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![]() Headquarters in Suginami, Tokyo | |
Native name | 株式会社バンダイナムコピクチャーズ |
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Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Bandai Namuko Pikuchāzu |
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Animation studio |
Founded | April 2015 |
Headquarters | Ogikubo, , Japan |
Key people | |
Products | Anime |
Revenue | ¥10 million |
Number of employees | 130 (December 2021) |
Parent | Bandai Namco Filmworks |
Divisions | Bandai Namco Pictures Osaka Studio Bandai Namco Pictures Iwaki |
Website | www.bn-pictures.co.jp |
Footnotes /references "Corporate Profile". www.bn-pictures.co.jp (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Pictures. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020. |
Bandai Namco Pictures Inc., [a] 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 target children and family were transferred to Bandai Namco Pictures. The company began its operations in April 2015.
On February 12, 2015, Bandai Namco Holdings announced plans to restructure itself through the usage of a three-year medium-management plan. [1] The company sought to focus its resources on creating new intellectual properties (IPs) and marketable characters, and required faster planning and development time to satisfy these demands. [1] [2] Bandai Namco executives also believed it was necessary for its IP Creation content area to strengthen ties with its Toy and Hobby area, as it would lead to both strong relationships between the two divisions and allow for future product collaborations. [2]
As part of its efforts to fulfill these obligations, Bandai Namco Pictures was established in April 2015 in Nerima, Tokyo. [2] [3] Headed by Masayuki Ozaki, the representative director of animation studio Sunrise, the company was to lead its parent's "Strengthen IP Creation Output" project and focus on the creation of new characters and franchises, specifically those targeted towards children and families. [1] [3] Bandai Namco Pictures would also work together with the Toy and Hobby division of Bandai Namco Holdings to strengthen the linkage between the two areas of the latter company. [1] [2] [3] Pictures absorbed Sunrise's production departments relating to children-oriented IPs, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunrise and part of Bandai Namco's IP Creation department. [4] [5]
The company's first project was Aikatsu! , an anime based on the Bandai trading card arcade game of the same name which had been produced by Sunrise until that point. [3] In addition to working on pre-established franchises, Bandai Namco Pictures would produce several original projects, such as the stop-motion animation series Milpom! [6] Pictures focused primarily on series and characters targeted towards children and families, though some, such as Tiger & Bunny and the Gintama series, were aimed at older audiences. The company regularly collaborates with other subsidiaries within Bandai Namco Holdings; in 2016, it partnered with Bandai Namco Entertainment to produce Dream Festival! , a multimedia franchise centered around video games and original net animations.
In August 2018, Bandai Namco Pictures opened a division in Osaka, the Bandai Namco Pictures Osaka Studio, for the purpose of digitally transferring animation to decrease production times. [7] The company hoped the success and productivity from the Osaka Studio could allow for additional offices to be opened in Japan and eventually overseas. [7] A year later in October, Pictures absorbed Studio Dub, an animation subcontractor established by former Sunrise animators. The acquisition renamed the company Bandai Namco Pictures Iwaki, though it continues using the name Studio Dub for its projects.
Title | Director(s) | First run start date | First run end date | Broadcast network(s) | Eps. | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battle Spirits: Burning Soul | Kunihisa Sugishima | April 1, 2015 | March 30, 2016 | TV Tokyo | 51 | First Battle Spirits production produced by Bandai Namco Pictures | [8] |
Tribe Cool Crew | Masaya Fujimori | April 5, 2015 [b] | October 4, 2015 | TV Asahi | 26 [c] | Took over production from Sunrise | [9] |
Gintama° | Chizuru Miyawaki | April 8, 2015 | March 30, 2016 | TV Tokyo | 51 | First Gintama production produced by Bandai Namco Pictures | [10] |
Aikatsu! | Ryūichi Kimura | October 1, 2015 [b] | March 31, 2016 | 26 [c] | Took over production from Sunrise | [3] | |
Brave Beats | Yūta Murano | October 6, 2015 | March 27, 2016 | TV Asahi | 22 | ||
Battle Spirits: Double Drive | Kunihisa Sugishima | April 6, 2016 | March 29, 2017 | TV Tokyo | 51 | Second Battle Spirits production produced by Bandai Namco Pictures | [8] |
Aikatsu Stars! | Teruo Satō | April 7, 2016 | March 29, 2018 | 100 | [11] | ||
Heybot! | Shinji Ishihira | September 18, 2016 | September 24, 2017 | TV Asahi | 50 | co-production with Bridge | [8] |
