TOEI ANIMATION PRESS RELEASE

Entering the 7th season of “Pretty Cure” with new characters and story, “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!” starts on ABC and TV Asahi at 8:30am network on February 7, 2010

2010-01-08T07:51:20Z

The newest TV series of “Pretty Cure”,“Heartcatch Pretty Cure!”, starts on ABC & TV Asahi network at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 7th, 2010.
“Pretty Cure” series has gained enormous popularity among young girls since its debut in 2004 and has entered its 6th season, “Fresh Pretty Cure”, last year which recorded one of the longest TV series targeted girls. 7th year of “Pretty Cure” boosts its popularity with new characters and story.

The two new heroines are Tsubomi Hanasaki for Cure Blossom and Erika Kurumi for Cure Marine. Showing their originality, two girls are linked strongly in friendship and play outstandingly in “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!”

Yr/Mo           Title
04/2-05/1     Pretty Cure
05/2-06/1     Pretty Cure: MaxHeart
06/2-07/1      Pretty Cure: SplashStar
07/2-08/1      Yes！Pretty Cure 5
08/2-09/1      Yes！Pretty Cure 5 GoGo！
09/2-10/1      Fresh Pretty Cure！
10/2-current Heartcatch Pretty Cure !

The all successive Pretty Cure get together again! "PRETTY CURE ALL STARS DX 2: Light of Hope☆Protect the Rainbow Jewels!" Premiering on March 31, 2010

2010-01-08T07:47:33Z

"PRETTY CURE ALL STARS DX2: Light of Hope☆Protect the Rainbow Jewels!", Pretty Cure the Movie with the all successive Pretty Cure, will begin showing at theaters in Japan on March 20, 2010.

Long-hit TV series, “Pretty Cure”, enters the 7th season - “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!”. With 2 new heroines, Cure Blossom and Cure Marine, total 17 Pretty Cures gather together on screen. This is a must-watch for every Pretty Cure fan and enjoy your favorite Pretty Cure on the big screen again!

Halo Legends to Be Released on February 16, 2010 in Japan Result of Toei Animation’s Involvement in Microsoft’s OVA Animation Project

2009-12-17T06:00:00Z

As one of Japan’s leading animation studios, Toei Animation has been taking part in Microsoft’s OVA animation project, Halo Legends. A Blu-Ray disc and DVD are now due for release on February 16, 2010.

Halo Legends is being produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries in partnership with Toei Animation and other top studios in Japan. The compilation will include a series of short stories that explore different times, themes and characters from the Halo universe and will be distributed globally by Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. company.

The Halo series is a wildly popular set of TV games that have won numerous awards, developed mainly for the Xbox 360. The series has sold more than 27 million units worldwide. Its influence extends beyond games, with a New York Times bestseller, comics, action figure, and apparel.

In this project, Toei Animation produced an episode called “Odd One Out” to present a Halo world designed for children.

Enjoy our Halo universe!

ODD ONE OUT story
Five boys and girls are living on a marginal planet in a corner of the universe. One day a person descends from the sky in front of them. He is the most ferocious warrior in the universe: Spartan 1337. His arrival sparks the beginning of a real adventure for the boys and girls!

One Piece Film Strong World Premiere Just One Day Away! The Highly Anticipated Work of Author Eiichiro Oda

2009-12-11T06:00:00Z

One Piece Film Strong World, the 10th theatrical animation movie of Toei Animation’s long-running hit TV animation One Piece, premieres December 12th 2009.

The TV animation One Piece marked the 10th anniversary of its first broadcast this October. In One Piece Film Strong World, author Eiichiro Oda has written the screenplay and served as executive producer for the first time. The film is a must-see, and not just for fans of One Piece.

Advance tickets for this movie are selling well, with 300,000 already sold, easily a record for Toei. The result is a mark of the high level of interest in the film. Contributing to this interest is the chance for filmgoers to receive their very own copy of One Piece Volume Zero, a comic that Eiichiro Oda wrote 20 years before the world of One Piece, which is being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at participating theaters.
*Numbers at each theater are limited.

