Bones (studio)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese anime
studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon
, Wolf's Rain
, Scrapped Princess
, Eureka Seven
, Angelic Layer
, Darker than Black
, Soul Eater
, Ouran High School Host Club
and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist
manga
along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto
and Gosick
. Its headquarters is located in Igusa, Suginami
, Tokyo
.
staff members Masahiko Minami
, Hiroshi Ōsaka
and Toshihiro Kawamoto
in October, 1998. One of their first projects was collaborating with Sunrise on Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, a feature film based on the Cowboy Bebop
TV anime series.
In 2007, the studio suffered the loss of co-founder Hiroshi Ōsaka
, well known for his works as character designer on series such as Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
, Mobile Fighter G Gundam
, and The Mars Daybreak
. Ōsaka had been battling with cancer, and died from the disease on September 24, 2007. He was 44 years old.
Since the death of Hiroshi Ōsaka
, two new additions have been made to the studio's board of directors. The additions are Makoto Watanabe and Takahiro Komori. Takahiro Komori is well known as a character designer and animator who has been with the studio since their inception. His previous works as designer consist of Angelic Layer
, Scrapped Princess
, and Darker than BLACK
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon
RahXephon
is a Japanese anime series about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a godlike mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world...
, Wolf's Rain
Wolf's Rain
is an anime series created by writer and story editor Keiko Nobumoto and produced by Bones Studio. The series was directed by Tensai Okamura and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto with a soundtrack produced and arranged by Yoko Kanno. It focuses on the journey of four lone wolves...
, Scrapped Princess
Scrapped Princess
is a Japanese light novel series by Ichiro Sakaki and illustrated by Nakayohi Mogudan, a popular adult dōjin artist. In 2003, it was adapted into an anime series produced by Bones...
, Eureka Seven
Eureka Seven
Eureka Seven, known in Japan as , is a mecha anime TV series by Bones. Eureka Seven tells the story of Renton Thurston and the outlaw group Gekkostate, his relationship with the enigmatic mecha pilot Eureka, and the mystery of the Coralians....
, Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer
is a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
, Darker than Black
Darker than Black
is an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It premiered across Japan from April 5, 2007 on MBS, TBS, and its affiliated broadcast stations, with its satellite television premiere in Japan on Animax in May 2007. The music for the series is...
, Soul Eater
Soul Eater (manga)
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy," the series revolves around three teams consisting of a weapon meister and human weapon...
, Ouran High School Host Club
Ouran High School Host Club
is a manga series by Bisco Hatori, serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine since August 5, 2003. The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at Ouran High School, and the other members of the popular host club. The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and without the...
and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist
, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto
Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto
is a 2010 Japanese anime television series created and animated by Bones. The series is directed by Takuya Igarashi, with character designs by Yoshiyuki Ito and Hiroka and Misa Mizuya. The anime premiered on October 3, 2010, on MBS-TBS's prime Sunday 5pm timeslot. Aniplex of America premiered the...
and Gosick
Gosick
is a Japanese light novel series by Kazuki Sakuraba, published by Fujimi Shobo. Set in a fictional European country in 1924, a Japanese exchange student meets a mysterious, brilliant girl who only leaves the library to sleep...
. Its headquarters is located in Igusa, Suginami
Suginami, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Suginami City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 538,703, with 301,277 households, and a density of 15,834.39 persons per km². The total area is 34.02 km².-Geography:Suginami occupies the...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
History
Bones was founded by SunriseSunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
staff members Masahiko Minami
Masahiko Minami
is a Japanese anime producer and president of Bones.-Career:A graduate of the Osaka University of Arts's department of arts, Minami began his career with noted anime studio Sunrise as one of its producers...
, Hiroshi Ōsaka
Hiroshi Osaka
was a Japanese animator, character designer and illustrator, born in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture. He was a graduate of the Kyoto Saga University of Arts...
and Toshihiro Kawamoto
Toshihiro Kawamoto
is a Japanese animator. He is co-founder and director of the anime studio Bones. He was character designer and animation director of Cowboy Bebop.-Early period:...
in October, 1998. One of their first projects was collaborating with Sunrise on Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, a feature film based on the Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop
is a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
TV anime series.
