Nikkatsu Corporation

Background
The Nikkatsu Corporation was founded on September 10, 1912, when Yoshizawa Shōten, Yokota Shōkai, Fukuhōdō and M. Pathe, merged to form Nippon Katsudō Shashin, making it Japan's first film studio and one of the oldest film studios still in operation today.

Nikkatsu was one of the most popular Japanese film studios after the American Occupation (alongside Daiei, Shochiku, Toho, and Toei). They gained fame in the 1960's when they produced big-budget films about the yakuza (Japanese organized crime), in addition to adult films such as the Roman Porn series.

On July 1, 1993, Nikkatsu declared bankruptcy, but talks of Namco purchasing the company began in December, which would allow Nikkatsu to utilize Namco's computer graphics hardware for its films, while Namco was able to gain a foothold in the Japanese film industry. , the purchase was complete in 1997. They were later sold off to Index Holdings as a result of Namco's merger with Bandai in 2005.

1st Logo (September 17, 1925)


Logo: On a black background, we see a silhouette of a thick "N" with a "K" inside on a circle with two plant-like objects on both sides. The company's name is above and below the logo.

Technique: This logo was hand-drawn, there is no animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: So far spotted on Furusato No Uta. Likely appeared on other films from the time period.

3rd Logo (1935-1937)


Logo: The bunched-up "NK" inside the white circle outline (the Nikkatsu emblem) is on a gray background with the company's name under it.

Technique: Model work was done for this logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Extremely rare.

4th Logo (1937-1940)
Logo: Same as before, only the background now has vertical stripes.

Technique: Model work was done for this logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Extremely rare.

5th Logo (1940-1955)
Logo: Same as before, but now the emblem looks as if it was hewn out of rock. The emblem is smooth, while the background is rough.

Technique: Model work was done for this logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Extremely Rare.

6th Logo (1950s-Late 1960s)
Logo: Same as the last logo, but on a white wood-like background and with the addition of the kanji "製作".

Variants:
 * On color movies, the emblem is red.
 * On its CinemaScope movies, the text is larger and more spaced.
 * There is a distribution variant with the "Production" replaced with "Distribution".

Technique: Model work was done for this logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Appeared on yakuza films of the time period, like Buta to Gunkan. The "Distribution" variant is rare and was spotted on some films, like Fuji sancho and Shirotori (Taking the Castle), and the color variant is seen on many movies by the company since 50s. It was also seen on The Burmese Harp.

7th Logo (1957?-Late 1970s?)
Logo: On a background with different colored moving spikes, we see the Nikkatsu "NK" and the kanji 日活株式会社製作, which means "A Nikkatsu Corporation Production".

Variants:
 * In some cases, the "NK" is in metallic gold.
 * The trailer of Eagle and Hawk has the inverted moving spikes in the logo.

Technique: Possibly live-action.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Uncommon, bordering on rare.
 * It can be seen on films from the time period, such as Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, among other things, it's also seen on the Roman Porn films.
 * The 1957 variant is found on a trailer of The Eagle and the Hawk.

8th Logo (1979-1982)


Logo: Essentially an updated version of the previous logo. On a background with blue moving spikes, the abstract N in red and orange colors appears turning up, and Japanese text appears below.

Technique: Live action.

Music/Sounds: A portion of "Danse des cygnes" from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

Availability: Rare.

9th Logo (1982-1985?)


Logo: On a sunset backdrop with some waves, we see the red Nikkatsu logo fading in.

Variant: A 70th anniversary variant exists.

Technique: Live action mixed with 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Seen on some films around the time period, such as Jealousy Game. The 70th anniversary variant was discovered on said film.

10th Logo (1985-1988)


Logo: We start in a side view of an updated version of the same backdrop as before, and we see the Abstract N in gold zooming in. The water then changes to grass, and that changes to snow. The Japanese text then fades in.

Variant: A version exists where after the logo, two silver halves of a letter "X" zoom in, combine, and glow.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A calm synth tune combined with bass.

Music/Sounds Variant:
 * There's also a more relaxing tune done fully in synth.
 * On the variant, a "ding" like sound, accompanied by a female announcer saying "Presenting to you the most exciting...", when the halves of the "X" combine, a transformation-like sound is heard, then the announcer says "Nikkatsu Roman X-rated films."

Availability: Rare. Might have been seen on their films from the time period.
 * The "Roman X" variant was discovered on Hako no naka no onna: Shojo ikenie.

11th Logo (September 15, 1992)


Logo: The camera pans away from the clouds to reveal a CGI red Nikkatsu logo. Once the camera settles in its position, "にっかつ" zooms in below the logo.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only known to appear on The Setting Sun.

12th Logo (1998)


Logo: On a blue background, the white Japanese text "日活株式会社" in Kozuka Mincho Pro Bold wipes in through segments, then, its English translation "Times New Roman" in Adobe Garamond Pro Bold fades in below.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only seen on Central Park Media's release of Ayane's High Kick.

Legacy: Given the logo's simplicity and its usage on only one release, this logo could possibly be seen as a placeholder for the next logo.

13th Logo (May 27, 2000-2004)


Logo: On a grey background, we see an odd, curved shape rotating; it's some sort of chain of several spike-like metal/aluminum pieces. The text "Times New RomanTimes New Roman", and "日活" on top, both in the same fonts as before, fade in.

Variant: A variant exists where the logo doesn't fade in or out.

Trivia:
 * This logo is based on "Cycle", which was shown at SIGGRAPH 2000.
 * The objects in this logo are a metaphor for people who live and work in the Tokyo area. "These people are extremely busy, due to daily tedious, exhausting tasks. A sudden explosion sets them free for awhile, but succeeding days are as oppressive as ever".

Technique: CGI animation by Nobuo Takahashi.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Ultra rare. It is known to appear on Freeze Me, The Sea is Watching, and EX-Driver the Movie.

14th (known) Logo (January 27, 2007-)
Logo: We start near moving copper rods and move further to reveal the inner structure of a film projector while a filmstrip (of the logo's final product) is running. Then we zoom out into the light, a folded and joined "NK" figure with the word "NIKKATSU" in black below it fly into the center, and are surrounded by trembling light with a background.

Variants:
 * In its early life, "AN INDEX GROUP COMPANY" in black that fades in below the logo after it flies in.
 * Additionally, the logo sometimes has the word "SINCE 1912" in black do the same thing as the "AN INDEX GROUP COMPANY" byline variant.
 * A variant exists where in the beginning, we see a black background with the number "1O" stays on a blue line, and the number "O" in the left has legs and has it's right foot on a stair. Above the number "1O" is the text "since 1912". And below all of it, we see the word "新たなるステージへ" ("To a new stage") in white sandwiched by two lines of white dots. Then shortly after, everything fades into a dawn over a forest, the sun gets brighter, a lot of trees and a river start to appear, and the "NK" figure with word "NIKKATSU" in white, the small "SINCE 1912" word in white below, and "100th Anniversary" in white under "SINCE 1912" fade in at the center of the screen. And after that, the "SINCE 1912" variant plays. This was used for Nikkatsu's 100th anniversary in 2012.
 * There's a still variant which has the print logo on a black background.
 * There's a short variant where the logo is cut to its last few seconds.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: At the beginning, we hear the sound of a film projector running. Then, a soft piano soundtrack plays over when we move further to the film projector, while at the same time still keeps the projector sounds. After that, when we zoom into the light, a short piano chime is played over.

Availability: Current. Seen on newer Nikkatsu films, such as Yattaman.

Legacy: Thanks to the animation and the soundtrack, this is seen as one of the greatest logos from Japan.