Toei Company

Toei Company, Ltd. (東映株式会社, Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha) (/toʊ.eɪ/) (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by its subsidiary, T-Joy), studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a shareholder in several television companies. It is notable for animated, live action dramas known as anime and tokusatsu which use special visual effects, and historical dramas (jidaigeki) respectively. Outside Japan, it is known as the controlling shareholder of Toei Animation and the owner of the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises.

Not to be confused with the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, also known as Toei Transportation.
Toei Company, Ltd.
Native name
東映株式会社
Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha
TypePublic KK
TYO: 9605
FWB: TOE
IndustryFilm and television
Video games
FoundedJune 8, 1938 (1938-06-08) (as Toyoko Eiga)
October 1, 1949 (1949-10-01) (as Tokyo Film Distribution, a subdsidiary of Tokyu and Toyoko Eiga)
April 1, 1951 (1951-04-01) (as Toei Company)
FounderKeita Goto
Headquarters
2-17 Ginza 3-chome, Chūō, Tokyo 104-8108
,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide, with a focus in Japan
Key people
Noriyuki Tada
(President and CEO)
ProductsMotion pictures, publicity materials
ServicesFilm and TV distribution and marketing
Former distributor of 20th Century Fox movies across Japan (until 2019)
Revenue¥ 66,300,000,000
(as of March 2006)
OwnerAs per 31 March 2016:
The Asahi Shimbun (ultimate largest shareholder, through TV Asahi Holdings, which owns 11.3%)
TBS Television (5.69%)
JTSB investment trusts (5.69%)
Bandai Namco Holdings (4.82%)
Tokyu Corporation (4.06%)
Fuji Media Holdings/Fujisankei Communications Group (3.87%)
Nippon TV (3.25%)
Number of employees
343
(as of March 1, 2019)[1]
Divisions
Subsidiaries
SubsidiariesToei Lab Tech
Toei International

Toei Digital Lab[2]
Toei Animation (41%)[3]
TAVAC
Toei TV Production
Toei Video
Toei Satellite TV
Cinema Plus[2]
Toei Advertising
Toei CM[2]
San-Ei Printing[2]
Toei Music Publishing[2]
Toei Studios Kyoto[2]
Toei Kenko[2]
Toei Foods[2]
Tes-Service[2]
Toei Golf Club[2]
K.K.Central Arts[2]
T-Joy (operates Toei's cinema undertakings except in Ginza and Shibuya)
Amazon Laterna[2]
Coyote Inc.[2]

Websitewww.toei.co.jp

Toei is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film studios.

The name "Toei" is derived from the company's former name "Tōkyō Eiga Haikyū" (東京映画配給, Tokyo Film Distribution Company).

History

Toei's predecessor, the Toyoko Eiga Company, Ltd. (東横映画, Tō-Yoko Eiga, "Toyoko Films"), was incorporated in 1938. It was founded by Keita Goto, which was CEO of Tokyo-Yokohama Electric Railway (東京横浜電鉄, Tōkyō-Yokohama Dentetsu), the direct predecessor to the Tokyu Corporation. It had erected its facilities immediately east of the Tōkyū Tōyoko Line; they managed the Tōkyū Shibuya Yokohama studio system prior to V-J Day. From 1945 through the Toei merger, Tokyo-Yokohama Films leased from the Daiei Motion Picture Company a second studio in Kyoto. Through the merger, they gained the combined talents and experience of actors Chiezō Kataoka, Utaemon Ichikawa, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Ryūtarō Ōtomo, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Shirunosuke Toshin, Hashizo Okawa, and Satomi Oka.

On October 1, 1950, the Tokyo Film Distribution Company was incorporated as a subsidiary of Toyoko Eiga; in 1951 the company purchased Ōizumi Films. The current iteration of Toei was established on 1 April 1951.

In 1956, Toei established an animation division, Toei Animation Company, Limited at the former Tokyo-Ōizumi animation studio, purchasing the assets of Japan Animated Films (日本動画映画, Nihon Dōga Eiga, often shortened to 日動映画 (Nichidō Eiga)), founded in 1948.

Toei was a pioneer in the use of "Henshin"/"character transformation" in live-action martial-arts dramas, a technique developed for the Kamen Rider, Metal Hero and Super Sentai series; the genre currently continues with Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

Toei was also the exclusive distributor for 20th Century Fox movies in Japan, until Fox's acquisition by Disney, which completed in 2019.

Toei films

This list compiles the films by their original release date, their common English titles and Japanese titles. The Japanese titles are not necessarily direct translations of their English counterparts.

For feature films, Toei established itself as a producer of b-movies, that were made to fit into double bills and triple bills.[4][5] It is predominantly known in the west for its series of action films and television series.[5]