Don’t miss your chance to see One Piece Film Strong World on the big screen, featuring a stellar cast and magnificent scale!

ONE PIECE FILM STRONG WORLD
Executive Producer: Eiichiro Oda
Director: Munehisa Sakai
Theme Song:Mr.Children

Asataro, the Onion Samurai, one of Jury Recommended Works in Animation Division at 13th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009

2009-12-03T06:00:00Z

Toei Animation’s TV animation series Asataro, the Onion Samurai has been chosen as one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Animation Division at the 2009 Japan Media Arts Festival.

The animation is based on author Kazuyoshi Iino’s popular picture book Negibouzu no Asataro published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers. It aired at 6:30 am on TV asahi Network from October 2008 to September 2009.

The heroine Negibouzu no Asataro and other adorable vegetable and fruit motif characters starred in a moving story of a journey. As a period animation, Asataro, the Onion Samurai proved popular with children and adults alike.

Japan Media Arts Festival introduces creative activities expressed in works of art, animations, films, games, online works, manga, and other genres. The Festival has been held each year since 1997, with the 2009 event attracting 2,592 entries from 54 nations and regions. The winners will be featured at the following exhibition:

Presentation of Division Prizes, Other Prizes, and Awards Ceremony
February 2nd (Tue.), 2010 at Tokyo Midtown Hall
Exhibition of Award-winning Works
From Wednesday, Feb. 3rd to Sunday, Feb. 14th, 2010 at the National Art Center, Tokyo

©Kazuyoshi Iino, Fukuinkan Shoten, Toei Animation

nintea Used for Artist Theme of Google Chrome

2009-10-09T06:00:00Z

The original character nintea, co-developed by Toei Animation Co., Ltd. and the designer PansonWorks, has been selected as one of the Artist Themes for Google Chrome, the Web browser provided by Google.

Nintea is a cute, blue-eyed ninja who really loves to have tea, but who works hard to satisfy the demands of his boss.

Google Chrome is a browser that debuted in September 2008, combining a minimalist design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster and safer. It also features a customizable theme: colors, patterns, images, and artwork.

©PansonWorks・Toei Animation

One hundred themes have been selected from around the world (14 from Japan) and introduced for the new customizable function of Google Chrome, the Artist Theme. Nintea was selected because its nimble image matches the speed that characterizes Google Chrome.

In Japan, nintea has been a popular item in character-goods shops, and is now poised to achieve global recognition.

A new TV animation "Thriller Restaurant" will debut on October 13, 2009!

2009-10-05T03:30:10Z

  Toei Animation Co., Ltd. has produced a new TV animation called Thriller Restaurant, from the popular children’s book.
It will debut on TV Asahi Network at 7:30 p.m. on October 13, 2009.

  The original book is a ghost story series for elementary and junior high school students, first published in 1996 by Doshinsha Publishing Co., Ltd. As of 2007, 50 volumes had been published.

  The original series is edited by author Miyoko Matsutani, and is an omnibus including various ghost stories such as Japanese folktales, school lore, and world folk stories.
Thriller Restaurant is an innovative animation featuring these stories, and builds on Toei Animation’s strong track record in the genre.
The animation doesn’t rely on fancy magic or huge monsters to thrill its audience. Instead, it depicts far more believable experiences that will keep children and adults alike glued to their screens.

  The cute monsters that appeared in the original book take the viewer on a thrilling ride from prologue to epilogue, so even those who don’t normally like horror stories will be enthralled.

  The “Restaurant” in the title represents the structure of the animations, each of which features three stories, as an appetizer, main dish, and dessert.
The first two of these stories are varied, featuring a strange event involving grade school and the main character Ako, along with a tale from overseas collected by Ako’s classmate Sho. The third story is an animation short set on a form of transportation.

