Bee Train Production facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
BEE TRAIN Production Inc.

Native name	ビィートレイン株式会社
Type	Kabushiki kaisha Animation studio
Industry	Animation (Anime)
Genre	various
Founded	Tokyo, Japan June 5, 1997 (1997-06-05)
Founder	Kōichi Mashimo
Headquarters	Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo , Japan
Number of locations	3 (Kokubunji, Kichijōji, Karuizawa)
Key people	Kōichi Mashimo, CEO Kenji Horikawa, Director
Products	Arc the Lad (1999) Noir (2001) .hack//Sign (2002) Madlax (2004) Tsubasa Chronicle (2005–06) .hack//Roots (2006) El Cazador de la Bruja (2007)
Total equity	¥10,000,000
Number of employees	70 (April 2007)
Parent	Production I.G (1997–2006)
Divisions	Bee Train Digital (defunct) Studio Road C-Station (2009–12) D-Station (defunct)

Bee Train Production (ビィートレイン株式会社, Biītorein Kabushikigaisha), often called just Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo started it in 1997. They are known for anime series like Noir, .hack//Sign, and Madlax. These shows often feature strong female main characters with close, sometimes mysterious, friendships.

How Bee Train Started

Bee Train was founded on June 5, 1997. Its founder, Kōichi Mashimo, used to be a director at Tatsunoko Productions. He also had his own small team of freelance artists.

At first, Bee Train was part of a bigger company called Production I.G. Another studio, Xebec, was also part of Production I.G. But in February 2006, Bee Train became an independent studio.

Kōichi Mashimo wanted Bee Train to be a "hospital for animators." This meant he wanted a studio that focused on helping young artists grow. He cared more about making high-quality art than just making money. Mashimo got this idea after a serious skiing accident. He spent a long time recovering in the hospital. This "studio-as-hospital" idea has been Bee Train's main goal ever since.

Famous Anime Projects

Bee Train's first projects came out in 1999. They were anime shows based on popular video game franchises in Japan. These included PoPoLoCrois, Arc the Lad, Wild Arms: Twilight Venom, and Medabots.

Later, Bandai Visual worked with Bee Train to create an anime OVA (Original Video Animation). This OVA was based on the well-known .hack video game series. They also made an anime TV show to promote the games. This show, .hack//Sign, aired in 2002 and is one of Bee Train's most famous works. The OVA was called .hack//Liminality. Its four episodes were added as bonus content to the first four hack games. In 2006, Bee Train made .hack//Roots. This anime was a prequel to the .hack//G.U. games and was similar in style to Sign.

Bee Train's first project made completely on its own was Noir. This series aired in 2001. It was made at the same time as Sign. Noir was the first part of Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" series. Noir became very popular in Japan, France, the United States, and other Western countries.

After Noir's success, the second series, Madlax, came out in 2004. The third series, El Cazador de la Bruja, started airing in April 2007. These "girls-with-guns" shows are seen as Bee Train's special style. However, the original idea for them came from their executive producer, Shigeru Kitayama.

From 1997, the studio's main office was in Kokubunji, Tokyo. In 2001, it moved to a different part of the city. Two more studio locations were added in 2004 (in Karuizawa, Nagano) and 2006 (Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo).

The company has not made new anime since 2012. This is because Kōichi Mashimo retired from the anime industry.

Bee Train's Style

Kōichi Mashimo often uses a technique called brainstorming. He discusses new anime ideas with his team. For example, he says this is how they came up with the idea of a special connection between the two main girls in Madlax.

Bee Train also likes to invite Japanese voice actors to work on new projects. They often ask actors who have voiced similar characters before. For instance, Hōko Kuwashima voiced Kirika Yuumura in Noir and Margaret Burton in Madlax. Aya Hisakawa voiced Chloe in Noir and characters in Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja. Kaori Nazuka voiced Subaru in .hack//Sign and Shino in .hack//Roots.

The famous Japanese composer and music producer Yuki Kajiura has created music for many Bee Train projects. She started with Noir, and its music was a big part of its appeal. Kajiura also made music for Sign, Liminality, Madlax, Tsubasa Chronicle, and El Cazador de la Bruja. Mashimo once said that Kajiura "is a storyteller who just happens to know how to write music."

Bee Train also often works with the music duo Ali Project. They created music for Noir, Avenger, and .hack//Roots. In Bee Train's shows, music is just as important as the visuals and dialogue. Sometimes, the music is so strong it almost takes over the dialogue. You can hear this in shows like .hack//Sign, Avenger, and Madlax.

Anime Made by Bee Train

Here is a list of anime projects Bee Train has worked on:

Other Teams at Bee Train

Bee Train had a small team called Bee Train Digital. This team handled special effects and other extra work for shows. They helped with effects and finishing for projects like .hack//SIGN and Avenger. They also created special effects for Toaru Majutsu no Index.

Another team, Studio Road, is located within Bee Train's offices. They help finish animation for Bee Train and other studios.

Between 2009 and 2010, two new teams were added. The C-Station Department focused on animation design. The D-Station Department was a new version of Bee Train Digital. It handled digital production and photography. In 2012, C-Station became its own independent company. D-Station is no longer listed by Bee Train.

See also

In Spanish: Bee Train para niños