VAP, Inc.

Credits

Descriptions by
RarityLand, Henrynguye5 and Fry Letterman

Captures by
RarityLand, RSX-798, Henrynguye5 and Fry Letterman

Editions by
RSX-798 and Henrynguye5

Video captures courtesy of
FanCentralNetwork, Logo Archive, Fry Letterman and VHS愛好家

Background

VAP, Inc. (short for Video & Audio Project) is a Japanese publishing company, headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Nippon Television Holdings, Inc, and assists in the publishing of several anime, music, and video releases. Until 2005, the video division was branded as VAP Video, likewise, the gaming division was branded as VAP Game, whose releases were published in North America by NTVIC, Inc.

1st Logo (January 24, 1981-1985)

Visuals: On a cornflower blue background, the VAP logo wipes in via 2 segmented halves wiping in from both sides. It consists of a green upside-down triangle border with the "vap" text in a fancy colored font (which makes the logo look more like "uap"), and below it is the black text "VIDEO CASSETTE TAPE". Everything is surrounded by a white glow. The logo fades out, followed by the background.

Technique: Computerized wiping effects.

Audio: An upbeat pop tune.

Audio Variant: Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability: Most VAP tapes are hard-to-find. Can be seen on several anime and music video releases by the company, although it was plastered by the next logo on rereleases. ^[Examples?]

2nd Logo (1985-December 31, 1990)

Visuals: On a space background with rotating stars that flash between red and blue, 3 colored lines (red, green, and blue) shoot in one-by-one, shining in a yellow color. A 4-pointed star flashes in the distance and brings forth "vap" in a same font as the last logo, only in silver, spinning up in a arc before dropping down in the middle of the screen. The logo starts to shine as "VIDEO" in gold Avant Garde Bold, rotates in one by one, which also shines. After a bit, a white star-shaped flash emerges from the middle of the screen and engulfs the background.

Variant: A short version has the logo starting to spin.

Technique: What appears to be Scanimate.

Audio: 3 laser sounds are heard when the lasers are shot as a sparkling chime starts to play. Another chime plays when the star flashes and a whoosh is heard when the logo spins in, before ending with a clang. A synth chime plays when "VIDEO" spins in and a final chime plays when the star engulfs the background.

Availability: It's actually harder to find than most VAP titles; but your best bet is non-anime releases, such as Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All and He-Man & She-Ra. It also appears on Hi-Speed Jecy. Later releases, such as the Tenchi Muyo 3rd OVA series, use the 2nd VAP Video logo. It is not seen on the Funimation release except for the current VAP logo.

3rd Logo (January 1, 1991-2007)

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Visuals: On a space background, three colored streaks (red, green, and blue) fly by and crash into each other, resulting in a bright yellow light. When the light dies down, a pair of grey hands appear on a blue background. The light transforms into a spinning CG rendition of the VAP Video logo from before, and the hands fade away. The VAP Video logo then spins around and zooms into the camera. It then backs up and stops spinning. Finally, a light shines on the logo.

Variants:

• A short version also exists with only the logo shining.
• In its debut year, after it fades out, it fades to a 10th anniversary logo on a black background. It consists of a white oval outline with "10th anniversary" stacked up in a sans serif font, along with the VAP logo on the bottom.
• A variant has the logo freeze after the yellow light takes up most of the screen, leaving a blue "VAP" logo to zoom in with a few copies behind it. The end of the theme is used here.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A synth-choir rise, followed by a dreamy synth tune. The short version has no music whatsoever.

Availability: Seen on later releases before being phased out for the normal VAP logo. The short animated variant is especially rare, and it can be seen on the A.D. Vision release of Gunsmith Cats. The "Blue VAP" variant is possibly only seen on Ie Naki Ko - Suzu no Sentaku for the Bandai Playdia. Although the next logo debuted in 2004, rental DVDs (and possibly VHSs) continued to use it until 2007.

4th Logo (October 2004-August 2020)

Visuals: On a white background, 3 silver orbs with the reflection of the sky on them, fly in and merge with each other, becoming a red, green, and blue orb. The orbs zoom out as a multitude of them duplicate out of the original trio (while revealing a grey stripe on the background) and fly across the screen as a swarm. The screen then pans over to a large selection of rotating mechanical-looking rings and crescents, where all the spheres are flying towards a sun-like light in the middle of the screen, later turning rainbow-colored. The background then turns pure white as 3 translucent orbs, each containing a glass letter, split from the middle of the orb, and the objects disappear. The orbs themselves then disappear, revealing the "vap" letters in gold, rotating and merging in the center.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A heavenly synth bell flourish at the beginning, which enhances into a crystal fanfare.

Availability: Unknown. ^[Examples?]

5th Logo (August 2020-)

Visuals: On a black background, a large spheroid-like object, made up of several spaced-out silver "vap" letters, grows out of the middle of the screen and begins rotating counterclockwise. It eventually speeds up and the letters start spinning all about as well, right before the sphere stops and does one rotation on the Y axis. This causes all of the VAP logos to meld together into a single white VAP logo, which shines and changes into a dark purple color. The background then fades to white.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A repeating set of chimes and ticks with an orchestra tune underneath of it. It then gets cut off by an ascending set of piano notes, before ending with a long 3-note piano theme.

Availability: Seen on current releases from the company. ^[Examples?]