Toho Co., Ltd.: Difference between revisions

{{DescriptionsIncomplete}}{{PageCredits|description=Eric S., Logoarto, sega3dmm, Supermarty-o, Stephen C. and Thisisanswer|edits=kidinbed, mr3urious And thestudioghiblifan|capture=Eric S. , sega3dmm, Stephen C., Logoarto|video=shimomov, Peakpasha, Logo Archive, BreadCrustCouncil, ArhiVid and MarkStarCrashes}} {{Infobox company

'''Toho Co., Ltd.''' ({{abbr|東宝株式会社|Tōhō kabushiki gaisha}}) is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. It was formed as Toho Eiga Co., Ltd. from the merger of [[P.C.L.]], [[Jenkins Osawa Studio]], and [[Toho Eiga Haikyu]] of the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company which itself was formed in 1932. In 1937, the documentary film department, [[Toho Bunka Eiga]], was established. In 1943, it was merged with the Tokyo-Takarazuka Theater Company, forming Toho Co., Ltd. and renaming their production facilities as Toho Studios.

Outside Japan, it is best known as the producer and distributor of many kaiju and tokusatsu films, the ''Chouseishin'' tokusatsu superhero television franchise, the films of Akira Kurosawa, and the anime films of [[Studio Ghibli]]. Other famous directors, including Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Masaki Kobayashi, and Mikio Naruse, also directed films for Toho. Toho's most famous creation is Godzilla, who features in 29 of the company's films. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla are described as Toho's Big Five because of the monsters' numerous appearances in all three eras of the franchise, as well as spin-offs. Toho has also been involved in the production of numerous anime titles. Its subdivisions are Toho-Towa Distribution, Toho Pictures Incorporated, Toho International Company Limited, Toho E. B. Company Limited, and Toho Music Corporation & Toho Costume Company Limited. The company is the largest shareholder (7.96%) of Fuji Media Holdings Inc. Toho is a member of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is one of Japan's Big Four film studios.

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===1st Logo (July 11, 1937-March 2, 1938)===

 

 

 

 

 

 

===3rd Logo (June 11, 1938-March 11, 1941)===

 

 

 

===4th Logo (1938)===

[[File:Toho13.PNG.png|350px|center]]

'''Visuals:''' On a light background, a large Toho emblem in black is seen. Over the emblem is the Japanese text.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

File:toho rocky 2.jpeg

 

 

 

 

[[File:Toho 1942 shadow.png|center|350px]]

 

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File:Toho-Shintoho1.jpeg

File:Toho-Shintoho2.jpeg

File:Toho-Shintoho3.jpeg

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'''Availability:''' Seen on early [[Shintoho|Shintoho]] productions, preceding said company's logo.

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=== 8th Logo (1948)===

File:Toho marble 1949.jpeg

File:Toho marble 1948.jpeg

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===9th Logo (July 19, 1949-May 14, 1950) ===

File:Toho town 1950.jpeg

File:Toho town 1949.jpeg

'''Variant:''' There's an animated version where the logo begins with the Toho emblem and name darkened, then being lit up.

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File:Toho flower field 1.jpeg

File:Toho flower field 2.jpeg

'''Visuals:''' Over a flower field, we see the Toho emblem zooming in. The arched company name enters from the right of the screen to below the emblem.

===11th Logo (1950) ===

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File:Toho frame 1952.jpeg

File:Toho frame 1951.jpeg

File:Toho frame 1950.jpeg

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File:Toho 1952 sunburst.jpg

File:Toho 1953.jpeg

File:Toho 1952 B.jpeg

File:Toho 1952 A.jpeg

<center><youtube width="329" height="186">7yd3tQmrYCY</youtube><youtube width="248" height="185">6MPrKJ4JFb8</youtube><youtube width="248" height="185">5Yc62s-Cs7M</youtube></center>

'''Visuals:''' Similar to before, except the lines are aquamarine is shown over a sky background with some clouds below. The emblem and the company name (which are already there) is in orange.

===15th Logo (1954-1965) ===

File:Toho shining 1.jpeg

File:Toho shining 2.jpeg

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File:Toho shining 4.jpeg

File:Toho shining 5.jpeg

File:Toho shining 6.jpeg

File:Toho shining 7.jpeg

File:Toho shining 8.jpeg

File:TohoScope1.jpg

File:TohoScope2.jpg

File:Toho behind the scenes (1950s).png|Behind-the-scenes photograph of the distribution variant

'''Visuals:''' Similar to before, but the emblem is smaller and is shown on a dark blue space background with two versions, one with golden stripes with the various colors of the rainbow spectrum, and clear, light blue stripes with the colors of the rainbow spectrum more apparent.

