Starchild

Background
Starchild (also colloquially known as Stacha in Japan) was a label of Japanese record company King Records. The label handled King Records anime productions, which include anime soundtracks, drama CDs, and actual anime films/TV series. Starchild was not an animation studio, and they did not produce the animation themselves, only being a distributor. On January 29, 2016, King Records announced that the label would be re-branded as "King Amusement Creative" in 3 days, taking effect at the start of February.

1st Logo (1996-2014)
Nicknames: "Gold Star", "Gold Shards", "The Starchild Star"

Logo: On a black/blue gradient background, we see a bunch of tiny gold square shards going to the center of the screen in 5 different directions. The shards eventually materialize the 5-pointed gold star, which spins about several times, then settles down, causing a flash. The gradient background is now black, and the star moves back to the center of the screen. A gold vertical rectangle forms around the star, and the gold parts of the star (except the outline) fade away. Then, two little gold eyes and the same gold star fade in from behind a bit to the right of the star's outline, while the gold words:

STAR

CHILD

fade into the remaining space inside the box.

Variant: On the two original Neon Genesis Evangelion films (Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion), the shards are now thin triangles, the star is spinning in the other direction, the flash looks much of the lens flare, the star behind it's outline is flat, and the byline says "KING RECORDS" fades in at the same time the gold eyes, star shadow, and words fade in.

FX/SFX: Shards materializing, the spinning, movement, flashing and the transformation of the star and the appearance of the rectangle and the company name. Everything animated in CGI. For a mid '90s logo, this has aged very well; the animation still looks good even today.

Music/Sounds: Three dreamy, warbling synth notes. The third one is held out slightly longer than the other two.

Availability: In Japan, very common; appears on many anime DVD's in that country. In the US, this logo is uncommon. Most anime studios in the US that have licensed Starchild material (like ADV Films or Funimation) plaster this logo or not include it at all, but other studios (like Media Blasters, Synch-Point or Central Park Media) include this logo, so look around.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2014-2016)
Nicknames: "Abstract Star", "The Starchild Star II"

Logo: On a black background, we see many silver machines and things moving around. They then form an gold outline of a star and then everything clears away as "STARCHILD" zooms in one by one and shines.

FX/SFX: Awesome CGI!

Music/Sounds: A mystical tune.

Availability: Seen on Polygon Pictures' YouTube channel. The logo was used on releases until February 1, 2016.

Editor's Note: None.