Tsuburaya Productions

Background
Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese production company founded in 1963 as Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions by special effects director and "Father of Tokusatsu", Eiji Tsuburaya. Tsuburaya SEP changed to its current name in 1968 due to pressure from Toho (its largest shareholder at the time), not only because its executives thought Eiji was acting as if he could only do special effects, but also because they felt that his own TV shows were becoming a strong competition to the movies he was doing for them, which includes the first six Godzilla movies. Although Eiji had strong political power at Toho, he and the company were at odds with each other until his death in 1970. TsuPro is best known for creating the Ultra Series, first starting with Ultra Q and Ultraman in 1966, Kaiju Booska and many other tokusatsu shows, with Ultraman specifically popularizing tokusatsu on television and creating the Kyodai Hero subgenre, making a huge impact and legacy in the entertainment industry in Japan and across the globe.

The company's logo is based on the arrow ingnisia of the heroic spy team from the homonymous 1968 TV series Mighty Jack, which Eiji considered his magnum opus despite its low ratings at the time.

1st Logo (1979, 1984 March 17)


Visuals: On a background, we see the Tsuburaya Productions logo (the arrow from the Mighty Jack insignia with the overlined "TSUBURAYA" name on its middle) with the text below saying "制作 円谷プロダクション" ("Produced by Tsuburaya Productions").

Variants:
 * On a trailer for Akio Jissoji's Ultraman, the text says "提供 円谷プロダクション" (an alternative writing for "Produced by Tsuburaya Productions")
 * On Ultraman ZOFFY: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army, the text says "円谷プロ 作品" ("A Tsuburaya Prouction").

Technique: Rostrum camera.

Audio: None. On Ultraman: Decisive Monster Battle it has the opening song.

Availability: Appears on the Ultraman compilation movies Ultraman: Decisive Monster Battle, Ultraman ZOFFY: Ultra Brothers vs. the Giant Monster Army and on a trailer for the 1979 Akio Jissoji's Ultraman movie. It doesn't appear on the movie itself however.

2nd Logo (1984 July 14)


Visuals: On a space background, a outlined glass model of the Tsuburaya logo fades in and turns white. Then the text "円谷プロダクション" pops in below it.

Technique: Rostrum camera and colored lighting.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only seen on Ultraman Story.

3rd Logo (1996 March 9-2003 August 2)


Visuals: On a background, a cluster of stars fly the center of the screen, forming the Mighty Jack arrow. Then a flash occurs on its middle, revealing the "TSUBURAYA" name.

Variants:
 * On the original releases of Ultraman Wonderful World, a triple movie-bill that contains the following presentations: Ultraman Zearth, Revive! Ultraman and Ultraman Company, there's a Japanese byline that commemorated the Ultra Series' 30th anniversary.
 * On Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (which is also the last movie to feature this logo), as the "TSUBURAYA" name appears, a red sticker with the Tsuburaya logo and a "40th" written on it (representing Tsuburaya Productions' 40th anniversary) fades in on the bottom-right of the screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants:
 * Original prints of Ultraman Gaia: Battle in Hyperspace have a sparkling tune with chimes.
 * On certain prints of Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey, we hear some whooshes and droning sounds, accompanied by a synth background note and a shiny twinkling sound when the text appears.
 * On the Ultraman Cosmos movie trilogy, there's a long sparkle sound as the stars fly, and a loud twinkle sound as the "TSUBURAYA" appears.

Availability: Seen on most of the early post-hiatus Ultraman movies, starting with Ultraman Zearth.

4th Logo (1998)


Visuals: On a moving space background, the Mighty Jack arrow slides to the screen from the bottom-left, as the name "TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS" in slides from the right. Then, a lens flare appears.

Technique: CGI and video editor effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: So far, its only known appearance comes from a trailer for Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light.

5th Logo (2004 December 18)


Visuals: Various white bird-like arrows (shaped not unlike the Energy Core seen on Ultraman the Next's chest) fly around the screen. As the black background lights into a gradient, the arrows shine to form the Mighty Jack arrow. Then a last bird-like arrow appears and shines, forming the "TSUBURAYA" name. As the TsuPro logo's shine dies out, it reveals to be in a metal texture.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dreamy synth tune.

Availability: Only seen on ULTRAMAN: the Next.

6th Logo (2006 September 16-2008 September 13)


Visuals: On a bamboo forest, there's a bamboo shoot on the middle with a light covering it. Then it rapidly glows and sparkles. The camera pans into the flying sparkles, revealing a space background with the light being a star. The sparkles form the Tsuburaya logo and shines, making the planet on the background disappear, but keeping the star intact.

Variants:
 * On Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers, after the logo finishes, the background becomes black, and over the Mighty Jack arrow, the text:

ULTRAMAN SERIES 40th ANNIVERSARY 

zooms out into the Mighty Jack arrow, which is written in a Latin version of the original Japanese logo of the 1966 Ultraman show.
 * Some Ultraman DVDs released during the first two years had this version, but the text is written entirely in Japanese with the translation under it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An angelic tune along with twinkling sounds. On the Ultraman Mebius & the Ultraman Brothers variant, it's followed by Ultraman's famous grunt "Shuwatch!".

Availability: It appeared on two movies: Ultraman Mebius & the Ultraman Brothers and The Superior 8 Ultra Brothers. It also appeared on various DVDs of Ultraman.

7th Logo (2009 December 12-2015 March 14)


Visuals: On a black background with a light spot, copies of the Mighty Jack arrow rotate to the screen, merging into one, while the name "TSUBURAYA" follows it. When the TsuPro logo is formed, the overline flashes, turning the logo light-blue and the light spot dies out.

Variants: On Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial, after the logo is finished, it disappears and the logo of the Ultraman Series' 45th anniversary forms up, which is a red TV tube-shaped rectangle with the stacked text ウルトラマンシリーズ (45周年) and the heads of Ultraman and Ultraseven on both sides, along with the English translation below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Seen on the first two Ultraman movies directed by Koichi Sakamoto: Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend and Ultraman Ginga S The Movie, but also appeared on Ultraman Saga and Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial.

8th Logo (2016 March 12-)


Visuals: A explosion made of sparkles occurs. A cluster of these sparkles move to form the Mighty Jack arrow, as the name "TSUBURAYA" spins letter-by-letter and the overline draws in. As the TsuPro logo is fully formed, the remaining sparkles disappear, leaving only the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dramatic orchestral 3-note tune.

Availability: It can be seen on all brand new Tsuburaya movies from Ultraman X: The Movie onwards, and also appears on their official YouTube channel on uploads of some of their movies and shows, followed by a specially created (and often standalonely used) Ultraman intro.