Trivia / Nakamura Productions

• He Also Did: Over their 45 years of existence, several animators have managed to work for the company^note of those that aren't listed below, there's Takuro Shinbo (current animation director; no relation to Studio Shaft director Akiyuki Shinbo), Ken Ootsuka, Eiji Nakada, Yumie Wada, Tomoyuki Tajima, Hidenori Miyahara, Tsuguru Fukuda, Hiroyuki Okuno and Hirokazu Hisayuki These include:
  • Hiroyuki Kitakubo, director for Blood: The Last Vampire, Golden Boy and Black Magic M-66.
  • Hisashi Hirai, character designer for s-CRY-ed, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Heroic Age.
  • Tetsuya Yanagisawa, director of Daimidaler The Sound Robot and High School Dx D.
  • Sayaka Ono, character designer for Cross Ange.
  • Kazuhiro Takamura, who, for a time, alternated between this studio and Studio Gainax, depending on the project. He also directed Strike Witches.
  • Tadashi Hiramatsu, who likewise moved onto GAINAX. Has gone on record stating he only joined the company in the hope to work on a Lupin III production.^note He did eventually get his wish. But only after he left.
  • Henry Thurlow, who like Sasaki only worked for the company for a brief period (in 2012-2013), was an animator on Superjail! and for Kesha's Your love is My Drug music video. He would go on to consider his time at the studio (and to a lesser extent, his time at Studio Pierrot^* noting that while just as hellish a studio to work at, he at least got to move up in the ranks) as an Old Shame, and the reason why he formed his own studio.
  • Yasuhiro Irie, director of Code:Breaker and Kurau Phantom Memory. He didn't particularly like working with them.^note Unlike Thurlow, it was less about the company, and more that he wasn't confident about his skills during that period
  • Co-Founder Kazuo Nakamura was one of the animators who worked on Mushi Pro's last major anime effort, the first Tomorrow's Joe series, before establishing the studio.
• Playing Against Type: Though normally an animation company by trade, they've also done some design and paint work on a few shows as one-off gigs, usually alongside their animation credits.
  • In terms of actual credits, Lupin III: The Italian Adventure, Flowering Heart and Ōban Star-Racers, due to them being Italian, Korean and French series respectively, instead of either being Japanese or North American in origin.
  • Wario Land: Shake It! has them assisting with the in-game graphics as opposed to the cutscenes.
• Production Posse: Are (or were) a part of many^note including, but far from limited to, TMS Entertainment, Toei Animation, Sunrise, Magic Bus, Madhouse, AIC, Studio DEEN, OLM Incorporated, Brains Base, Asahi Production, Lerche, Studio Ghibli, Studio Pierrot, A-Line, P. A. Works, Satelight, Wit Studio, Liden Films, Walt Disney Animation Japan and Studio Lings. Also utilized Studio Kuma for paint duties on their OVA work.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: As a result of Kazuo Nakamura being the series' character designer, they ended up being one of the biggest hurdles for a Live-Action Adaptation of Voltron to be produced for the longest time. It wouldn't be until 2008 that they and Toei would sell all rights of the franchise to World Events Productions, but the idea of a live-action movie remains undeveloped and currently is trapped in Development Hell.
• Uncredited Role: As exemplified on the main page, this happens a lot to the studio with regards to key animation duties, foreign projects, and early work for Toei. Henry Thurlow would also go on to talk about this happening specifically to the in-between animation staff he worked with.