Asmik Ace

Background

Asmik Ace, Inc. (formerly known as Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc.) is a Japanese film production and distribution company. In the past, the company has distributed video games. It was formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both of Japan. The name Asmik comes from its three founding companies: Ask (formerly known as ASK-Kodansha), Sumitomo and Kodansha. The company is headquartered on the third floor of the Lapiross Roppongi building in Minato, Tokyo, and is a wholly owned division of Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM). Asmik Corporation was founded in 1985 as a subsidiary to the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan. Its focus was in the area of video games for the video game console market, specifically the NES. It quickly moved on to distribute motion pictures in Japan, and won several awards for doing so. It once had a North American subsidiary, Asmik Corporation of America. Ace Pictures Inc. was founded in 1981 as a division of Nippon Herald Films to produce Japanese films and distribute foreign art films. Several of its pictures earned awards and hold positions as some of the highest-grossing films in Japan. Asmik Ace Entertainment has produced games for Dreamcast, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC Engine, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube, and distributes high quality films for the Japanese movie market. Asmik Ace Entertainment also distributed a number of DreamWorks Pictures/Animation films to Japanese cinemas.

Ace Pictures

Logo (Mid 1990s-1998)

Visuals: On a black background, there are three light lavender comets that make three musical notes. The first and the last one have respectively a red and a blue line. The pentagram lines wipe in and everything flashes. During this event, there is the company name "ACE PICTURES" written in Bodoni. The first word had the letters A and E handwritten in Capital, while the C is made by a curved filmstrip.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appeared on movies like Ring (1998).

Asmik Ace

1st logo (1998-2002)

Visuals: On a white background, black and red squares flip towards the surface, forming the shape of an "A". The letters of "Asmik Ace" move toward the logo and spins round, and after, "Entertainment Inc." flips over, while changing its translation from English to Japanese.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appeared on early Asmik Ace movies like Fuyajo and After the Rain. A still version appeared on video games.

2nd logo (2003-2012)

Visuals: Over a black background, the logo starts with some gold bars that zoom out and reveal themselves to be the Asmik Ace symbol from the previous logo, which turns to its normal colors. The letters of the last logo flip towards and next to the "A".

Variant: During 2005, a white rectangle with the text "20th ANNIVERSARY" fades below, over the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dreamy theme that ends in a majestic theme. Sometimes silent or having the opening theme play over.

Availability: Virtually common. Appears on any Asmik Ace film or video game from the period.

3rd Logo (2012-)

Visuals: On a black background, some tridimensional, red lines are seenthat zoom out to form the Asmik Ace logo from before, with the text "Asmik Ace" in Bold flipping over, and the byline "A J:COM COMPANY" shown below the logo. A red rectangle fades over the byline.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dreamy theme that ends in a choir.

Availability: Appears on the latest Asmik Ace film or video game from the era since 2012.