchemist (In-Between Animation, both series)
- Future Card Buddyfight (Key & In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation)
- Ga-Rei -Zero- (Key Animation)
- Gall Force 3 - Stardust War (Photography)
- Gamers! (2015) (Backgrounds)
- GaoGaiGar Final (Finish Animation)
- Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (In-Between Animation; Backgrounds)
- God Mars - A Six-Gods Unit: Legend of Seventeen (Paint)
- Golden Time (Backgrounds)
- Golgo 13: The Professional (Ink & Paint)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Key Animation)
- Guardian Heroes (Photography, opening sequence)
- Gundam
- Gundam: Reconguista in G (2nd Key Animation)
- Mobile Suit Gundamthe Origin (Key Animation)
- Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (Finish & In-Between Animation)
- Flame of Recca (Finish Animation; Production Assistance)
- Hajime no Ippo (Production Assistance, seven episodes)
- Halo Legends (In-Between Animation)
- Hamtaro (In-Between Animation)
- Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats (Animation for season 1; with Studio Korumi, Studio Take One, Araki Productions and Wang Film Productions* for TMS Entertainment)
- High School Of The Dead (2nd key Animation)
- Heybot! (Backgrounds)
- Idol Janshi Suchie-Pai (In-Between Animation; Dreamcast version)
- Initial D (In-Between Animation, Extra Stage)
- Inspector Gadget (Photography for Season 2; uncredited)note
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Photography, OVA)
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (In-Between Animation; Photography; Production Cooperation)
- Kiss Him, Not Me (2nd Key Animation)
- Kochikame (In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation)
- Kuroko's Basketball (2nd Key & In-Between Animation)
- Kurozuka (Backgrounds)
- LBX: Little Battlers eXperience (Key Animation; Production Assistance)
- Lupin III
- Legend of the Gold of Babylon (Finish Animation)
- Lupin III: Voyage to Danger (Key & In-Between Animation)
- Lupin III Elusiveness Of The Fog (In-Between Animation)
- M3: The Dark Metal (2nd Key Animation)
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection (Backgrounds)
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid (Finish & In-Between Animation)
- Mahoromatic (In-Between Animation)
- Major (Key Animation)
- Megazone 23 (Finish Animation; Photography)
- Mars Daybreak (In-Between Animation)
- Monster (Animation Assistance; Digital Photography)
- Monster Rancher (In-Between Animation)
- Natsu no Arashi! (Key Animation; Composition; Photography; Animation Assistance)
- Negima!? (Photography)
- Night Raid 1931 (2nd Key Animation)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Cel Painting; In-Between Animation)
- Ninja Scroll (Photography)
- Ninja Senshi Tobikage (In-Between Animation)
- One Piece (Finish & In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation)
- Oreimo (Background Assistance, second season)
- Pani Poni Dash! (Photography; Production Assistance)
- Patlabor (Production Cooperation, OVA)
- Pole Position (Photography)
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Backgrounds; Production Cooperation)
- Robot Carnival (Special Thanks)
- Saint Seiya Omega (Key Animation)
- School Rumble (Production Cooperation for season 1; 2nd key Animation for Second Semester)
- Sgt. Frog (Line Test)
- Shiki (In-Between Animation; Production Assistance)
- Sisters of Wellber (Key, 2nd Key & In-Between Animation; Digital Paint)
- Slayers - The Motion Picture (Production Assistance)
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (Finish Animation; Animation)
- Sonic X (In-Between Animation)
- Sora no Manimani (In-Between Animation)
- Soul Eater (2nd Key Animation)
- Space Battleship Yamato (Photography)
- Spriggan (1998) (In-Between Animation; Photography)
- Sword Art Online (In-Between Animation)
- Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko (Finish Animation)
- Super Robot Wars: Original Generation: The Inspector (2nd Key Animation)
- Supernatural (Key Animation; Production Cooperation)
- Tenchi Muyo! Mihoshi Special (Photography)
- TerraforMARS (2nd Key Animation)
- Tokyo ESP (In-Between Animation; Production Assistance)
- Transformers Victory (Key Animation, through Masayoshi Nishida)
- Trickster (Production Cooperation)
- Trigun (Photography)
- UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie (Finish Animation)
- Urusei Yatsura (Cel Painting for the series; Photography for Always My Darling; Production Assistance for Lum The Forever)
- Valkyria Chronicles (2nd Key Animation)
- Violence Jack (Photography for the second and third OVAs)
- Wagnaria!! (Backgrounds, second series)
- Wave, Listen to Me! (Backgrounds)
- Yo-Kai Watch (Finish & In-Between Animation; Production Cooperation)
- Yowamushi Pedal (In-Between Animation)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (Production Assistance)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V (Production Assistance)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS (Backgrounds)
- YuYu Hakusho (In-Between Animation)
- Yu Yu Hakusho: Poltergeist Report (Finish & In-Between Animation Assistance)
- Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl Special - Zutto Kimi no Koto ga (Photography)
- Zoids Fuzors (In-Between Animation)
