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Kitty Films

From Alfawiki
Kitty Films Co., Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryAnime, Film production, Music production
PredecessorKitty Music Corporation
Founded1972
FounderHidenori Taga
Defunct1996
FateAcquired by PolyGram; restructured as Kitty Group (talent agency)
Headquarters
Japan
,
Japan
Area served
Japan
Key people
Hidenori Taga (founder)
ProductsAnime television series, films, soundtracks
ParentPolyGram (from 1995)

Kitty Films Co., Ltd. (キティフィルム Kabushiki-gaisha Kiti Firumu) was a Japanese production company established in 1972. It was a trailblazer in issuing complete anime television series as unified collections. The 1979 movie Almost Transparent Blue garnered a shared nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording at the 3rd Japan Academy Film Prize held in 1980.

History

Originally launched as Kitty Music Corporation by Hidenori Taga, the firm began by creating soundtracks for television dramas, debuting with the 1972 film Hajimete no Tabi. By 1979, its portfolio had grown to include live-action movies such as Almost Transparent Blue and Lady Oscar, the latter being a live-action rendition of the manga The Rose of Versailles. The sound recording work on Almost Transparent Blue earned recognition at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Kitty ventured into anime production with the 1981 TV adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga, Urusei Yatsura. Following this, it produced most of the animated versions of Takahashi’s works, including Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½. The actual animation tasks were outsourced to studios like Studio Pierrot, Studio Deen, and Madhouse. Kitty was among the first to issue entire series collections, exemplified by their limited edition 50-disc laserdisc box set of Urusei Yatsura in 1987, which quickly sold out and influenced industry practices toward releasing box sets.

Financial struggles increasingly affected Kitty toward the conclusion of Ranma ½ in 1992. It was reported that founder Taga covered deficits in the film division by diverting funds from the music sector, leading to his resignation amid controversy. By 1995, PolyGram had acquired Kitty Enterprise.

While titles such as Ping Pong Club (1995) were still produced, Kitty’s output significantly declined in the late 1990s. After completing the final Ranma OVA in 1996, Rumiko Takahashi discontinued her collaborations with them; subsequent adaptations like Inuyasha and Rumic Theater were produced by Sunrise and TMS respectively.

Kitty’s affiliate, Kitty Film Mitaka Studio, was responsible for several anime series and OVAs but failed to achieve notable success and was eventually disbanded.

The company was later restructured as Kitty Group, now functioning mainly as a talent agency after divesting most rights to its film catalog. The Kitty Records library is currently overseen by Universal Music Japan.

Productions

External links

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