Toei Company facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Toei Company, Ltd.

Tōei's headquarters at Toei Kaikan in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo
Native name	東映株式会社
Romanized name	Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha
Formerly	Tōkyō Eiga Haikyū (1949–1951)
Type	Public KK
Traded as	TYO: 9605
Industry	Film and television Video games
Founded	October 1, 1949; 75 years ago (1949-10-01) (as Tōkyō Eiga)
Founder	Keita Goto
Headquarters	2-17 Ginza 3-chome, Chūō, Tokyo , Japan
Area served	Worldwide, with a focus in Japan
Key people	Noriyuki Tada (Chairman) Fumio Yoshimura (President and CEO)
Products	Motion pictures, publicity materials
Services	Film and TV distribution and marketing
Revenue	¥ 66,300,000,000 (As of March 2006)
Number of employees	343 (As of March 1, 2019)
Subsidiaries	Toei Video Toei Animation Toei Advartising Toei Studios Kyoto Toei TV Production Toei CM Toei Labo Tech San-ei Printing T-Joy Toei Hotel Chain Toei Kenko TV Asahi Holdings (8.09%)

Toei Company, Ltd. (東映株式会社, Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese entertainment company. It is based in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Toei makes movies and TV shows. They also develop video games and own many movie theaters.

Toei has studios in Tokyo and Kyoto. They are famous for making anime (Japanese animation). They also create live-action dramas called tokusatsu. These shows use cool special effects. Toei is also known for making historical dramas. Globally, Toei owns most of Toei Animation. They are well-known for popular series like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

Toei is one of Japan's four biggest film studios. The others are Kadokawa Daiei Studio, Shochiku, and Toho.

Toei's Story

Toei started as the Toyoko Eiga Company, Ltd. in 1938. It was founded by Keita Goto, who was the CEO of a railway company. In 1945, they began leasing a second studio in Kyoto.

On October 1, 1950, the Tokyo Film Distribution Company was formed. This company was a part of Toyoko Eiga. In 1951, they bought another company called Ōizumi Films. The company we know as Toei today was officially created on April 1, 1951. This merger brought together many talented actors.

In 1955, Toei bought the Kyoto studio. A year later, in 1956, Toei started its animation part, Toei Animation. They bought a company called Japan Animated Films. Toei was a leader in using "Henshin" (character transformation) in live-action shows. This technique was used in Kamen Rider, Metal Hero, and Super Sentai series. These types of shows are still popular today.

In September 1964, Toei became fully independent from the Tokyu Corporation. In 1972, Toei started to show foreign films in Japan. In 1975, they opened a fun theme park at their Kyoto Studio. It is called the Toei Kyoto Studio Park.

Toei Movies

Toei began making its own films in 1953. They became known for action films and TV series. Many of their movies were "B-movies." These were shorter films often shown before a main movie or as part of a double feature.

Some of Toei's notable films include:

• Planet Prince (1959) – A science fiction adventure.
• Alakazam the Great (1960) – An animated film by Toei Animation.
• Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961) – A sci-fi movie starring Sonny Chiba.
• The Magic Serpent (1966) – A fantasy film.
• Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) – A monster movie made with South Korea.
• The Green Slime (1968) – A sci-fi horror film made with the U.S.
• The Street Fighter (1974) – An action movie starring Sonny Chiba.
• Message from Space (1978) – A space adventure with Sonny Chiba and Vic Morrow.
• Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013) – A computer-animated film by Toei Animation.
• Shin Kamen Rider (2023) – A modern reboot of the classic series.

Toei Animation Films

Toei Animation has created many famous animated movies. You can find more about them on the Toei Animation page.

Toei TV Shows

Toei has produced and distributed many popular TV shows. These include:

• Kamen Rider franchise (1971–present) – Heroes who transform to fight evil.
• Super Sentai franchise (1975–present) – Teams of colorful heroes, which inspired Power Rangers.
• Metal Hero franchise (1982–present) – Another series of heroes with special suits.
• Power Rangers franchise (1993–present) – The American version of Super Sentai.

Toei Video Games

Toei has also been involved in creating video games:

• Ninja Hayate (1984)
• Time Gal (1985)
• Chameleon Twist (1997)
• Chameleon Twist 2 (1998)

Saburo Yatsude

Saburō Yatsude is a special name used by Toei Company TV producers. It's like a team name or a pen name. They use it when they help create their anime and tokusatsu shows. It's similar to how another company, Bandai Namco Filmworks, uses the name Hajime Yatate.

This name, Saburo Yatsude, started being used with the show The Kagestar. It has been used for many Super Sentai and Metal Hero Series shows. It was also used for the Japanese Spider-Man TV series. The name is also sometimes listed for the music in these shows.

Toei Animation stopped using Saburo Yatsude in 1999. After that, they started using the name Izumi Todo instead. The first anime created by Izumi Todo was Ojamajo Doremi.

In the comedy show Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger, Saburo Hatte (another way to read the name) is shown as a real, god-like person.

Shows Created by Saburo Yatsude

Live Action Shows

• The Kagestar (1976-1977)
• Ninja Captor (1976-1977)
• Spider-Man (1978-1979)
• Kamen Rider (1971-present)
• Super Sentai (1979-present)
• Metal Hero Series (1982-1999)
• Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger (2012-2013)

Anime Shows

• Robot Romance Trilogy (1976-1979)
• Future Robot Daltanious (1979-1980)
• Space Emperor God Sigma (1980-1981)
• Beast King GoLion (1981-1982)
• Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (1982-1983)

See also