Tsuburaya Productions

Tsuburaya Productions' current logo

Tsuburaya Productions (円谷プロダクション,   Tsuburaya Purodakushon) is a production company and special effects studio founded by tokusatsu pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya in 1963. It is most famous for creating the giant hero Ultraman in 1966.

History

Toho's renowned director of special effects, Eiji Tsuburaya, founded Tsuburaya Productions in 1963 as a means to achieve greater creative freedom. Drawing from both Tsuburaya's staff at Toho and other artists from across Japan, the company's first assignment was the 1963 Ishihara/Nikkatsu film Alone Across the Pacific. Its first in-house project was Ultra Q, a black-and-white science fiction TV series about a reporter and two pilots who investigate mysterious events, in 1966. Boasting special effects comparable to Toho and Daiei's kaiju films, it was a tremendous success, and guaranteed a follow-up. Later that year, Tsuburaya debuted the color series Ultraman, starring one of the first kyodai (giant) heroes, to even greater ratings. Ultraman's formula of an alien warrior merging with a human host to defend the planet against kaiju and aliens would become the foundation for Tsuburaya's signature Ultra Series, which continues to this day.

Following Eiji Tsuburaya's death in 1970, his eldest son Hajime assumed control of the company. Tsuburaya Productions would remain a family business until 2007, when it was sold to TYO Inc. Today, Fields Corporation owns a 51% stake in Tsuburaya, with the other 49% is controlled by the toy company Bandai, whose Ultraman products have been prominently featured in every Ultra Series installment since Ultraman Ginga in 2013.

Selected television series

1960s

• Ultra Q (1966)
• Ultraman (1966-67)
• Monster Booska (1966-67)
• Ultraseven (1967-68)
• Mighty Jack (1968)
• Operation: Mystery (1968-69)
• Fight! Mighty Jack (1968)

1970s

• Chibira (1970-71)
• Ultra Fight (1970-71)
• Return of Ultraman (1971-72)
• Mirror Man (1971-72)
• Redman (1972)
• Ultraman Ace (1972-73)
• Emergency 10-4, 10-10 (1972)
• Triple Fighter (1972)
• The Unbalance Zone (1973)
• Jumborg Ace (1973)
• Fireman (1973)
• Ultraman Taro (1973-74)
• Mirror Fight (1974)
• Ultraman Leo (1974-75)
• Army of the Apes (1974-75)
• Born Free (1976-77)
• Aztekizer (1976-77)
• Aizenborg (1977-78)
• Space Wolf (1978)
• Koseidon (1978-79)
• The Ultraman (1979-80)

1980s

• Ultraman 80 (1980-81)
• Andromelos (1983)
• Ultraman Kids (1986)
• Ultra Monster Encyclopedia (1988-90)

1990s

• Ultraman M178 (1990-91)
• Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990-91)
• Ultraman M175 Ultra Hero Finishing Attack Study (1991-92)
• Ultraman Kids II (1991-92)
• Ultraman M730 Ultra Monster Encyclopedia (1992-93)
• Ultraman M730 Ultra Monster Battle Game (1993-94)
• Gridman (1993-94)
• Ultra Super Fight (1994)
• Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1995)
• Ultraman M730 Shuwatch! English (1994-95)
• Ultraman M730 Ultra Monster Data Bank (1995-96)
• Ultraman Land M730 (1996-97)
• Ultraman Tiga (1996-97)
• Ultraman Dyna (1997-98)
• Cyberbeauties Telomere (1998)
• Rosetta the Masked Angel (1998)
• Ultraman Gaia (1998-99)
• Booska! Booska!! (1999-2000)
• Barasa de Booska! (1999)
• Ultraman Nice (1999-2000)

2000s

• Ultraman Neos (2000-01)
• Ultraman Cosmos (2001-02)
• Ultra Intelligence Agency (2002-11)
• Ultraman Boy's Ultra Coliseum (2003)
• Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy (2004)
• Ultraman Nexus (2004-05)
• Ultraman Max (2005)
• Ultraman Mebius (2006)
• Bio Planet WoO (2006)
• Operation: Mystery - Second File (2007)
• Ultraseven X (2007)
• Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle (2007-08)
• Kanegon Kanegon (2008-09)
• Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008-09)

2010s

• Ultraman Retsuden (2011-16)
• Ultra Zone (2011-12)
• Ultra Zero Fight (2012)
• Neo Ultra Q (2013)
• New Ultraman Retsuden (2013-16)
• Ultraman Ginga (2013)
• Giant Monster Rush: Ultra Frontier (2013-14)
• Kaiki Daisakusen: Mystery File (2013)
• Ultraman Ginga S (2014)
• Ultra Fight Victory (2015)
• Kaiju Sakaba Kanpai! (2015)
• Ultraman X (2015)
• Ultraman Orb (2016)
• Kaiju Girls (2016-18)
• Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga (2016-17)
• Ultra Fight Orb (2017)
• Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle (2017)
• Ultra Fight Orb (2017)
• Ultraman Geed (2017)
• Ultraman Orb: The Chronicle (2018)
• Ultraman R/B (2018)
• SSSS.GRIDMAN (2018) [with Studio Trigger]
• Ultraman New Generation Chronicle (2019)
• ULTRAMAN (2019-)
• Ultraman Taiga (2019)