'''Variant:'''  

*The distribution variant reads "TOHO COMPANY LTD. DISTRIBUTION" in Japanese. The rotating stripes are much slower and slightly blurry in this variant.

File:Toho-Pan-Scope-(1958).png

File:tOYrpA_kgTxyLtEJqAaPQQ20054.jpg

File:gSmgKZAa61jid1lTT6WMQQ47944.jpg

File:WcTdwC1krEZmBOBZUhAFNQ175412.png

File:Toho Company, Ltd. (1981, Open Matte).png

File:Toho Company Limited logo (1980, English Flat Version (1)).png

File:2AIznqr7djp7qjqPj8jbtw8618.jpg

'''Visuals:''' Again, similar to before, but the logo is shown on a blue space background with mostly clear stripes that correspond to the various colors of light seen in the center of the logo. Small sparks of light are seen emitted from the center.

*Some movies had an English-translated logo (with "TOHO" written in the circle and/or "TOHO COMPANY, LTD." in English, replacing the kanji). A still shot of this variant can be seen on the trailer for the anime film ''Metropolis''.

*The distribution variant also has "TOHO COMPANY, LTD. DISTRIBUTION" in Japanese, unlike previous logos. There are color and B&W variants and still version which used on trailer of Toho distributed films. It was seen on Toho distributed films like ''Kuroneko'' (1968), ''Under the Flag of Rising Sun'' (1972), ''Dodes'ka-den'' (1970), ''Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965) and others.

*The print circle was seen on ''Godzilla Unleashed'' for the Nintendo DS, as well as some Classic Media DVD releases of Toho material.

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* It's retained on almost all of Toho's projects made in the era. It can also be seen on several anime productions such as the ''Doraemon'' and ''Crayon Shin-Chan'' films, ''Metropolis'' (2001), and ''Akira'', ''Macross: Do You Remember Love?'', among others.  

* It can also be seen on ''Koneko Monogatari'' (1986), which was reedited and redubbed outside of Japan as ''The Adventures of Milo and Otis'' (a [[Columbia Pictures]] release). Additionally, it can be found on Japanese prints of Studio Ghibli films starting with ''Only Yesterday.'' It also plasters the 1952 logo on the 1972 PBS broadcast and 1984 Embassy Home Entertainment release of ''Seven Samurai''. It may have also appeared on the earliest Japanese prints of ''My Neighbor Totoro''.

File:Toho 1993.jpg|1993 version

File:Toho Co. Ltd (1999).png|1993 scope version

File:Toho (1993, English Version).jpg|1993 English version

File:Toho Company LTD (2001, English, Scope).png|1993 English scope version

File:Toho-logo.jpg|2009 version

File:Toho Company, Ltd. (2016).png|2009 scope version

'''Visuals:''' An updated version of the last logo. The stripes are colored purple and various light blue colors, but also some green and yellow stripes are thrown in as well.

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* Seen on newer releases from the company, such as ''Ringu'', ''Shin Godzilla'' (before the 1954 TohoScope logo), the ''Pokémon'' films (albiet plastered by the 1998 Miramax Films logo on American prints of ''Pokémon'' films from 2001-2004 from ''Pokémon 4Ever'' to ''Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'') and ''Jujutsu Kaisen 0''.

* Also seen on recent Japanese prints of Studio Ghibli or Mamotu Hosoda-operated Studio Chizu films, sometimes before Nippon Television Networks logo.

'''Visuals:''' On a realistic space background, a blue ice comet flies around the bottom of the screen, with the background rotating with it. We then go inside the comet, which reveals several blue and purple streaks coming towards the center with a white light in the middle, as the letters of "TOHO" in off-white fly in from the middle of the screen. A large white ring also comes in as well. After they settle, the background fades to a mostly unaltered version of the 1993 logo's background, and the "東宝" kanji fade in.

*June-September 2022: During the ice comet flying animation, a quiet whoosh can be heard. There is a calm synth theme during the "TOHO" name flying and the ring flying, as well as over the blue and purple streaks animation. Another calm theme is heard at the end during the logo formation, with the background and kanji letters fading in.

*November 2022-: During the comet sequence, a majestic orchestral fanfare is heard, along with different quiet whooshes and a film projector sound effect. At the end, during the streaks, the company name, and the ring flying animation, a different film projector soundbite is heard, which ends in a "clang" sound effect during the background and kanji letters animation.

*Sometimes (mainly ''Monster Hunter'', this logo's currently lone appearance), it has the opening theme of the movie.