Production I.G Production Company - Attack on Titan
Production I.G, Inc. (株式会社プロダクション・アイジー Kabushiki-gaisha Purodakushon Ai Jī) is a Japanese animation studio founded on December 15, 1987 by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Takayuki Goto. Its headquarters is currently based and located in Musashino, in Tokyo (Japan) and owned by IG Port.
Production I.G is an animation studio that has participated in the creation of a number of domestically and internationally popular anime television series, OVAs, cinematographic films and also actively involved in the design and development of video games, as well as in the editing and management of music.
Some of its most outstanding works are the Attack on Titan series (co-produced with another animation studio, Wit Studio, Guilty Crown, Psycho-Pass, Eden of the East and the Ghost in the Shell series. Also, the studio was in charge of the feature film anime adaptation of Patlabor’s story, created by the HEADGEAR group. Production I.G is well-known in the video game industry for developing intros, cut-scenes and illustrations for games such as the Namco Tales Studio’s title, Tales of Symphonia.
Production I.G is a member of The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), a prestigious association where more than 50 Japanese animation studios belong to.
Establishment
Production I.G was established first as I.G Tatsunoko, a name that stands for the initials of its founders, as well as the renowned studio they were from. In 1993, during the final stages of the production of Patlabor 2, the company ended its capital relationship with Tatsunoko Production, who owned 20% of the shares of I.G and changed its name to the current Production I.G in September 1993. Therefore, the film Patlabor 2, released in August 1993, became the last completed work with the name of “IG Tatsunoko”.
In 1998, the company was established as “Production I.G., Inc”, and later, Production I.G merged with “ING”, another producer also founded by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa. Then, on July 4, 2007, the company announced its fusion with Mag Garden, forming a new holding called IG Port.
International Recognitions
According to the information provided on the Production I.G official website, Production I.G received several awards for their storytelling and quality of animation, both on national and international scales. Here are some of the recognitions received for their works with a brief description below.
- Ghost in the Shell (1995), directed by Mamoru Oshii, reached Number 1 in the US Billboard Top Video Sales Chart in 1996.
- Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999), directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, received the Jury’s Special Prize at Fantasporto in 1999.
- Blood: The Last Vampire (2000), directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo, earned accolades from Japanese and international critics.
- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), directed by Mamoru Oshii, became the first Japanese animation feature to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Festival de Cannes
- The Sky Crawlers (2008), an animation feature film that was also directed by Mamoru Oshii, was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 65th Venice Film Festival, and won 3 awards at Sitges festival in the same year.
- Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (2009), directed by Shinsuke Sato and was the first 3DCG animation feature film of Production I.G. It received the prize of Excellence at the 33rd Japan Academy Prizes.
- A Letter to Momo (2012), by Hiroyuki Okiura, had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and also received the Best Animation Feature Film award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival and at the 6th annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards
- Giovanni’s Island (2014), by Mizuho Nishikubo, was awarded with 15 international awards, including Annecy, Fantasia and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
- Miss Hokusai (2015) by Keiichi Hara, won the Jury Award at Annecy 2015, three awards at Fantasia 2015, the APSA 2015 for Best Animated Feature Film, and was described by the French newspaper Le Monde as “a lesson of elegance”.
Influence in Hollywood
In addition to fame in Japan, it is said that Production I.G has influence among many famous Hollywood creators, and was one of the reasons the collaboration with Quentin Tarantino for the animation sequence of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 could be realized.
Due to the high paced international success of some of its productions like Patlabor or Ghost in the Shell being only 10 years from its foundation, the executives of the animation studio decided to broaden exposure to the international markets. In March 1997 Production I.G launched a Los Angeles-based overseas subsidiary. One of the most outstanding achievements of this international connection is the creation of the TV series IGPX (2005), directed by Mitsuru Hongo, as it was co-developed and co-produced with Cartoon Network. This was the first collaboration between a US cable network and a Japanese production company ever in history.
Also, Production I.G has collaborated with international music artists on the production of full animated music videos for the Russian singer Linda and the French artist Milène Farmer.