Gintama. | Chizuru Miyawaki | January 8, 2017 | October 7, 2018 [12] [13] | TV Tokyo | 51 | Second Gintama production produced by Bandai Namco Pictures Also known as Gintama. Porori-hen [8] and Gintama. Shirogane no Tamashii-hen [10] | [8] |
Aikatsu Friends! | Shishō Igarashi | April 5, 2018 | September 26, 2019 | 76 | [14] | ||
B-PROJECT~Zecchō*Emotion~ | Makoto Moriwaki | January 11, 2019 | March 29, 2019 | Tokyo MX | 12 | [10] | |
Aikatsu on Parade! | Shishō Igarashi | October 5, 2019 | March 28, 2020 | TV Tokyo | 25 | [15] | |
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun | Makoto Moriwaki | October 5, 2019 | present | NHK Educational TV | 65 | Renewed for season 4 [16] | [17] [18] [19] |
Motto! Majime ni Fumajime Kaiketsu Zorori | Takahide Ogata | April 5, 2020 | September 21, 2022 | 75 [20] [21] | co-production with Ajiado | [22] | |
Saikyō Kamizmode | Mitsutoshi Satō | October 9, 2020 | April 9, 2021 | Tokyo MX | 26 | First premiered on Bandai Namco Pictures' YouTube channel on September 28, 2020 before launching on television. [23] | [24] |
Aikatsu Planet! | Ryūichi Kimura | January 10, 2021 | June 27, 2021 | TV Tokyo | 25 | Live-action/anime hybrid co-production with Bandai Namco Arts, Tohokushinsha Film and Dentsu | [25] |
Cestvs: The Roman Fighter [d] |
| April 15, 2021 | June 24, 2021 | Fuji TV [26] | 11 | [27] | |
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story | Takayuki Inagaki | April 6, 2022 | June 24, 2023 [28] | TV Tokyo | 25 | [29] | |
Raven of the Inner Palace | Chizuru Miyawaki | October 1, 2022 [30] | December 24, 2022 | Tokyo MX | 13 | Adaptation of the light novel series by Kōko Shirakawa; published by Shueisha [31] [32] | |
Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari | Ryūichi Kimura | January 10, 2023 | September 19, 2023 | 24 | [33] | ||
Wistoria: Wand and Sword |
| July 7, 2024 | present | TBS | 12 | co-production with Actas | [35] |
I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! | Katsumi Ono | January 12, 2025 | June 29, 2025 | Nippon TV | 24 | [36] | |
Mashin Creator Wataru | Yumi Kamakura | January 12, 2025 | June 22, 2025 | TV Tokyo | 24 | co-production with Bandai Namco Filmworks [37] | [38] |
Rock Is a Lady's Modesty | Shinya Watada | April 3, 2025 | June 26, 2025 | TBS [39] | 13 | [40] | |
Shabake | Takahiro Ōkawa | October 3, 2025 | TBA | Fuji TV | TBA | [41] | |
Gintama: Mr. Ginpachi's Zany Class |
| October 7, 2025 [42] | TBA | TV Tokyo | TBA | Also known as 3-Nen Z-Gumi Ginpachi-Sensei Spin-off to the Gintama franchise [43] | [44] |
Title | Director(s) | Release date | Distributor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kaiketsu Zorori: Heroes of Space | Tomoko Iwasaki | September 12, 2015 | Tokyo Theaters [45] | Co-produced with Ajia-do Animation Works [46] |
Aikatsu! Music Awards - The Show Where Everyone Gets an Award! | Shinya Watada | August 22, 2015 | Toei Company | |
Aikatsu Stars! The Movie | Shinya Watada | August 13, 2016 | ||
Aikatsu! The Targeted Magical Aikatsu Card | Ryūichi Kimura | August 13, 2016 | Double-billed with Aikatsu Stars! The Movie | |
Kaiketsu Zorori: Secret of the Double Z | Masaya Fujimori | November 22, 2017 | Tokyo Theaters [47] | Co-produced with Ajia-do Animation Works |
Gintama: The Very Final | Chizuru Miyawaki | January 8, 2021 | Warner Bros. Japan | |
Hula Fulla Dance |
| December 3, 2021 | Aniplex | [48] |
Aikatsu Planet! The Movie | Ryūichi Kimura | July 15, 2022 | Bandai Namco Pictures | Live-action/animated hybrid Co-produced with Bandai Namco Filmworks and Tohokushinsha Film |
Aikatsu! 10th Story: Starway to the Future | Ryūichi Kimura | July 15, 2022 (short film) January 20, 2023 (feature film) | The short-film version was double-billed with Aikatsu Planet! The Movie | |
Kaiketsu Zorori: Lalala A Star Is Born | Takahide Ogata | December 9, 2022 | Tokyo Theaters [49] | Co-produced with Ajia-do Animation Works |
Aikatsu! × PriPara: The Movie The Miracle of Our Encounter! | Takahiro Okawa | Fall 2025 | ||
Sgt. Frog |
| Summer 2026 | [50] | |
Shin Gekijōban Gintama: Yoshiwara Daienjō | Naoya Ando | 2026 | [51] |
Title | Director(s) | First run start date | First run end date | Eps. | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Milpom! (Pilot) | N/A | March 20, 2015 | N/A | 1 | [8] |
Milpom! | N/A | September 5, 2015 | September 29, 2017 | 6 | [8] |
Dream Festival! | Yūta Murano | September 23, 2016 | December 16, 2016 | 12 | Co-produced with Ajia-do Animation Works |
Gintama°: Love Incense Arc | Chizuru Miyawaki Youichi Fujita | April 8, 2015 | March 30, 2016 | 2 | |
Dream Festival! R | Yūta Murano | August 23, 2017 | November 8, 2017 | 12 | Co-produced with Ajia-do Animation Works |
Gintama: Monster Strike-hen | N/A | August 29, 2019 | September 4, 2019 | 2 | |
Fight League: Gear Gadget Generators | Daisuke Nakajima | February 14, 2019 | August 8, 2019 | 26 | Co-Produced by XFLAG [52] |
Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette | Masaki Watanabe | August 28, 2020 | April 23, 2021 | 5 | |
Aikatsu on Parade! Dream Story | Shishō Igarashi | March 28, 2020 | July 11, 2020 | 6 | |
Tiger & Bunny 2 | Mitsuko Kase | April 8, 2022 | October 7, 2022 | 25 | [53] |