©Miyoko Matsutani, Thriller Restaurant TEAM, Toei Animation

Toei Animation, Shueisha, FujiTelevision, and FUNimation Entertainment Announce Online Simulcast of ONE PIECE

2009-08-31T01:15:20Z

Anime Leaders to Stream Episodes of Popular Anime Series, Kncluding Latest Episode Immediately After Japanese Television Debut

FUNimation® Entertainment and the Japanese consortium of producer Toei Animation Co., Ltd., publisher Shueisha, Inc. and broadcaster Fuji Television Network, Inc. have agreed to give the U.S. and Canadian online simulcast of the studios’ signature animated series “One Piece”.

Started Saturday, August 29th at 9:00 p.m. CDT, just one hour after airing in Japan, FUNimation and the consortium streamed the free, professionally-produced, accurately English-subtitled “One Piece” series episode beginning with episode 415 via the official One Piece websitewww.onepieceofficial.comfollowed soon thereafter by FUNimation partner sites.

Each new episode of the current season will be rolled out weekly as “One Piece” continues its Japanese television run.

In addition, beginning Friday, August 21st FUNimation started streaming episodes from the Sabaody Archipelago Saga story arc starting with episode 391. FUNimation added three episodes at 9:00 p.m. CDT daly leading up to the simulcast of 415.

Bursting out of the Screen! Toei Animation 3D anime Festival in theaters on October 3, 2009

2009-07-20T10:21:44Z

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. has produced a new 3D scenographical animation called Kikansha Yaemon, and will show it at Tobidasu! 3D Toei Anime Matsuri, the quintuple feature of 3D scenographical animations, in theaters on October 3, 2009.

Kikansha Yaemon is a bestseller picture book by Agawa Hiroyuki, illustrated by Okabe Fuyuhiko and published in 1959 by Iwanami Shoten Publishing. Toei Animation turned the book into a theatrical animation as Yaemon, The Locomotive in 1974. Now, 50 years after it was first published, Kikansha Yaemon is returning to the screen with cutting-edge screen technology as 3D animation.

The show includes three 3D scenographical animations: Digimon Adventure 3D Digimon Grand Prix!, Digimon Savers 3D Digital World Kiki Ippatus!, and GeGeGe no Kitaro Kitaro’s ghost train. The animations have been produced for theme parks and screened at attractions and other venues, but this will be their first theatrical screening.

Audiences will be thrilled by the powerful images filled with popular children’s rides at TOBIDASU! 3D Toei Anime Matsuri. Toei Animation is adding 3D scenographical animation to its strength in 2D animation, and in doing so is producing new entertainment.

Hit TV series Fresh Pretty Cure! makes its theatrical debut Fresh Pretty Cure the Movie!-Secrets of the Toy Kingdom!? Premiering on October 31, 2009

2009-07-17T10:55:15Z

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is producing Fresh Pretty Cure the Movie!-Secrets of the Toy Kingdom!? This is the film version of the hit TV series Fresh Pretty Cure!, and it will be released in theaters on October 31, 2009.

Fresh Pretty Cure is the sixth and latest series of Pretty Cure and is broadcast every Sunday at 8:30 on ABC and the TV Asahi network. The series have also generated six theatrical animations, the most recent of which, “Pretty Cure All Stars DX-Calling All Friends ☆ The Miracle Union” was released last March and enjoyed the best box-office results of the series. Don’t miss the next one!

New work released by Mononoke director Kenji Nakamura Kuchu Buranko, winner of the 131st Naoki Prize, debuts on Fuji Television noitaminA block on October 2009

2009-07-16T10:48:24Z

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. has produced a new TV animation called Kuchu Buranko, from the novel of the same name that won the 131st Naoki Prize. The animation will debut on Fuji Television’s noitaminA block in October 2009.

The original story comes from The Psychiatrist Irabu series of novels: In the Pool, Kuchu Buranko (Flying Trapeze), and Chocho Senkyo (Mayoral Election). The novels were written by Hideo Okuda (Bungeishunju Ltd.). Kuchu Buranko won the 131st Naoki Prize and this much-loved series sold of 2.23 million copies.

