Topcraft

The studio was founded on February 1, 1972, by former Toei Animation staff, including Toru Hara. In its early years, Topcraft served as the primary animation studio for Rankin/Bass's hand-drawn animated productions. Notable works include The Hobbit (1977), The Return of the King (1980), and The Last Unicorn (1982). These projects contributed to the studio's international reputation. A significant turning point for Topcraft was its involvement in the production of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Despite its achievements, Topcraft faced financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy, leading to its dissolution on June 15, 1985, essentially splitting the studio in half. Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata acquired the assets and formed Studio Ghibli after the advice of Tokuma Shoten Topcraft's founder, Toru Hara, became Studio Ghibli's first manager. Other animators of Topcraft later formed another studio, called Pacific Animation Corporation and headed by Masaki Iizuka, to continue working with Rankin/Bass on television shows like ThunderCats and Silverhawks, but eventually joined Ghibli once Pacific Animation was bought out by The Walt Disney Company and became Walt Disney Animation Japan. Some animators, like Tsuguyuki Kubo, went to work for other studios, such as Studio Pierrot, working on Naruto and Bleach for them. Toru Hara died on December 14, 2021, at the age of 85.