2020s

• Ultraman Chronicle Zero & Geed (2020)
• Ultraman Z (2020)
• SSSS.DYNAZENON (2021) [with Studio Trigger]
• Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga (2021-)

Selected films

1960s

• Ultraman (1967) [compilation film]
• Ultraman, Ultra Seven: Giant Monster Extreme Battle (1969) [compilation film]

1970s

• Return of Ultraman (1971) [compilation film]
• Return of Ultraman: Terror of the Tornado Monster (1971) [compilation film]
• Mirrorman (1972) [compilation film]
• Return of Ultraman: Jiro Rides a Monster (1972) [compilation film]
• Mirrorman: Dinosaur Aroza Reanimated (1972) [compilation film]
• Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972) [Toho co-production]
• Jamborg Ace and Giant (1974) [Chaiyo co-production]
• Hanuman vs 7 Ultraman (1974) [Chaiyo co-production]
• The Last Dinosaur (1977) [Rankin/Bass co-production]
• The Bermuda Depths (1978) [Rankin/Bass co-production]
• Director Akio Jissoji's Ultraman (1979) [compilation film]
• Ultraman: Great Monster Battle (1979) [compilation film]

1980s

• Ultraman Zoffy (1984)
• Ultraman Kids: The Movie (1984)
• Popular Monster's Parade (1984)
• Ultraman Story (1984)
• Anime Chan (1984)
• Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (1987)

1990s

• Ultra Q the Movie (1990)
• Ultraman: The Alien Invasion (1990) [compilation film]
• Ultraman: The Battle for Earth (1990) [compilation film]
• Mikadoroid (1991) [Toho, Tohokushinsha co-production]
• Ultraman Forever (1996)
• Ultraman Zearth (1996)
• Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997)
• Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna (1998)
• Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace (1999)
• Rosetta the Masked Angel: Rosetta vs. Freia (1999) [Toho co-production]

2000s

• Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000)
• Ultraman Tiga: Revival of the Ancient Giant (2001)
• Ultraman Dyna: The Return of Hanejiro (2001)
• Ultraman Gaia: Once Again Gaia (2001)
• Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact (2001)
• Ultraman Cosmos 2: The Blue Planet (2002)
• New Century Ultraman Legend (2002)
• Ultraman Cosmos vs Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003)
• New Century Ultraman Legend 2: The King's Jubilee (2003)
• Ultraman: The Next (2004)
• Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers (2006)
• Superior 8 Ultraman Brothers (2008)
• Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy the Movie (2009)

2010s

• Ultraman Zero the Movie: The Revenge of Belial (2010)
• Ultraman Zero Side Story: Killer the Beatstar (2011)
• Ultraman Saga (2012)
• Ultraman Ginga Special (2013)
• Ultraman Ginga Special: Ultra Monsters vs Ultra Heroes (2014)
• Ultraman Ginga S the Movie (2015)
• Ultraman X the Movie (2016)
• Ultraman Orb the Movie (2017)
• Ultraman Geed the Movie: Connect the Wishes! (2018)
• Ultraman R/B the Movie ～ Select! The Crystal of Bond (2019)

2020s

• Ultraman Taiga the Movie: New Generation Climax (2020)
• Kaiju Decode (2021) [with Toei Animation]
• Kaiju Decode: First Contact (2021) [with Toei Animation]
• Shin Ultraman (2022) [with Toho and khara]
• GRIDMAN x DYNAZENON (TBA)

Selected TV specials

1990s

• The World of Ultra Q (1990)
• Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider (1993)

Selected OVAs

1990s

• Ultraman Graffiti (1990)

Trivia

• Eiji Tsuburaya's ties with Toho allowed props, suits, sound effects, and even footage from the studio's kaiju films to appear in Ultra Q and Ultraman. Godzilla became Gomess and Jirahs, Baragon became Pagos, Neronga, Magular, and Gabora, Maguma became Todora, the Giant Octopus became Sudar, King Kong became Goro, and Manda became Kai Dragon; United Nations VTOL props used in Gorath were modified to become the SSSP's Jet VTOL and Space VTOL fleet.
• Toho employees who worked on the early Ultra Series installments included Ishiro Honda (director of several Return of Ultraman episodes), Shinichi Sekizawa (writer of the pilot episode of Ultraman), Haruo Nakajima (suit actor for numerous monsters in Ultra Q, Ultraman and Ultraseven), Kenji Sahara (Jun Manjome in Ultra Q), and Akihiko Hirata (Chief Hanazawa in Ultra Q, Professor Iwamoto in Ultraman, and Staff Officer Yanagawa in Ultraseven).

External links

• Official Website
• Official Website (in English)
• Official YouTube Channel
• Official Facebook page
• Official Twitter page

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