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Topcraft was established in February 1972 in Koenji (Tokyo) by several ex-members of Toei. Their President, Toru Hara, had already worked on the planning of Toei's TAIYO NO OJI HORUS NO DAIBOKEN directed by colleague and friend Isao Takahata: this film, thanks to the innovative layout of a young Hayao Miyazaki, has now considered as the true beginning of Japanese animation (which collected only pale attempts by western schools). Rankin/Bass Productions, an American company well-known for stop-motion technique, was charged by ABC to produce a cel-animated TV-series. Toru Hara had to meet Arthur Rankin for the first time in the corridors of Toei, during the making of some TV-series. Topcraft was so called in order to made a pilot film named KID POWER. The regular series counted 15 episodes, which were mainly designed by Akio Hosotani, Minoru Kibata and Katsumi Onishi. Each episode was supervised by Tsuguyuki Kubo, known to the American audience, since he did work on JOHNNY CHYPER and the opening sequence for Tatsunoko's SPEED RACER. A few some episodes were directed by rookie Katsuhisa Yamada. Despite of his young age, he was highly regarded as a strong creative force during the filming of KID POWER. Prior to this, he worked as assistant director on Toei's TIGER MASK. Subsequently, he directed a few episodes of MAZINGER Z completed (the sole collaboration between Topcraft and Toei Doga: usually those new service studios would go on to do subcontracting for the same firms the founder had just left.). Topcraft made another three TV-specials for Rankin/Bass: 20.000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, TOM SAWYER and WILLIE MAYS AND HEY-SAY KID. A fourth film exists, from the title THAT GIRL IN WONDERLAND, aired in 1973 but allegedly produced in 1972.
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List of MAZINGER Z's episodes made at Topcraft |
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# |
Original Title |
Unit Director | Supervision |
Key Frames |
I/B Animation |
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55 |
富士山 大直滑降作戦 | Katsuhisa Yamada | Akio Hosotani |
Minoru Kibata, Hidemi Kubo
Yasushi Hirakawa |
Haruko Onishi, Noriko Sugiura
Kazuo Arai |
16/12/73
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| 60 | マジンガーZ 秘密兵器発射!! | Koichi Sasaki | Akio Hosotani |
Hidemi Kubo
Yasushi Hirakawa |
Mitsuko Nagai
Masahiro Yoshida |
20/01/74
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| 64 | 女007対 ブロッケン殺人鬼 | Katsuhisa Yamada | Minoru Kibata |
Kazuyuki Kobayashi
Kazuo Arai |
Mayoko Kanno
Masahiro Yoshida |
17/02/74
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| 65 | 風が運んだ 風船爆弾!! | Koichi Sasaki | Akio Hosotani |
Hidemi Kubo
Yasushi Hirakawa |
Mitsuko Nagai
Haruko Onishi |
24/02/74
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| 70 | 不死身の指揮官 兜甲児!! | Katsuhisa Yamada | Susumu Sato |
Haruo Fujimoto |
Atsuko Shimazaki
Masahiro Yoshida |
31/03/74
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| 71 | 危機突破!! 新パイルダーGO!! | Koichi Sasaki | Hidemi Kubo |
Yasushi Hirakawa, Noriko Sugiura
Minoru Kibata |
Masayo Haruoka
Haruko Onishi |
07/04/74
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| 76 | 世紀の恋人 ダイアナンA! | Katsuhisa Yamada | Hidemi Kubo |
Yasushi Hirakawa, Noriko Sugiura
Yoshinori Kanemori, Hiroshi Oikawa |
Mayoko Kanno, Mitsuko Nagai
Masahiro Yoshida |
12/05/74
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| 82 | 悪魔の手に渡った マジンガーZ | Katsuhisa Yamada | Hidemi Kubo |
Yasushi Hirakawa, Noriko Sugiura
Yoshinori Kanemori, Hiroshi Oikawa |
Mayoko Kanno, Mitsuko Nagai |
23/06/74
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| 84 | 深海はマジンガーZ の 墓場だ!! | Koichi Sasaki | Hidemi Kubo |
Yasushi Hirakawa
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Haruko Onishi, Mitsuko Nagai
Masahiro Yoshida |
07/07/74
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| 87 | 爆死!! 恐怖のピグマン子爵!! | Katsuhisa Yamada | Hidemi Kubo |
Hiroshi Oikawa
Noriko Sasaki |
Atsuko Shimazaki, Fumiko Kawada Masayo Haruoka
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28/07/74
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| 89 | 待ったなし!! 驚異の地底4,000M!! | Tsunekiyo Otani | Hidemi Kubo |
Yasushi Hirakawa, Noriko Sugiura
Yoshinori Kanemori, Hiroshi Oikawa |
Haruko Onishi, Mitsuko Nagai
Masahiro Yoshida |
11/08/74
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Later,
along with the bankruptcy of Tezuka's Mushi Prouctions and Toei's momentary standstill
in the overseas works, Topcraft became the only production source of Rankin/Bass.
During 1973 and 1974, no more screenplay arrived from the United
States. Topcraft eventually worked on several home TCJ/Eiken's TV-series and was also very helpful in realizing some episodes
of KAGAKU
NINJATAI GATCHAMAN under
Tatsunoko's commission. For the Americans there was only a pilot film for an unaired sequel of 20.000
LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. The Japanese historian Yoko Gomi affirms that Topcraft
also completed three episodes of Rankin/Bass TV-series JACKSON 5IVE (a
substantial number of episodes of this was outsourced at Halas&Batchelor's facilities in
England). Finally, in
December 1974 was produced a TV special entitled TWAS' THE NIGHT
BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Jerome Coopersmith did screenplay (even if it was
accredited to Romeo Muller by Japanese fonts, I prefer to use official
info by Rich Goldschmidt). The key frames were achieved by Hiroshi Oikawa, Yoshinori Kanemori and Katsumi Aoshima, while the storyboard
was prepared from Keiji Hisaoka. During 1975, Topcraft
made a short-length tv-special written by Julian P.Gardner entitled THE FIRST EASTER
RABBIT. Minoru Nishida worked as art-director,
designing most of the backgrounds. In 1975 was also assumed an ex-employee of bankrupted Zuiyo named Kiyoshi
Sakai, who started as production assistant and then became studio's manager. Frosty, a nice snowman originally created by cartoonist Paul Coker
Jr and redesigned for animation by Tsuguyuki Kubo, was
the main character of next TV special, titled WINTER WONDERLAND. It was
animated by Hidemi Kubo, Yoshiko Sasaki and Tadakatsu Yoshida. Frosty appeared
for the first time in a tv-special dated 1969, which was actually made in Japan
(precisely by Mushi).
A young man named Kazuyuki Kobayashi, took care of the continuity design on each of these three TV specials. Kobayashi become animation supervisor after only two years (usually it need at least five years in order to fullfill such a practice). At first, he was one of the I/B animators on KID POWER. He was soon called as key animator on Toei's MAZINGER Z. Up to 2009 he kept the employment at Studio Gallop. Hidemi Kubo, brother of the well-known Tsuguyuki, also did the continuity design and layouts for two of the most popular Tatsunoko's TV series, such as TIME BOKAN and PAUL NO MIRACLE DAISAKUSEN, in which were also involved Fumiko Kawada, Yoshiko Sasaki and the veteran Minoru Kibata. Still of 1975 it is a Germany/Japan co-production from the title MITSUBACHI MAYA NO BOKEN (MAYA THE BEE) and achieved by Zuiyo Eizo. Topcraft made an undetermined number of episodes with the key animators Yasushi Hirakawa, Yoshinori Kanemori and Hiroshi Oikawa.
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