Studio Jack

Studio Jack (株式会社じゃっく) is a Japanese animation studio that specializes in background art and art direction for anime and video games. It traces its origins to Animation Studio Jack, established in 1967 in Hoya City (now Nishi-Tokyo) by the late Yusaku Sakamoto after he left Tezuka Productions, with both an in-between animation department and a background department. In April 1970, Shigeshige Suzuki and Hiroya Hachimura spun off from that company and founded Yugen Kaisha Jack, inheriting the "Jack" name written in hiragana as "じゃっく," dedicated specifically to background art. The company began with just two people, grew to more than 45 staff at one point, and has operated for over five decades as one of the established names in Japanese animation background art. The studio's core business is the design and painting of backgrounds for animation and games, including digital coloring and processing, as well as 3DCG work such as modeling, texturing, and layout creation for background art. It maintains a roster of art directors — including Katsuyoshi Kanemura, Chikara Nishikura, Masatoshi Muto, Reiji Kasuga, Yasutoshi Kawai, Minoru Akiba, Masaki Mayuzumi, Hitomi Yoshida, Yumiko Kuga, and Miho Kawakami — and can assign an art director suited to each production's style. The company states it can handle roughly 14 titles at a time. Studio Jack has provided background art for a long list of television series, TV specials, theatrical films, OVAs, games, and commercials. Its credits include Pokémon television series and specials, Rent-a-Girlfriend, Grand Blue, Love Live! Superstar!!, Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, The Seven Deadly Sins, Tokyo Ghoul, Jewelpet, and many others. The company is headquartered in Takadanobaba, Shinjuku, Tokyo, and as of the company profile had about 35 staff plus contracted outside workers. Leadership has passed through several hands. Founding president Shigeshige Suzuki died in 1997, and Hiroya Hachimura became president that year. In 2013 Katsuyoshi Kanemura became representative director and president, with Hachimura becoming chairman; Hachimura retired as chairman in 2015 and became an advisor. The company reorganized as Kabushiki Kaisha Jack in 2016. Studio Jack marked its 55th anniversary, counting from its 1970 founding, and continues to recruit digital coloring and processing staff for animation and game backgrounds.

Studio Jack's history begins with Animation Studio Jack, founded in September 1967 in Hoya City (present-day Nishi-Tokyo, Tokyo) by the late Yusaku Sakamoto after his departure from Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production (established 1961). That studio set up both an in-between animation department and a background department, and moved to Shinjuku in March 1968. In April 1970, Shigeshige Suzuki and Hiroya Hachimura spun off from Kabushiki Kaisha Jack, inherited the "Jack" name in hiragana as "じゃっく," and founded Yugen Kaisha Jack at its current location as a company dedicated to background art. The company started with two people, gradually added staff, and at one point grew to more than 45 employees. In April 1997, founding president Shigeshige Suzuki died, and Hiroya Hachimura became representative director and president. By 2003 the company had 40 employees including contract staff plus five contracted outside workers. In 2013 Katsuyoshi Kanemura became representative director and president, and Hachimura became representative director and chairman in the same month. In March 2015 Hachimura stepped down as chairman and became an advisor in April of that year. On April 25, 2016, the company changed its name to Kabushiki Kaisha Jack; in April 2016 director Keiko Suzuki retired and became an advisor, and three new directors — Chikara Nishikura, Rin'ya Kanagawa, and Kyo Momose — took office. Kyo Momose retired as director in September 2019. Masaki Mayuzumi became a director in May 2021. In May 2023 Rin'ya Kanagawa became vice president and Masatoshi Muto became a director. The company describes its founding philosophy as "continuity is power" (継続は力なり), a principle passed from founding president Shigeshige Suzuki to Hiroya Hachimura and carried on today. Representative director Katsuyoshi Kanemura has noted that the biggest change during his tenure was the shift from hand-painted backgrounds made with paint to digital backgrounds, which brought both benefits and difficulties for the animation industry and for the company's working environment. Studio Jack marked its 55th anniversary since its 1970 founding and continues to recruit staff able to digitally color and process animation and game backgrounds, welcoming those who aim to become art directors. Over the decades the studio has built a broad credit list across television series, TV specials, theatrical films, OVAs, games, and commercials. Its work spans long-running franchises such as Pokémon and Jewelpet as well as titles including Rent-a-Girlfriend, Grand Blue, Love Live! Superstar!!, Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, The Seven Deadly Sins, Tokyo Ghoul, and many others. The company maintains a team of art directors and states it can handle roughly 14 titles at a time, assigning art directors suited to each production's style.

• Animation Studio Jack established in Hoya City (now Nishi-Tokyo), with in-between animation and background departments; representative Yusaku Sakamoto.

• The studio moves to Shinjuku.

• Yugen Kaisha Jack founded at its current location by Shigeshige Suzuki and Hiroya Hachimura, specializing in background art.

• Founding president Shigeshige Suzuki dies; Hiroya Hachimura becomes representative director and president.

• Company has 40 employees including contract staff and 5 contracted outside workers.

• Katsuyoshi Kanemura becomes representative director and president; Hiroya Hachimura becomes representative director and chairman.

• Hiroya Hachimura steps down as chairman and becomes an advisor in April.

• Company name changed to Kabushiki Kaisha Jack; Keiko Suzuki becomes advisor and three new directors take office.

• Director Kyo Momose retires.

• Masaki Mayuzumi becomes a director.

• Rin'ya Kanagawa becomes vice president; Masatoshi Muto becomes a director.

A long-established specialist studio for animation and game background art, offering art direction matched to each production and capacity for around 14 titles at a time.

• Pokémon anime series and specials (background art)

• Rent-a-Girlfriend (background art)

• Grand Blue (background art)

• Love Live! Superstar!! (background art)

• Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (background art)

• Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun (background art)

• The Seven Deadly Sins (background art)

• Tokyo Ghoul (background art)

• Jewelpet (background art)

1. 1studiojack.com - 株式会社じゃっくstudiojack.com
2. 2作品履歴 - studiojack.comstudiojack.com
3. 3じゃっくとは - studiojack.comstudiojack.com
4. 4企業案内 - studiojack.comstudiojack.com
5. 5Studio Jack - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Studio Jack - Wikipedia (Chinese)zh.wikipedia.org