{{Short description|Japanese animation studio}} {{Distinguish|Kitty Media}} {{Expand Japanese|キティ・フィルム|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox company | name = Kitty Films Co., Ltd. | logo = KittyFilms-logo.png | type = Kabushiki gaisha | native_name = 株式会社キティフィルム | native_name_lang = ja | romanized_name = Kabushiki-gaisha Kiti Firumu | fate = Reincorporated as Kitty Group; properties now split between various companies | foundation = {{start date and age|1972}} | defunct = {{end date and age|1996}} | founder = Hidenori Taga | location_city = | location_country = Japan | locations = | key_people = | industry = Production company | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = }} '''Kitty Films Co., Ltd.''' (キティフィルム ''Kabushiki-gaisha Kiti Firumu'') was a production company established in 1972 in Japan. They were a pioneer in releasing full anime television series in a single set. The sound recording work by Ken'ichi Benitani on their 1979 film, ''Almost Transparent Blue'', was co-nominated (with Benitani's work on another film) for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording at the 3rd Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony in 1980.
== History == The company was first established in 1972 as Kitty Music Corporation under Hidenori Taga, producing TV drama soundtracks. Their first was for the 1972 film ''Hajimete no Tabi''.
By 1979, the company began to branch off into live action with the films ''Almost Transparent Blue'' and ''Lady Oscar'' (a live-action adaptation of the manga ''The Rose of Versailles'').<ref name="allcinema bara 1979">{{cite web |url=https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/21058 |script-title=ja:ベルサイユのばら |trans-title=The Rose of Versailles |language=ja |publisher=Allcinema / Stingray |access-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240916204615/https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/21058 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="kagirinaku 1979 jmdb">{{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1979/dc000610.htm |script-title=ja:限りなく透明に近いブルー |trans-title=Almost Transparent Blue |publisher=Japanese Movie Database |access-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240916210157/http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1979/dc000610.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="kagirinaku 1979 allcinema">{{cite web |url=https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/146633 |script-title=ja:限りなく透明に近いブルー |trans-title=Almost Transparent Blue |publisher=Allcinema / Stingray |language=ja |access-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240916205253/https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/146633 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Almost Transparent Blue'' received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording for Ken'ichi Benitani at the 3rd Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony in 1980 (shared nomination with Benitani's work on ''The Man Who Stole the Sun'').<ref name="japan academy film prize 1980">{{cite web |url=https://japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=3 |script-title=ja:第3回日本アカデミー賞作品 |trans-title=3rd Japan Academy Film Prize Works |language=ja |publisher=日本アカデミー賞協会 (Japan Academy Prize Committee) |access-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240916212705/https://japan-academy-prize.jp/prizes/?t=3 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Kitty's entry into anime production began with the 1981 television anime series ''Urusei Yarsura'', based on Rumiko Takahashi's manga of the same name. They would go on to produce most of the animated versions of ''Maison Ikkoku'' and ''Ranma ½'', as well. The actual animation of Kitty's works was handled by several independent anime studios. Studio Pierrot did the animation for the first half of ''Urusei Yatsura'', Studio Deen animated the second half (except for several of the OVAs) and all of ''Maison Ikkoku'' and ''Ranma ½'', while Madhouse handled the final ''Urusei Yatsura'' movie, some of the later ''Urusei Yatsura'' OVAs, ''Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', and ''Yawara: A Fashionable Judo Girl!''. Kitty was a pioneer in releasing complete collections of series, beginning with the limited-run 50-disc laserdisc collection of ''Urusei Yatsura'' in May 1987, which sold out quickly and led to many other companies releasing series in laserdisc and (later) DVD box sets.<ref name="masuda 2007">{{cite book |author=増田弘道 |script-title=ja:アニメビジネスがわかる |trans-title=Understanding the Anime Business |date=July 2007 |publisher=NTT出版 |page=130 |isbn=978-4-7571-2200-0 |language=ja }}</ref>
Unfortunately, the company had suffered financial troubles from early on, which started to come to a head towards the end of the ''Ranma'' TV series in 1992. Hidenori Taga had in fact helped finance Kitty's film division by spending money from their music branch, and that year was forced to step down due to an unknown scandal,{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} while Shigekazu Ochiai transferred to Pao House Studios (he died in 1999).{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} Around 1995, Kitty Enterprise was purchased by PolyGram.
Kitty continued to produce less well-known shows such as ''Ping Pong Club'' (1995), but their output shrank to almost nothing by the end of the 20th century. Rumiko Takahashi did not work with Kitty again after the last ''Ranma'' OVA was released in 1996; Sunrise handled the animation duties on ''Inuyasha'', and TMS animated ''Rumic Theater''.
Kitty also had a subsidiary animation studio that produced a few anime series and OVAs. The studio's name was Kitty Film Mitaka Studio and never became as famous or successful as its parent. The studio was eventually disbanded.
Kitty Films was eventually reincorporated as Kitty Group and mainly exists as a talent agency, having sold off the rights to most of the Kitty Films library. The Kitty Records library is currently controlled by Universal Music Japan.
