Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise, the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with Mobile Suit Gundam, a TV series that defined the "real robot" mecha anime genre by featuring giant robots called mobile suits in a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series and its merchandise spawned a franchise that includes 50 TV series, films and OVAs as well as manga, novels and video games, along with a whole industry of plastic model kits known as Gunpla which makes up 90 percent of the Japanese character plastic-model market.
Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., formerly and still famously known as Sunrise Inc., is a Japanese entertainment company owned by Bandai Namco Holdings with its business focused on production, planning and management for anime, founded in September 1972 by former Mushi Production employees.
The Prince of Tennis is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 1999 to March 2008, with its chapters collected in 42 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for English release in North America.
Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America.
The Pretty Cure series is a Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and produced by ABC Television, Asatsu-DK and Toei Animation. Each series revolves around a group of magical girls known as Pretty Cures who battle against evil forces. Starting in February 2004 with Futari wa Pretty Cure, the franchise has seen many anime series, spanning nearly 1000 episodes to date, as well as spawning movies, manga, toys, and video games. Its most recent iteration, Wonderful PreCure!, began airing in February 2024 as part of TV Asahi's Sunday morning children's television block. As of December 2022, three series have received English adaptations.
Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as Konjiki no Gash!!, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday between January 2001 and December 2007, with its chapters collected in thirty-three tankōbon volumes. The series follows the title character Zatch Bell, a mystical being called a Mamodo, who is partnered with a 14-year-old schoolboy Kiyo Takamine for a once-a-millennium tournament on Earth that determines the right to rule the Mamodo world as king. During their adventure, Zatch and Kiyo encounter and battle various Mamodo and their human partners, and meet allies who aid Zatch in his quest to become a kind king.
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair was one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Tokyo, Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event was held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and exhibition center in Tokyo Bay, in late March. Usually, the first one or two days of the fair were weekdays and the entrance was open only to industry members and the press; the last two days were scheduled on the weekend and the fair was open to the public.
Ufotable, Inc. is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 by former Telecom Animation Film producer Hikaru Kondō and located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works is a claymation sequence.
Haruhi Suzumiya is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. It was first published in 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan with the novel The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and has since been followed by 11 additional novel volumes, an anime television series adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation, four manga series, an animated film, two original net animation series and several video games.
Rebecca Anne Flint, better known by her stage name Beckii Cruel, is a British YouTuber, marketing entrepreneur, and former singer. Early in her career, Flint became known for her cover dance videos on YouTube, of which her channel has reached 20 million upload views and over 100,000 subscribers. In 2010, one of Flint's cover dance videos went viral in Japan, and, at one point, she was the 17th most subscribed user in the country. This led to a brief idol career in Japan, where Flint released her debut single, "Tsubasa o Kudasai", and had a girl group called Cruel Angels built around her image.
Girls und Panzer, abbreviated as GuP or Garupan(ガルパン), is a Japanese franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport.
The Idolmaster is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a raising simulation and rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series primarily centers on the career of a producer who works with a group of prospective pop idols at the talent agency 765 Production. Originally released as an arcade game, the franchise has grown to numerous ports, sequels and spin-offs across multiple video game consoles, including several social network games. The series includes a variety of other media such as an anime with the same name, printed media, audio dramas, a Korean drama, and radio shows.
The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls is a Japanese free-to-play simulation video game co-developed by Cygames and Bandai Namco Studios for the Mobage social network platform for mobile phones. It was first released on November 28, 2011, for feature phones, and compatibility was extended to iOS and Android devices on December 16, 2011. The game is based on The Idolmaster franchise, and features a cast of new idol characters. In September 2015, a music video game developed by Cygames titled The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage was released on the Google Play Store and Apple Store in Japan. The original game ended service on March 30, 2023, and was succeeded by its spinoff game and adaptations.
Bandai Namco Pictures Inc., also known as BN Pictures and BNP, is a Japanese animation studio. It is a spinoff of Sunrise, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Filmworks which is owned by Bandai Namco Holdings. The company was formed as a part of the medium-term management plan of Bandai Namco Holdings on restructuring itself. All the anime intellectual property and production divisions of Sunrise that aims at children and family were transferred to Bandai Namco Pictures. The company began its operations in April 2015.
Hula Fulla Dance is a 2021 Japanese animated film produced by Bandai Namco Pictures and directed by Seiji Mizushima and Shinya Watada. It premiered in Japanese theaters in December 2021.
Pui Pui Molcar is a Japanese stop-motion short anime series produced by Shin-Ei Animation and Japan Green Hearts in cooperation with Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series is directed and written by Tomoki Misato, with Misato and the staff in Japan Green Hearts designing the characters and models and Shota Kowatsu composing the music. It aired in Japan on TV Tokyo through its Kinder TV children's variety program on January 5, 2021. The series' title is a play on the words Molmot and car, which reflects the main characters. Upon its release, it was received positively by fans and critics due to its simple storyline in each episode.
The Prince of Tennis II, known in Japan as The New Prince of Tennis, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. It is a sequel to Konomi's manga series The Prince of Tennis. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square since March 2009. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation was broadcast on TV Tokyo from January to March 2012. A new anime television series titled The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup aired from July to September 2022, with a sequel premiering in October 2024.
Synduality is a Japanese mixed-media project created by the Bandai Namco Group. An anime television series produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks and animated by Eight Bit, titled Synduality: Noir, aired from July 2023 to March 2024.
The Idolmaster Shiny Colors is a Japanese life simulation video game developed by Bandai Namco Nexus and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. A spin-off of The Idolmaster franchise, it started as a browser game that launched in April 2018, and was later released as a mobile game for iOS and Android in March 2019. A manga adaptation was serialized on Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Newtype website from July 2019 to August 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by Polygon Pictures aired from April to June 2024. A second season premiered in October 2024.