In 2007, the studio suffered the loss of co-founder Hiroshi Ōsaka
Hiroshi Osaka
was a Japanese animator, character designer and illustrator, born in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture. He was a graduate of the Kyoto Saga University of Arts...
, well known for his works as character designer on series such as Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
, is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series. It consists of 51 episodes, and was directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series was first broadcast on TV Asahi and later by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across Japan and later its respective networks...
, Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Mobile Fighter G Gundam, known in Japan as , is a Japanese animated television series directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa . Created to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the franchise in 1994, it is the first of the Gundam series to be set in an alternate continuity from the original "Universal Century"...
, and The Mars Daybreak
Kenran Butohsai
is a science-fiction anime series that aired on TV Tokyo from April 1 to September 23, 2004. Directed by Kunihiro Mori and co-produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Bones. The anime series is licensed by Bandai Entertainment...
. Ōsaka had been battling with cancer, and died from the disease on September 24, 2007. He was 44 years old.
Since the death of Hiroshi Ōsaka
Hiroshi Osaka
was a Japanese animator, character designer and illustrator, born in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture. He was a graduate of the Kyoto Saga University of Arts...
, two new additions have been made to the studio's board of directors. The additions are Makoto Watanabe and Takahiro Komori. Takahiro Komori is well known as a character designer and animator who has been with the studio since their inception. His previous works as designer consist of Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer
is a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
, Scrapped Princess
Scrapped Princess
is a Japanese light novel series by Ichiro Sakaki and illustrated by Nakayohi Mogudan, a popular adult dōjin artist. In 2003, it was adapted into an anime series produced by Bones...
, and Darker than BLACK
Darker than Black
is an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It premiered across Japan from April 5, 2007 on MBS, TBS, and its affiliated broadcast stations, with its satellite television premiere in Japan on Animax in May 2007. The music for the series is...
.
TV anime
- Hiwou War Chronicles (NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
BS2, 24 October 2000–1 May 2001) - Kidō Tenshi Angelic LayerAngelic Layeris a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
(TV TokyoTV Tokyois a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
, 1 April–30 September 2001) - RahXephonRahXephonis a Japanese anime series about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a godlike mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world...
(Fuji TV, 21 January–10 September 2002) - Wolf's RainWolf's Rainis an anime series created by writer and story editor Keiko Nobumoto and produced by Bones Studio. The series was directed by Tensai Okamura and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto with a soundtrack produced and arranged by Yoko Kanno. It focuses on the journey of four lone wolves...
(Fuji TV, 6 January–29 July 2003) - Scrapped PrincessScrapped Princessis a Japanese light novel series by Ichiro Sakaki and illustrated by Nakayohi Mogudan, a popular adult dōjin artist. In 2003, it was adapted into an anime series produced by Bones...
(WOWOWWOWOWWOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
, 8 April–7 October 2003) - Fullmetal AlchemistFullmetal Alchemist, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
(Mainichi Broadcasting SystemMainichi Broadcasting Systemis a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...
—TBSTokyo Broadcasting System, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
, 4 October 2003–2 October 2004) - Kenran Butohsai - The Mars DaybreakKenran Butohsaiis a science-fiction anime series that aired on TV Tokyo from April 1 to September 23, 2004. Directed by Kunihiro Mori and co-produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Bones. The anime series is licensed by Bandai Entertainment...
(TV Tokyo, 1 April–23 September 2004) - Kurau Phantom MemoryKURAU Phantom Memoryis a 2004 science fiction anime series, produced by Bones and Media Factory, which was broadcast in Japan by the anime television networks Animax and TV Asahi. Set primarily in the year 2110, it explores themes such as inter-familial relationships and ethics in science. The series was licensed by...
(TV AsahiTV Asahi, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
, 24 June–15 December 2004) - Psalms of Planets Eureka SevenEureka SevenEureka Seven, known in Japan as , is a mecha anime TV series by Bones. Eureka Seven tells the story of Renton Thurston and the outlaw group Gekkostate, his relationship with the enigmatic mecha pilot Eureka, and the mystery of the Coralians....
