Gundam

Sunrise, Inc

★

By Jenxi Seow

Published

Updated

Sunrise, Inc (株式会社サンライズ Kabushiki gaisha Sanraizu) is a Japanese animation studio and production company that has been renamed Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc in 2022. It was formerly known and Nippon Sunrise and Sunrise Studios. The company has its headquarters in Suginami, Tokyo and is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings.

History

Sunrise Studios, Limited was formed in 1972 by former members of Mushi Productions. The company shifted from the tradition of anime production revolving around a single creator, which was how Mushi operated, to production headed by the producers. Sunrise decided to focus on mecha anime to differentiate itself from mainstream anime that was dominated by manga adaptations, sports anime and adaptations of children’s stories. Mecha anime was known to be harder to animate but could be used to sell toys.[1]

Sunrise had a close working relationship with toy manufacturer Bandai, which primarily sold mecha anime toys. In 1993, Sunrise was purchased by Bandai, which later merged with Namco.

In February 1994, Sunrise Inc. became part of the Bandai Group.[2]

On April 1, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings adopted a new logo that had been initially revealed in October 2021, and with it, a major organization shuffle occurred, resulting in Sunrise subsuming the visual arts division of Bandai Namco Arts, which was dissolved that same day. Following this, the company has adopted the same logo as its parent, and adopted the name of Bandai Namco Filmworks.[3] Its music division, Sunrise Music, has similarly subsumed Bandai Namco Arts’ music operations, including Lantis, and changed its name to Bandai Namco Music Live.[4] The Sunrise name has been kept as one of the major brands of the company as of August 2023.[5]

On March 1, 2024, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced the acquisition of anime studio Eight Bit, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.[6]

References

  1. “ANNtv Inside Sunrise”. Anime News Network. 17 May 2011. ↩
  2. “Sunrise/Bandai Namco Filmworks history”. Sunrise Inc. Accessed 4 August 2024. ↩
  3. Hodgkins, C, “Bandai Namco Details Restructuring of Sunrise, Other IP Production Operations”, Anime News Network, 8 February 2022. Accessed 4 August 2024. ↩
  4. “サンライズが社名変更 4月から「バンダイナムコフィルムワークス」に”, ITmedia NEWS. Accessed 12 February 2022. ↩
  5. Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. “Bandai Namco Filmworks INC.“ Accessed 5 August 2024. ↩
  6. “Bandai Namco Filmworks Makes Anime Studio 8-Bit Into Wholly Owned Subsidiary”, Anime News Network, 1 March 2024. Accessed 1 March 2024. ↩