Studio 4°C

Studio 4°C Co., Ltd.

Native name	株式会社スタジオよんどしい
Type	Kabushiki gaisha
Industry	Animation studio
Founded	1986
Founder	Eiko Tanaka
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Eiko Tanaka (President) Koji Morimoto (Director, animator)
Products	Anime (Television, Film, OVA)
Website	www.studio4c.co.jp

Studio 4°C Co., Ltd. (株式会社スタジオよんどしい Kabushiki-gaisha Sutajio Yondo Shii) is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka and Koji Morimoto in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense.^[1]

History

Studio 4°C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titles include Memories (1995), Spriggan (1998), and Princess Arete (2001). In 2003, through a joint production with Warner Bros., Studio 4°C created five segments of the The Animatrix. The following year, they created the award winning avant-garde film Mind Game. Studio 4°C's next film Tekkon Kinkreet (2006), won six awards, including Best Animated Film at the Fantasia 2007, Lancia Platinum Grand Prize at the Future Film Festival, and Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. It was also submitted for 2007 Oscar in Animated Feature Film category of Academy Award in USA.

The year 2007 saw the release of the anthology film Genius Party, a collection of seven short films. Genius Party Beyond, a collection of five short films, was released the following year, as was Batman's side story Gotham Knight, and the OVA series Detroit Metal City. The following year First Squad: The Moment of Truth was awarded at the Moscow International Film Festival. In February 2010, they contributed two shorts to the anthology Halo Legends: "Origins", and "The Babysitter".

Works

Feature films

• Memories (1995)
• Spriggan (1998)
• Princess Arete (2001)
• Mind Game (2004)
• Steamboy (2005)
• Tekkonkinkreet (2006)
• First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009)
• Berserk: Golden Age Arc
  • The Egg of the King (2012)
  • The Battle for Doldrey (2012)
  • The Descent (2013)
• Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
• Harmony (2015)
• Mutafukaz (2017) ^[2]

TV series

• Uraroji Diamond (2000)
• Piroppo (2001)
• Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! (2004)
• Tweeny Witches (2004)
• Kimagure Robot (2004)
• Ani*Kuri15 (2007)
• Transformers: Animated (2008)
• ThunderCats (2011)
• Chiisana Hana no Uta (2013)

OVA

• Debutante Detective Corps (1996)
• Noiseman Sound Insect (1997)
• Eternal Family (1997)
• The Animatrix – "Kid's Story" (2003)
• Hijikata Toshizo: Shiro no Kiseki (2004)
• Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
  • Have I Got A Story For You
  • Working Through Pain
• Detroit Metal City (2008)
• Street Fighter IV – Aratanaru Kizuna (2009)
• Halo Legends (2010)
  • The Babysitter
  • Origins
• Kuro no Sumika - Chronus - (Young Animator Training Project 2014)

Music videos

• Ken Ishii – "Extra" (1996)
• The Bluetones – "Four Day Weekend" (1998)
• Glay – "Survival" (1999)
• Artist Unknown - "Brand New Day" (2001, Unreleased)^[3][4]
• Ayumi Hamasaki – "Connected" (2002)
• Ligalize – "Pervyi Otryad" ("First Squad") (2005)
• Hikaru Utada – "Passion" (2006)

Short films

• Gondora (1998)
• Digital Juice (2001)
• Jigen Loop (2001)
• Sweat Punch (5 short films, 2001–2002. Collected and released on DVD in 2007) – "Professor Dan Petory's Blues", "End of the World", "Comedy", "Beyond", and "Junk Town".
• Amazing Nuts! Part 1 – Global Astroliner (2006)
• Amazing Nuts! Part 2 – Glass Eyes (2006)
• Amazing Nuts! Part 3 – Kung Fu Love – Even If You Become the Enemy of the World (2006)
• Amazing Nuts! Part 4 – Joe and Marilyn (2006)
• Tamala's "Wild Party" (2007)
• Genius Party (July 7, 2007) A collection of 7 short films
• Genius Party Beyond (February 15, 2008) A collection of 5 short films
• The Babysitter (2009) A Halo Legends short portraying the relationship between the Spartans and the ODSTs
• My Last Day (2011) – Created in association with The JESUS Film Project, Brethren Entertainment, and Barry Cook
• Kid Icarus: Uprising – "Medusa's Revenge"^[1] (2012) – Promotional short for Kid Icarus: Uprising video game
• Drive Your Heart (2013) Spin-off to PES-peace eco smile, short film produced to advertise Toyota.
• Tuzki: Love Assassin (2014)^[5]
• Turnover (2015) adaptation from the manga of the same name, for advertising purpose for Benesse ^[6][7]
• Kanjo ga Kanji o Sukina Riyū Part 1 and Part 2 (2015) ^[8][9][10]

Video games

• Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (2001)
• Summon Night 3 (2003)
• Rogue Galaxy (2005)
• Lunar Knights (2006)
• Jeanne D'Arc (2006)
• .hack//Link (2010)
• Catherine (2011)
• Asura's Wrath (2012)
• Toukiden (2013)
• Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (2015) ^[11]
• Guardian's Violation (2015) ^[12]

Commercials

• Nike – Chamber of Fear (Self Doubt) (2004)
• Honda Edix presents Edix Six – kiro (2006)

Other

• Kamikaze Girls (2004) – Animated segment
• Lincoln (2005) – Opening animation and character designs
• Kurosagi (2006) – Opening animation
• Donju (2009) – Animated segment
• Attraction (2010) – Interactive Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcement made with The National Institute for Preventive and Health Education in France
• My Last Day (film) (2011) – A short Easter anime Campus Crusade for Christ^[13]
• PES-peace eco smile (2012) – Series of shorts produced to advertise Toyota^[14]

References

1. Official Studio 4°C Website
2. Announcement on screendaily.com
3. http://www.catsuka.com/news/2009-01-17/brand-new-day-koichi-arai-studio-4c-un-clip-qui-merite-sa-news-a-lui (in French)
4. http://www.catsuka.com/player/brand_new_day
5. Tuzki: Love Assassin '
6. http://kou.benesse.co.jp/anime/turnover/
7. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-03-18/kana-hanazawa-inspires-high-schoolers-in-4c-turnover-anime-short/.86091
8. http://nijimen.net/archives/3208
9. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-09-15/idolm@ster-kubooka-designs-anime-promos-for-kanji-test/.92925
10. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-10-13/2nd-anime-promo-short-for-kanji-test-streamed/.94127
11. http://www.siliconera.com/2015/07/14/meet-the-star-developers-behind-shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem/
12. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-11-20/studio-4c-animates-opening-for-guardian-violation-smartphone-game/.95608
13. Official: My Last Day on Youtube
14. PES youtube channel

External links

• Official website
• Studio 4°C at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Studio 4°C at the Internet Movie Database
• Studio 4°C on Twitter
• Interview with Yukie Saeki of 4°C on Shining Force Neo's 2D animation
• Honda Edix presents Edix Six page
• Interview with Level 5, citing Studio 4°C's involvement with Jeanne D'Arc for the PlayStation Portable