(Mainichi Broadcasting System-TBS, 26 April 2005–5 April 2006) - Ouran High School Host ClubOuran High School Host Clubis a manga series by Bisco Hatori, serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine since August 5, 2003. The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at Ouran High School, and the other members of the popular host club. The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and without the...
(Nippon TV, 4 April–27 September 2006) - Jyu-Oh-Sei (Fuji TV, 13 April–22 June 2006)
- Ghost Slayers Ayashi (Mainichi Broadcasting System—TBS, 7 October 2006–31 March 2007)
- Darker than Black: Kuro no KeiyakushaDarker than Blackis an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It premiered across Japan from April 5, 2007 on MBS, TBS, and its affiliated broadcast stations, with its satellite television premiere in Japan on Animax in May 2007. The music for the series is...
(Mainichi Broadcasting System—TBS, 5 April–28 September 2007) - Skull ManSkull Manis a manga series created by Shotaro Ishinomori which first appeared in Shōnen Magazine in 1970 and immediately caused a sensation, selling over 1.5 million copies. The hero, orphaned when his parents were murdered, grows up to use his peculiar powers to take his revenge...
(Fuji TV, 28 April–October 21, 2007) - Soul EaterSoul Eater (manga)is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy," the series revolves around three teams consisting of a weapon meister and human weapon...
(TV Tokyo, 7 April 2008–30 March 2009) - Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom ThiefNiju Menso no Musumeis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by manga author Shinji Ohara. The manga was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Comic Flapper between 2002 and 2007, but continued serialization in the same magazine with the title Nijū Mensō no Musume Utsushiyo no Yoru since October 5, 2007...
(Fuji TV, 12 April–27 September 2008, co-production with Telecom Animation Film) - Fullmetal Alchemist: BrotherhoodFullmetal Alchemist, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
(Mainichi Broadcasting System—TBS, 5 April 2009–4 July 2010) - Tokyo Magnitude 8.0Tokyo Magnitude 8.0is a Japanese anime television series that premiered on Fuji TV's noitaminA timeslot on July 9, 2009, where it ended its original run on September 17. Directed by Masaki Tachibana and written by Natsuko Takahashi, it is an original series co-produced by Bones and Kinema Citrus...
(Fuji TV, 9 July 2009 – 17 September 2009, co-production with Kinema Citrus) - Darker than Black: Ryūsei no GeminiDarker than Black: Ryūsei no Geminiis an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It is a sequel to the anime series Darker than Black which premiered in October 2009 and ended in December 2009. Though details of the sequel series were leaked beforehand, it was officially...
(Mainichi Broadcasting System-TBS, 8 October 2009–25 December 2009) - HeromanHeromanis a manga and anime produced by Bones and created by Marvel's Stan Lee. The manga is published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and began serialization in September 2009, while the anime series premiered on April 1, 2010, on TV Tokyo and related stations...
(TV Tokyo, 1 April 2010–23 September 2010) - Star Driver: Kagayaki no TakutoStar Driver: Kagayaki no Takutois a 2010 Japanese anime television series created and animated by Bones. The series is directed by Takuya Igarashi, with character designs by Yoshiyuki Ito and Hiroka and Misa Mizuya. The anime premiered on October 3, 2010, on MBS-TBS's prime Sunday 5pm timeslot. Aniplex of America premiered the...
(Mainichi Broadcasting System-TBS, 3 October 2010–4 April 2011) - GosickGosickis a Japanese light novel series by Kazuki Sakuraba, published by Fujimi Shobo. Set in a fictional European country in 1924, a Japanese exchange student meets a mysterious, brilliant girl who only leaves the library to sleep...
(TV Tokyo, 7 January 2011–2 July 2011) - No. 6No. 6No. 6 is a nine-volume novel series written by Atsuko Asano and published by Kodansha between October 2003 and June 2011. A manga adaptation drawn by Hinoki Kino began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Kodansha's Aria magazine. A TV anime series adaptation by Bones began airing in Japan in...
