Nippon Animation
, founded in 1975, is an established Japanese studio. President Koichi Motohashi organized Nippon Animation from what had been Zuiyô Eizo ("Zuiyo Video"), the animation studio of Zuiyô Enterprise, which had produced Fables of the Green Forest and Heidi, Girl of the Alps; existing Zuiyô productions Vicky the Viking, A Dog of Flanders (1975), and Maya the Bee transitioned to being Nippon Animation productions in mid-airing. Nippon Animation inherited the World Masterpiece Theater mantle from Zuiyô as well as the tradition of producing anime adaptations of Western literature. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata frequently worked with the studio during the 1970s, as have other big names such as Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yoshifumi Kondo, Noboru Ishiguro, Kozo Kusuba (who would later work on the 2005 Doraemon anime), and future Super Mario Bros. character designer Yoichi Kotabe.
The studio is internationally renowned for its literary anime, but has also produced many works based on existing manga and original ideas. The studio's greatest success in ratings has come with a work of entirely Japanese origin, Chibi Maruko-chan, one of the highest-rated anime programs in the history of Japanese TV with ratings reaching as high as nearly 40% at its peak.
See also Trans Arts, a studio who worked with the company throughout the '70s and '80s. More credits can be found here.
Besides the above, other projects by Nippon Animation include:
Major- Animated Classics of Japanese Literature (Seishun Anime Zenshu)
- Antique Bakery
- Around the World with Willy Fog (original; later series by Wang Film Productions)
- Attack on Tomorrow!
- Bannertail: The Adventures of Gray Squirrel
- Bumpety Boo
- Blocker Corps (Animation, series with Ashi Productions)
- Captain Tsubasa J (with Studio Comet)
- Chibi Maruko-chan
- Corrector Yui
- Daigunder (Producer; animation by Brains Base)
- Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (original 1981 series; later series by Wang)
- Future Boy Conan (directed by Pre-Ghibli Hayao Miyazaki)
- Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
- Haikara-san ga Tooru (both the 1978 TV series and the 2017-18 movies)
- Hunter × Hunter (original series and OVAs. 2011 series done by Madhouse and Studio Live)
- Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli
- Legend of the Condor Hero (with Jade Animation)
- Let's Make a Mug Too
- Little Lulu
- Locke the Superman
- Love All Play (with OLM Incorporated)
- Maya the Bee (both 1970s anime seriesnote , co-produced with Austria's Apollo Film; series two animated by Wako Production under contract from Nippon Animation)
- Miracle Girls
- Muka Muka Paradise
- Nangoku Shonen Papuwa Kun
- Noozles
- Piccolino no Bouken
- Princess Comet
- Super Combining Magical Robot Ginguiser (with Ashi Productions)
- Vicky the Viking (a Zuiyô Eizo work prior to episode 53; although the series was credited as a Nippon Animation production from that point onward, Zuiyô continues to hold the show's copyright)
- World Masterpiece Theater franchise (series with their own pages; for other works, see the page for the original literary work):
- Akage no Anne
- The Bush Baby
- A Dog of Flanders (1975)
- Alps Story: My Annette
- Ie Naki Ko Remi
- Katri, Girl of the Meadows
- Little Prince Cedie
- Little Women (1987 version)
- My Daddy Long Legs
- Peter Pan no Bouken
- Porphy no Nagai Tabi
- Princess Sarah
- Rascal the Raccoon
- Romeo's Blue Skies
- The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love
- The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island
- Trapp Family Story
- Tico of the Seven Seas
Additional Work
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (JP) (co-produced with Apollo Films)
- AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline (In-Between Animation)
- Future Card Buddyfight Ace (Finish Animation)
- Ghost Hound (2nd Key Animation)
- Guilty Crown (Color Check)
- Heat Guy J (In-Between Animation)
- Japan Animator Expo (In-Between Animation for "Bubu & Bubulina")
- Kemeko Deluxe! (In-Between Animation)
- Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (In-Between Animation)
- Library War (Key Animation)
- The Mighty Kong (co-produced with Lana Productions; animation done by Anirom, Hahn Shin Corporation, Jade Animation and RainbowAnimationKorea)
- Lupin III: Blood Seal ~Eternal Mermaid~ (Animation Cooperation)
- Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (2nd Key Animation)
- My Hero Academia (In-Between Animation)
- Nodame Cantabile: Paris (In-Between Animation)
- Penguin Highway (Finish & In-Between Animation)
- Resident Evil 4 (Remake) (Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater promotion trailers)
- Soul Eater (Production Cooperation; episodes 14 & 22)
Nippon Animation and their works provide examples of:
- Creator's Oddball: The 1999 anime adaptation of Hunter × Hunter is a Darker and Edgier series adapted from a shonen manga, a marked difference from their literary adaptations and more lighthearted series. This is also true of the studio's first theatrical feature, Locke the Superman (1984).
- While known for the literary adaptations from the beginning, Nippon Animation's early years in the late '70s featured more stylistic variety, with the studio trying its hand at shoujo manga adaptations (Haikara-san ga Tooru), sports dramas (Song of Baseball Enthusiasts and the volleyball-themed Attack on Tomorrow), and even the super robot genre (Ginguiser).
- Genre Anthology: Their World Masterpiece Theater and Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics series adapt classic literature and fairy tales, respectively. Their Animated Classics of Japanese Literature series did the same for well-known domestic literary works.
- International Coproduction: Nippon Animation did many of these, particularly with Spanish, German and Austrian companies, many of which became more popular in the West than in the country where they were animated.
