Mushi Production

Mushi Production (虫プロダクション lit. Bug Production), or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima.

The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka started it as a rivalry with Toei Animation, Tezuka’s former employer, after Tezuka’s contract with Toei expired in 1961. The studio pioneered TV animation in Japan, and was responsible for many successful anime television series, such as Astro Boy, Gokū no Daibōken, Princess Knight, Kimba the White Lion, Dororo, and Ashita no Joe, as well as more adult-oriented feature films such as 1001 Nights, Cleopatra (the first Japanese X-rated animated film), and Belladonna of Sadness.