Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.[a] is a Japanese entertainment company owned by Bandai Namco Holdings with its business focused on the planning, production, distribution, and management of anime films and television series. It was founded in September 1972 by former Mushi Production staff as Sunrise Studio, Limited,[b] the animation studio branch of Shoeisha Co., Ltd.[c]. In 1977, it gained independence from Shoeisha and Tohokushinsha and rebranded itself to Nippon Sunrise Inc.[d] In 1987, the studio rebranded to Sunrise Inc.,[e] a name which would remain in use for over 35 years. In 1994, the company was acquired by toy and entertainment company Bandai and was integrated into Namco Bandai Holdings in 2005.
In 2022, as part of a major group restructuring of the Bandai Namco Group, the company would merge with the home video division of Bandai Namco Arts and Bandai Namco Rights Marketing to form Bandai Namco Filmworks. As part of this restructuring, Sunrise would continue to operate as a division within the company (officially known as a "brand") with the changes taking effect on April 1, 2022.[4]
From its establishment in 1972 to 2022, the company served as the legal operating entity for the Sunrise studio, serving as a full production company, specializing in animation production and character licensing.
On April 1, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings adopted a new logo that had been initially revealed in October of 2021. As a result, a major restructuting occurred, resulting in Sunrise subsuming the home video division of Bandai Namco Arts, which was dissolved that same day and rebranded to Bandai Namco Music Live with its music division, Sunrise Music being subsumed into Bandai Namco Arts' music operations, including Lantis in the process.[5]. Following this, the company has adopted the same logo as its parent, and adopted the name Bandai Namco Filmworks name.[4] The Sunrise name has been kept as one of the major brands of the company as of August 2023 as an animation production division.[6]
On March 1, 2024, Bandai Namco Filmworks announced the acquisition of anime studio Eight Bit, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.[7][8]
On May 14, 2024, the company established a business partnership with animation studio Tsumugi Akita Animation Lab to jointly create further works and IP.[9]
On June 3, 2024, the company entered into a business partnership with LandQ Studios[ja] to strengthen further 3DCG animation production capabilities.[10]
On February 4, 2025, Bandai Namco Holdings USA announced the establishment of Bandai Namco Filmworks America to handle the company's licensing and brand management activities internationally, which will take effect on April 1. The announcement coincided with the start of the co-financing and co-production of the Gundam film with Legendary Pictures.[11][12]
Logo for the Sunrise brand, used since late 1996. It was also used as a corporate logo from 1996 to 2022.
Sunrise,[f] the trade name of the company's IP Production Group division, is an animation studio founded in September 1972 and is based in Ogikubo, Tokyo.[13] Its former names were also Soeisha, Sunrise Studio and Nippon Sunrise.[14]
Most of their work are original titles created in-house by their creative staff under a collective pseudonym, Hajime Yatate. They also operated a defunct video-game studio, Sunrise Interactive. Sunrise launched a light-novel publisher, Yatate Bunko Imprint, on September 30, 2016, to publish original titles and supplement their existing franchises with new materials.[15] Anime created by Sunrise which have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix are Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979 and the first half of 1980, Space Runaway Ideon in the second half of 1980, Crusher Joe (a co-production with Studio Nue) in 1983, Dirty Pair in 1985, Future GPX Cyber Formula in 1991, Gundam SEED in 2002, Gundam SEED Destiny in 2004 and 2005, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion in 2006 and 2007 and Code Geass R2 in 2008, making Sunrise the studio which won the largest number of Animage Awards.
Bandai Visual[g] alongside its Emotion[h] brand is the home video division of Bandai Namco Filmworks. The label focuses on releasing video content for most of its works from the Sunrise brand alongside works from other companies. Prior to 2015, Bandai Visual operated as a separate company within BNHD with the company absorbing Lantis that year and changing its name to Bandai Namco Arts. This changed when Bandai Namco's 2022 restructuring moved the video division of Bandai Namco Arts to Bandai Namco Filmworks and Bandai Namco Arts rebranding itself to Bandai Namco Music Live.
Bandai Channel[i] serves as the video distribution service of the group that hosts mainly anime works through the internet via its titular streaming service which is available only in Japan. The service hosts content from the BNFW libraries as well as other studios and distributors.
↑ Animage Editorial Staff (August 1987). "Arata na michi o mosakusuru orijinaru robotto anime no sōhonzan" 新たな道を模索するオリジナルロボットアニメの総本山[The main office searches for a fresh original robot anime]. Animage (in Japanese). Vol.110. pp.60–65.
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