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TMS Entertainment: 60 years of animation magic and creativity

For over six decades, TMS Entertainment has brought the magic of animation to a global audience, including the Middle East region, with works such as 'Treasure Island', 'Nobody's Boy: Remi', 'The Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar)', and 'Detective Conan'. (Supplied)
For over six decades, TMS Entertainment has brought the magic of animation to a global audience, including the Middle East region, with works such as 'Treasure Island', 'Nobody's Boy: Remi', 'The Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar)', and 'Detective Conan'. (Supplied)
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16 Dec 2024 06:12:59 GMT9
16 Dec 2024 06:12:59 GMT9

Amin Abbas

DUBAI: TMS Entertainment, one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, is celebrating its 60th anniversary since its establishment in 1964.

The studio is known for its numerous anime franchises, such as ‘Detective Conan’, ‘Lupin the Third’, and ‘Anpanman’.

For over six decades, TMS Entertainment has brought the magic of animation to a global audience, including the Middle East region, with works such as ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Nobody’s Boy: Remi’, ‘The Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar)’, and ‘Detective Conan’.

“At that time (of the establishment), TV animation was rapidly becoming popular in Japan, and the success of ‘Astro Boy’ produced by Fuji Television and Mushi Productions became a big topic of conversation,” Tadashi Takezaki, President and CEO of TMS Entertainment, told Arab News Japan.

“In response to this reaction, TBS Television also decided to embark on the animation production business, but since there were still very few production companies capable of producing animation at the time, they thought that a puppet theater production company with similar know-how of “having a stage background and moving characters in front of it” could also produce animation. This is how the animation production of ‘Big X’, based on the original work by Osamu Tezuka, began and was broadcast on TBS from August 1964.”

Takezaki explained that there were some challenges the studio faced over its 60 years. According to him, they included:

  1. The analog era

All work was done by hand, which took a lot of time and effort. In addition, the inconsistency in quality caused by manual work was also an issue, and it was difficult to maintain a sense of uniformity. It was also difficult to store and manage the large number of paper-based materials, and there was a risk of them being lost or deteriorated.

  1. The era of widespread digital tools

Digitalization first progressed in the processes of coloring and photography (compositing materials). Since work became done on computers, film was no longer used.

Although digital drawing tools are now in the stage of widespread use, it is a big burden for animators to learn the skills to use new tools, and the establishment of an educational support system and standardization of formats remain challenges.

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the anime industry was facing a shortage of animators.

The number of animators has been decreasing due to factors such as the declining birthrate in Japan, the recent global trend of avoiding professions such as animator, which take a long time to become a full-fledged professional, and structural low-wage labor.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, partly due to the impact of “stay-at-home demand,” Japanese anime has become more popular overseas, primarily through subscription-based video streaming services (SVOD), which has led to increased business opportunities and a rise in the number of productions. However, at the same time, production sites have become strained, and the aforementioned shortage of animators has become even more apparent.

Speaking toTMS Entertainment about the popularity of their classic projects in the Middle East region, Takezaki said, “I was a little surprised at first because I didn’t think these old titles would be popular in the Middle East, even though they were licensed over 20 years ago. However, I can’t deny that they have a considerable number of fans. Just to let you know, when I went to the first anime festival (Saudi Anime Expo) held in Riyadh in 2019, I was very surprised by how popular the songs from these works were, especially the song from ‘Treasure Island’ as singers and audiences sang along together. I was really happy to see that songs and anime from over 30 years ago are still being enjoyed today.”

Takezaki shared his expression about this special occasion and the impact that TMS Entertainment made to the animation industry over many years: “Starting with “Big X” in 1964, TMS Entertainment has produced many anime in various genres, laid the foundation for Japanese anime, and played a part in contributing to the transmission and development of anime culture.”

“In particular, works such as ‘Lupin the Third,’ ‘ Anpanman,’ and “Detective Conan’ have been highly acclaimed both in Japan and overseas and have attracted many fans with the high quality of their stories and the charm of their characters. In addition, we are proud to have been able to create an opportunity for Japanese anime to be loved all over the world by actively promoting global expansion with an eye on overseas markets from an early stage.”

“In recent years, we have raised the concept of “Anime SDGs” to create a sustainable future for the anime industry and are working to solve various issues surrounding the Japanese anime industry, such as production, business, and human resource development. By realizing the “Anime SDGs” and aiming for the sustainability and development of the entire Japanese anime industry rather than just focusing on our own development, we would like to continue to challenge ourselves to create a future where people all over the world can enjoy Japanese anime and create many moving experiences,” he added.

Takezaki said that starting January 2025, the studio plans to broadcast “SAKAMOTO DAYS,” a popular series currently being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump (published by Shueisha).

It also announced that “Magic Knight Rayearth,” which was made into a TV anime in 1994, will be launched as a “new animation project” to mark the 30th anniversary of its broadcast.

 
 
 
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