== Works == {|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left; margin=auto; " |- ! {{abbr|Year|Year of debut}} ! Title ! {{nowrap|Animated by}} ! Format ! Note |- ! 1981 | ''Urusei Yatsura'' (TV series) | Studio Pierrot<br>& Studio Deen |align="center"| {{nowrap|TV series}} |rowspan="2"| {{small|Sold to Pony Canyon, Blu-ray release sub-licensed to Warner Bros. Japan}} |- ! 1983 | ''Urusei Yatsura'' (film series) | Various{{efn|Studio Pierrot (films 1 and 2), Studio Deen (films 3 and 4), Magic Bus (film 5) and Madhouse (film 6)}} |align="center"| Film |- ! 1983 | ''Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel'' | Studio Pierrot |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1985 | ''Touch'' | Group TAC |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1986 | ''Pastel Yumi, the Magic Idol'' | Studio Pierrot |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1986 | ''Maison Ikkoku'' | Studio Deen |align="center"| TV series | {{small|Sold to Pony Canyon, Blu-ray release sub-licensed to Warner Bros. Japan.}} |- ! 1986 | ''Tobira o Akete'' | Magic Bus |align="center"| Film | |- ! 1986 | ''They Were Eleven'' | Magic Bus |align="center"| Film | |- ! 1987 | ''Twilight of the Cockroaches'' | Madhouse |align="center"| Film | {{small|A live-action/animation hybrid film.}} |- ! 1988 | ''F'' | Studio Deen |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1988 | ''Kiteretsu Daihyakka'' | Studio Gallop |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1989 | ''Ranma ½'' | Studio Deen |align="center"| TV series | {{small|Sold to Pony Canyon.}} |- ! 1989 | ''Yawara: A Fashionable Judo Girl!'' | Madhouse |align="center"| TV series | {{small|Sold to VAP.}} |- ! 1992 | ''Super Zugan'' | Studio Deen |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1995 | ''Zenki'' | Studio Deen |align="center"| TV series | {{small|Rights transferred to K-Factory.}} |- ! 1995 | ''The Ping Pong Club'' | Grouper Productions |align="center"| TV series | |- ! 1997 | ''Sakura Diaries'' | Shaft |align="center"| OVA | {{small|Produced by Kitty Films and later released by Victor Entertainment, which continued the project after Kitty Films went bankrupt.}} |- |}
=== International co-productions === *1988: ''What's Michael?'' (TV) (co-production with Créativité et Développement (France); animation services by K.K. C&D Asia and Daume) *1992: ''The Adventures of T-Rex'' (co-production with Gunther-Wahl Productions (U.S.) and Créativité et Développement (France); animation services by Madhouse)
=== Works animated by Kitty Film Mitaka Studio === {|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin=auto; " |- ! {{abbr|Year|Year of debut}} ! Title ! Director ! {{nowrap|Story by}} ! Format ! {{abbr|{{nowrap|No. of}}<br>eps.|Number of episodes}} ! Note |- ! 1983 |align="left"| ''Miyuki'' | Mizuho Nishikubo | Shigeru Yanagawa | {{nowrap|TV series}} | 37 |align="left"| {{small|The only anime television series animated by Kitty Film Mitaka Studio. The series aired on Fuji TV.}} |- ! 1984 |align="left"| ''Radio City Fantasy'' | Mizuho Nishikubo | Takeshi Shudō | OVA | 1 | |- ! 1985 |align="left"| ''Karuizawa Syndrome'' | Mizuho Nishikubo | Tokio Tsuchiya | Film | 1 | |- ! 1988 |align="left"| ''What's Michael?'' | Makoto Nagao (#1)<br>Yoriyasu Kogawa (#2) | Shigeru Yanagawa | OVA | 2 | |- ! 1988 |align="left"| ''Legend of the Galactic Heroes'' | Noboru Ishiguro | Masatoshi Tahara | OVA | 86 |align="left"| {{small|Seasons 1 to 3 only. The rights were transferred to K-Factory, which produced the 4th season (eps 87–110).}} |- ! 1989 |align="left"| ''The Enemy's the Pirates!'' | Katsuhisa Yamada | Akinori Endō | OVA | 6 | |- ! 1990 |align="left"| ''Yagami's Family Affairs'' | Shin'ya Sadamitsu | Akinori Endō | OVA | 3 | |- ! 1991 |align="left"| ''Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings'' | Osamu Dezaki | Akinori Endō | OVA | 12 |- |}
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * Acres, Harley. [http://www.furinkan.com/features/articles/kitty.html "The Rise and Fall of Kitty Films"], March 3, 2007. [http://www.furinkan.com/ Rumic World]. Accessed 11 April 2007.
{{Japanese animation studios}} {{Universal Music Group}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Mass media companies established in 1972 Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1996 Category:Anime companies Category:Mass media companies of Japan Category:Japanese record labels Category:Universal Music Japan Category:Japanese companies established in 1972 Category:Japanese companies disestablished in 1996