Bandai

Categories: Toy companies | Animation studios | Anime companies | Companies of Japan

This article is about the Japanese toy manufacturer. For the town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, see Bandai, Fukushima.

Image:96bandaired.jpg

Saab 96 tin plate toy car by Bandai

Bandai is a Japanese toy making company. It is the world's third largest producer of toys.

1 History
2 Subsidaries
3 Anime produced by Bandai Visual (selection)
4 Tokusatsu movies produced by Bandai
5 External links

[edit]

History

Bandai was founded in 1950. Some of the early tin plate toys are highly collectible; the pictured model will sell for around US$150.

Since the 1980s, Bandai has become a leading toy company in Japan, and to this day, has the main toy licenses in Japan to popular properties including Godzilla, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, the Super Sentai Series (which they took part in creating), Gundam and many others.

[edit]

Subsidaries

Bandai has many subsidiaries. Further detail:

[edit]

Bandai Visual (Emotion)

Bandai Visual (Emotion), produces (sometimes in conjunction with the Sunrise animation studio, also a Bandai subsidiary) and distributes many popular anime and tokusatsu titles. These titles include Big O, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Superman, Escaflowne, the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise and Witch Hunter Robin. The company logo is the Moai, a statue found on Easter Island.

[edit]

Bandai America

Bandai America is the American distribution arm of Bandai that makes toy products for the U.S. market, distributes Bandai games, and distributes many of Bandai Visual's anime titles (in addition to animes licensed from other animation studios, such as .hack//SIGN) in the United States through its Bandai Entertainment arm headquartered in Cypress, California and in Canada through Bandai Entertainment Canada, which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

[edit]

Bandai Games

Bandai Games produces and distributes video games based on Bandai properties including Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front, Gundam Wing: Endless Duel, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo. Bandai Games most recently opened a United States office.

[edit]

Carddass

Carddass is the subsidiary in Bandai that released Trading Card Games of many Bandai franchises, such as Gundam War for Gundam metaseries and Gash Bell (Zetch Bell) TCG.

[edit]