The new TV animation Kuchu Buranko is a new work by Mononoke director Kenji Nakamura. Mononoke was broadcast in the same noitaminA block in July 2007 and proved a major hit with its lush innovative images. Fans won’t want to miss his follow-up animation Kuchu Buranko.

(C)Kuchu Buranko Production Committee

My Three Daughters featured in the Official Selection TV series category at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2009.

2009-03-26T06:00:00Z

Episode 1 of Toei Animation's popular TV animation seriesMy Three Daughtersfeatured in the Official Selection TV series category at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2009.

The Annecy International Animated Film Festival was established in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998. It is one of four international animated film festivals sponsored by the International Animated Film Association. The festival will be held from June 8 to 13 this year and a total of 1,840 works from 61 countries were submitted for consideration. Of the 425 works submitted in the TV series category, 41 works were selected, withMy Three Daughtersbeing one of these.

My Three Daughtersis Toei Animation's first Flash animation series for television and it has been broadcast every Tuesday at 5:30p.m. on the TV Tokyo Network since April 2008. It is based on a very popular childcare blog by cartoonist Purittsu Matsumoto, and the books based on the blog (published by Shufunotomo) have sold over 1,600,000 copies in total. It is widely popular not only with mothers caring for children who are having similar experiences, but also high school, junior high school, and elementary school students. The TV series enters a its second year in Japan. We keep on showing more enjoyable episodes ofMy Three Daughtersto more people.

(C)Purittu Matsumoto/Shufunotomo, 3 Daughters Project

Pretty Cure broadcast on YTV in Canada.

2009-03-03T06:00:00Z

Toei Animation's highly popular TV animation seriesPretty Curehas expanded into Canada, and the first series commences broadcast on YTV on March 6, 2009.

The huge success ofDragon BallandSailor Moonin America laid the foundations for the expansion of Japanese animations in North America, andSailor Moonestablished a new genre of animations for girls.

Pretty Cureis also very popular with girls in Europe and Asia, and we are attempting to extend its reach to English-speaking countries.

About YTV:
As Canada's leading children's broadcaster, Corus Entertainment's YTV, Treehouse and Discovery Kids Canada collectively have the largest audience aged 2-11 of any broadcaster, reaching 91 percent of children each week in English-speaking Canada. Seen in 8.9 million homes and connecting with 2.2 million children per month.

Megahit animation series turns to TV on the 20th aniversary of its TV debut. Akira Toriyama's original re-edited version of Dragon Ball Kai commences on Fuji Television Network at 9:00a.m. on April 5th, 2009.

2009-03-02T06:00:00Z

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. has remade the megahit animation series Dragon Ball Z into Dragon Ball Kai, which is HD-remastered, and it will commence on Fuji Television Network at 9:00a.m. on April 5th, 2009.

Dragon Ball Kai returns, having been made more impressive and exciting by the use of advanced digital technology. It is ready for high-definition broadcast as a result of the HD-remastering of the original film, the story has been re-edited to speed-up the story expansion, the music and sound effects have been rejuvenated. The strong visuals of Dragon Ball Kai will capture the imagination again.

(C)Bird Studio, Shueisha, Fuji Television, Toei Animation

Toei Animation's original short animation Marie & Galli will be launched within Suiensa on the NHK educational channel on March 31, 2009.

2009-01-29T06:00:00Z

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is collaborating with NHK Educational onMarie & Galli, a series of original short animations. They will be shown at 7:25p.m. every Tuesday within Suiensa, the scientific entertainment program, on the NHK educational channel.

InMarie & Gallishown on the scientific entertainment program Suiensa, Marica and the scientist Glileo play with other scientists through jokes and music, teaching science through fun. This is not only an educational program, it is entertainment through science. You will thoroughly enjoy each five-minute story of concentrated science and laughter.

(C)Toei Animation, NHK Educational