Release date English film title Original title Notes Ref(s)
1954 Weak-kneed from Fear of Ghost-Cat Kaibyo koshinuke daisodo [6]
1956 The Phantom Cat N/A [7]
1956 The Swamp Kaidan Chidoriga-fuchi [8]
1957 Ghost Story of Broken Dishes at Bancho Mansion Kaidan Bancho sara yashiki [9]
1958 Ghost-Cat of Karakuri Tenjo Kaibyo Karakuri Tenjo [6]
March 19, 1959 Planet Prince Yusei oji Chapter 1 [10]
May 26, 1959 Planet Prince Yusei oji Chapter 2 [10]
1959 Ghost from the Pond Kaidan hitotsu-me Jizo [11]
October 19, 1959 The Final War Daisanji sekai taisen - yonju-ichi jikan no kyofu A New Toei Co, Ltd. Production; released in U.S. in 1962 [12]
1960 Alakazam the Great Saiyu-ki A Toei Animation Co, Ltd. Production [13]
July 19, 1961 Invasion of the Neptune Men Uchu kaizoku-sen [14]
1961 Ghost of Oiwa Kaidan Oiwa no Borei [15]
1962 Ghost Music of Shamisen Kaidan shamisen-bori [15][16]
1964 Jakoman and Tetsu Jakoman to Tetsu [17]
1965 House of Terrors Kaidan semushi otoko [18]
1965 Ghost of the One-Eyed Man Kaidan katame no otoko [19]
1966 The Magic Serpent Kai tatsu daikessen [20]
1967 Yongary, Monster from the Deep Dai koesu Yongkari South Korean/Japanese co-production [21][22]
December 1, 1968 The Green Slime Gamma sango uchu dai sakusen U.S./ Japanese co-production [23][24]
1968 Fear of the Snake Woman Kaidan hebionna [11]
August 13, 1969 Killer's Mission Shokin kasegi [25]
1969 Horrors of Malformed Men Kyofu kikei ningen [26]
1970 Voyage Into Space Episodes of a Japanese TV series adapted into a TV movie for U.S. release [27]
May 23, 1970 A Kamikaze Cop Yakuza deka [16]
October 17, 1970 Kamikaze Cop, Marihuana Syndicate Yakuza deka, Marihuana mitsubai soshiki [16]
August 25, 1972 Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion [28][29]
December 30, 1972 Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 [30][29]
July 29, 1973 Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable [31][29]
1974 The Street Fighter Gekitotsu Satsujinken [32]
April 29, 1977 The "Legend of Dinosaurs" Kyoryu-kaicho no densetsu [33][34]
April 29, 1978 Message from Space Uchu kara no messeji [35][36]
1979 The Inferno Jigoku [37]
January 30, 1981 Time Slip Sengoku jieitai [38]
October 13, 1990 The Pale Head Shiroi te A Kansai Telecasting Corp/Toei-Tokyo Production [39][40]
September 3, 2013 Space Pirate Captain Harlock a.k.a. Harlock: Space Pirate Toei Animation Production [41]
December 5, 2015 125 Years Memory Kainan 1890 Co-produced by Toei, Creators' Union, Böcek Yapım [42]
May 17, 2019 First Love [43][44]

Toei animation films
Main article: Toei Animation

Toei produced/distributed shows
YearTitle
1993–presentPower Rangers franchise
1994-1996VR Troopers
1995-1996Masked Rider
1996-1998Big Bad Beetleborgs (later Beetleborgs Metallix)
2008-2009Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

Video games

Saburo Yatsude
See also: Izumi Todo

Saburō Yatsude (八手 三郎, Yatsude Saburō, alternatively read as Saburo Hatte) is a collective pseudonym used by Toei Company television producers, and formerly Toei Animation producers, when contributing to their various anime and tokusatsu series; similar to Sunrise's Hajime Yatate. The use of the pen name began with The Kagestar and has been used throughout the Super Sentai (in the adapted Power Rangers series starting with Ninja Storm, the credits list Saburo Hatte. Before this, the credits listed "Original Concepts by Saburo Yatsude") and Metal Hero Series as well as for Spider-Man, Choukou Senshi Changéríon, Video Warrior Laserion, Chōdenji Robo Combattler V, Chōdenji Machine Voltes V, Tōshō Daimos, Daltanius, Space Emperor God Sigma, Beast King GoLion, and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV. The name is also used as a contributor to the soundtracks for the series.

Toei Animation stopped using Saburo Yatsude in 1999; since then they use Izumi Todo instead. The first anime that was created by Izumi Todo was Ojamajo Doremi.

In the Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger series, Saburo Hatte is an actual person who is godlike within the fictional reality that the show takes place in. In fact, his hand appears at the end of the first half of the series to cover the camera lens and end the show, later having the second half be made under Malseena's influence while in the hospital in the real world.

In the Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger spinoff, Super Animal War's third episode, he is portrayed by Jun Hikasa.

On April 3, 2016, an unknown Toei staff member going by Saburo Yatsude was interviewed while wearing a "Giraffe Zyuman" mask in reference to Zyuohger.[45]

Saburo Yatsude's name is not inspired by Saburo/Hakaider.

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. https://www.toei.co.jp/company/info/outline/
  2. "TOEI GROUP" (in Japanese). toei.co.jp. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  3. "IR NEWS | 支配株主等に関する事項について (Matters concerning the controlling shareholder)" (in Japanese). corp.toei-anim.co.jp. May 18, 2018.
  4. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 88.
  5. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 89.
  6. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 241.
  7. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 320.
  8. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 378.
  9. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 242.
  10. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 325.
  11. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 243.
  12. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 166.
  13. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 99.
  14. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 233.
  15. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 244.
  16. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 245.
  17. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 72.
  18. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 220.
  19. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 182.
  20. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 275.
  21. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 448.
  22. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 449.
  23. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 202.
  24. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 203.
  25. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 247.
  26. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 218.
  27. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 431.
  28. Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection (book). Arrow Video. 2016. p. 5. FCD1338/AV060.
  29. Sharp 2011, p. 120.
  30. Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection (book). Arrow Video. 2016. p. 7. FCD1338/AV060.
  31. Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection (book). Arrow Video. 2016. p. 9. FCD1338/AV060.
  32. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 373.
  33. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 261.
  34. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 262.
  35. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 285.
  36. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 286.
  37. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 236.
  38. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 396.
  39. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 373.
  40. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 374.
  41. Elley, Derek (7 September 2013). "Space Pirate Captain Harlock". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  42. "125 Years Memory",http://www.125yearsmemory.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  43. Kiang, Jessica (30 May 2019). "Film Review: 'First Love'". Variety. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  44. "'First Love' ('Hatsukoi'): Film Review | Cannes 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  45. "Animal Sentai Zyuohger".

Sources
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