Amuse, Inc.

Background
Amuse Inc. is a Japanese entertainment company, producing things from idol groups to TV and video production. Their video division, Amuse Video, was launched in 1990 before merging with its movie division (called Amuse Pictures Inc. until 2003) in 2004, changing its name to Amuse Soft Entertainment. This would later be dissolved and reincorporated into the main company, starting in 2018 with a complete rebrand as well.

1st Logo (1990-1995)


Logo: On a black background, a star briefly pings as it slowly starts to brighten up to reveal a live-action shot of a cloudy sky scrolling by and the Statue of Liberty. However, instead of holding a torch and Tabula ansata (basically a large plaque), she's holding a microphone and CD in her hands, as well as being a white color with dark highlights. As the sky continues to brighten to a greenish-blue color and the Statue of Liberty turns more and more grey, "Amuse" in a bubbly font fades in below in white with a black outline, and "Video" fades in below in a smaller print, and the statue's bottom starts to fade out a bit. As it does, a ring shines into existence behind the logo and the entire background fades to white, with Lady Liberty now appearing far more abstract in shaping.

Variant: A still version exists.

FX/SFX: Live action throughout with 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic 80's rock theme getting tense ending with a synth fanfare.

Availability: Extremely rare. Can be seen on early releases of anime and live action films. They can also be seen on Media Blasters and Urban Vision releases, so start checking those tapes!

2nd Logo (1995-2000)
Logo: On a black background, a gold plate is shown getting teared apart by several multicolored lasers as the camera pans around it. As it starts to pan upwards, it reveals that the lasers are forming the Amuse logo from before, but with the word "Amuse" smaller and having the Cantonese characters "藝神集團" in their place, and the logo starts to glow red as the rest starts to burn away. The pieces shatter off of the logo and fly off-screen to leave it in a shiny gold color, but then fades to black as a giant white light grows from the background, engulfing most of the screen.

Variant: A filmed version of the logo exists.

FX/SFX: The lasers tracing, the logo shining, and the bright light.

Music/Sounds: A rising synth note plays as its paired with a series of whooshes before it turns into a chorus note. The filmed variant has none.

Availability: Uncommon in Japan, but extremely rare in the U.S.. Appeared on home media releases of various movies and Japanese anime. The filmed version appeared on a few Hong Kong films as well. This was also shown on a few tapes by ADV Films.

Legacy: The addition of the Chinese characters may seem odd at first, but considering that it had business over in Hong Kong, it makes a bit more sense.

3rd Logo (As Amuse Pictures) (2000-2003)
Logo: On a starry space background with flashing stars and a faint blue gradient on the bottom, a silver swoop shape wipes in via a blue shining effect. Following this, the Amuse logo from the previous logos as well as the text "AMUSE PICTURES, INC." (INC. is in a smaller print) appear by the same effect and in the same color, right before brightly shining from left to right.

FX/SFX: The lasers tracing, the logo shining, the bright light.

Music/Sounds: A synth beat, followed by a rising synth whoosh before it becomes a "wah" sound.

Availability: Rather uncommon in Japan. Appeared on anime and movie releases from them during the time.

4th Logo (2003-2004, 2007-2008, 2017)
Logo: Flying over a large body of water, we zoom towards a darkened city in the distance as 5 white streaks zoom past us one by one. As we reach the city, the lights become stars in the sky as fireworks are shot off within the city and burst out all over the screen, briefly filling the sky with yellow. The fireworks then start to die down to reveal the Amuse logo sparkling into existance, colored gold with "Amuse" filled with white. The city then starts to lighten up as the 5 stars in the background reappear and move into a white light, which is drawing the circle around the logo, and the entire city pans downwards a bit.

Variant:
 * A filmed, widescreen variant appeared on films.
 * On 2007-2008 releases, after the logo forms, it then fades to a 30th anniversary logo on a dark blue/black gradient background. It consists of the text "30th" in a white art-deco like font, with the "30" larger and in yellow. The "0" is even larger, though, with a large arrow going through it and the Amuse print logo inside of it. All of the logo has a thick black outline, and "ANNIVERSARY" is seen in a very small print.
 * On a 2017 demo reel, the fireworks sparks into a redesigned version of the Liberty Statue with a different text and the circle omitted. The logo brights and becomes white.

FX/SFX: The stars streaking, the fireworks, the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: A soft orchestral theme with a piano providing backup. The white version has the opening theme of the reel.

Availability: Very rare, considering the short timeframe it was used before being merged with Amuse Soft Sales in 2004. It appeared on films and video releases from the time, and even seemingly appeared on a few 2007 releases. Its last appearance was on the company's 2017 Corporate video.

Legacy: A rather wasted effort for such a lovely looking logo, but thankfully, it wouldn't be totally wasted...

(2004-2018)
Logo: Same as the previous logo, but instead of the fireworks forming the Amuse logo, a long rectangular glass slate appears and rotates into view. It has the Amuse logo from the prior logos at the top, and the text "AMUSE SOFT ENTERTAINMENT" below in the Trajan font, which then spread out to below the Amuse logo as it turns into a gold color with a faded bottom. As the city pans, the first letter in each word turns red, forming the abbreviation "ASE".

FX/SFX: Same as before, but with a different logo forming.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Availability: Much more common than before. It can be seen on any Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS, or film release from them during the time period, like Cyborg Girl.

Legacy: A good replacement to the prior logo.

(2018-)
Logo: On a black background, small golden streaks fade into view, rotating around a dim blue light in the center of the screen. Then, larger streaks appear and engulf the edges even more as a bright one appears in the lower left corner and rests for a sec before zooming out and forming a golden triangle outline, causing the background to fade to white. The triangle also seems to have a point in it as well, of which it reveals itself to be an abstract A shape with a grey bottom line and 2-toned yellow shapes forming it after the triangle shines. The logo zooms out slightly as it turns 2D, with "AMUSE" in a bold black font, unfolds below.

FX/SFX: The light streaks, the logo forming, the text unfolding.

Music/Sounds: Metallic-like scratching is heard when the streaks fly by, as well as glistening sound effects mixed in. The shining gets louder at the end, of which a soft "bump" is heard.

Availability: Current. Seen on current releases from them.

Legacy: While the lack of the Statue of Liberty is a missed aspect, it's a solid effort for their 40th anniversary.