Topcraft Co., Ltd. (株式会社トップクラフト Kabushiki-gaisha Toppukurafuto, also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established in 1972, by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Hayao Miyazaki's theatrical anime film adaptation of his 1982–94 manga series. Topcraft is well known for its collaboration for hand-drawn animation titles by Rankin/Bass Productions (New York City, US). Together, they produced several well-known animated television specials and feature films, including The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980). The studio served as a precursor to Studio Ghibli, another renowned Japanese animation studio.
The studio was founded on February 1, 1972, by former Toei Animation staff, including Toru Hara. Despite suggestions otherwise, the transition from Topcraft's demise into the formation of Studio Ghibli is not clear. The studio went bankrupt and dissolved on June 15, 1985, essentially splitting the studio in half. Ghibli was founded after the advice of Tokuma Shoten and the success of Topcraft's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.[1]Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata acquired the assets and formed Studio Ghibli. Topcraft's founder, Toru Hara, became Studio Ghibli's first manager.[2] Topcraft's animators later formed another studio, called Pacific Animation Corporation and headed by Masaki Iizuka, to continue working with Rankin/Bass on television shows like ThunderCats and Silverhawks, but eventually joined Ghibli once Pacific Animation was bought out by The Walt Disney Company and became Walt Disney Animation Japan.[3] Some animators, like Tsuguyuki Kubo, went to work for other studios, such as Studio Pierrot, working on Naruto and Bleach for them. Toru Hara died on December 14, 2021, at the age of 85.