(Fuji TV, 8 July 2011–15 September 2011) - Un-GoUn-Gois a 2011 anime television series produced by Bones which began airing on Fuji TV's noitaminA program block from October 14, 2011. Based on the noted Japanese intellectual and novelist Ango Sakaguchi's novel , the series is being directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Shō Aikawa, who had...
(Fuji TV, October 2011– )
Original Video Animation
- Prototype (part of Halo LegendsHalo LegendsHalo Legends is a collection of seven short anime films set in the Halo science-fiction universe. Financed by Halo franchise overseer 343 Industries, the stories were created by six Japanese production houses: Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4°C, and Toei Animation...
) (2010) - Darker than BlackDarker than Blackis an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It premiered across Japan from April 5, 2007 on MBS, TBS, and its affiliated broadcast stations, with its satellite television premiere in Japan on Animax in May 2007. The music for the series is...
- Kuro no Keiyakusha: Gaiden (27 January 2010 - 21 July 2010)
Web anime
- Xam'd: Lost MemoriesXam'd: Lost MemoriesXam'd: Lost Memories, released in Japan as , is an anime series, conceptualized by Bones and co-developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Aniplex and Bones, which made its debut on Sony's inaugural launch of the PlayStation Network video download service at E3 in the United States on July 16,...
(PlayStation Network, 16 July 2008–3 February 2009)
Movies
- EscaflowneEscaflowne (film)is an anime film produced by Sunrise and animated by Studio BONES. Directed by Kazuki Akane, the film is a re-telling of the twenty-six episode anime television series The Vision of Escaflowne...
(June 2000 co-production with SunriseSunrise (company)is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
) - Cowboy Bebop: The MovieCowboy Bebop: The Movie, known internationally as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, is a 2001 animated film directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto, based on the Cowboy Bebop television series created by Sunrise. The plot centers on Spike Spiegel and his crew as they find a criminal who is...
(1 September 2001, co-production with SunriseSunrise (company)is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
) - Pia Carrot e Yōkoso!! - Sayaka no Koi Monogatari -Welcome to Pia Carrotis a Japanese visual novel series by Cocktail Soft . The series is an eroge and anime have been based on it.The games are all set around restaurants in the fictional "Pia Carrot" chain, and most of the female characters are waitresses at these restaurants. The individual restaurants in the chain...
(Overall production: I-Move, production assistance, released October 19, 2002) - RahXephon Tagen Hensōkyoku (19 April 2003) (23 July 2005)
- Sword of the StrangerSword of the Strangeris a 2007 Japanese anime feature film directed by Masahiro Andō and produced by Bones. The film follows Kotaro, a young boy who is hunted by the Ming from China for mysterious reasons. Among the Ming is a fearsome Western fighter named Luo-Lang, whose only desire is to find a worthy opponent...
(29 September 2007) - Eureka Seven Pocket Full Of Rainbows; U.S. title: Eureka 7: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers (animation production handled by Kinema Citrus; 25 April 2009 in Japan and 24 September 2009 in the United States)
- Towa no QuonTowa no Quonis a 2011 Japanese animated supernatural film series directed by Umanosuke Iida. The first film in the series was released in theaters on June 18, 2011.-Plot:...
Chapter 1: Fleeting Petals (18 June 2011-) - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (2 July 2011)
Games
- Rahxephon Sōkyū Gensokyoku (BandaiBandaiis a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
, 7 August 2003) - Eureka Seven vol. 1: New Wave (BandaiBandaiis a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
, 27 October 2005) - Eureka Seven vol. 2: The New Vision (BandaiBandaiis a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
, 11 May 2006) - Kaito Shōjo (Part of Guild01Guild01is an upcoming video game compilation for the Nintendo 3DS. It is being published by Level-5, and is being developed in cooperation with game designers Goichi Suda, Yoot Saito, and Yasumi Matsuno as well as Yoshiyuki Hirai of comedy duo America Zarigani. The compilation contains four games, each...
) (Level-5Level-5is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
, 2012)