A to Z of Animation Studios: TMS Entertainment
(Or: The Studio That Worked on Everything and Never Got Enough Credit for It)
Welcome back to Animation Anarchy, where we celebrate animation history while exposing which studios secretly carried the industry on their backs. If you haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel, do it now before TMS animates your life story but only gives you two frames per second.
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🔥 T is for TMS Entertainment
TMS Entertainment is the greatest animation studio that most people have never heard of.
They’ve been around since 1946 and have animated more iconic shows, movies, and projects than any other studio in history.
• They’ve worked on anime legends.
• They’ve worked on Western animation classics.
• They’ve been the secret weapon of the animation industry for decades.
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The Greatest Hits (A.K.A. The Shows and Movies That Prove TMS is a Legend)
1. Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
• The gold standard of superhero cartoons.
• Dark, moody, beautifully animated—this show made Batman cooler than ever.
• TMS handled some of the absolute best-looking episodes, including Heart of Ice and Two-Face.
• Without TMS, this show wouldn’t have been the masterpiece it was.
2. Akira (1988) (Yes, THAT Akira)
• One of the greatest animated films ever made.
• TMS was one of the studios that worked on it.
• Every single frame is a work of art.
• If you haven’t seen Akira, stop reading this and go watch it now.
3. Lupin III (1971-Present)
• The longest-running anime about a gentleman thief.
• One of the first anime series to truly go global.
• Gave us The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), which was Hayao Miyazaki’s directorial debut.
• Every single Lupin III series and movie looks better than it has any right to.
4. Detective Conan (Case Closed) (1996-Present)
• A show about a teenage detective stuck in a kid’s body.
• It has been running for over 25 years and shows no signs of stopping.
• Every episode is basically “Murder Mystery: The Anime.”
• If you love detective stories, you NEED to watch this.
5. Sonic X (2003-2006)
• The anime that made Sonic fans go feral.
• Featured actual continuity (unheard of for Sonic adaptations before this).
• Also gave us the meme-worthy “Gotta go fast” theme song.
6. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
• A visually stunning yet weirdly forgotten fantasy film.
• One of the most ambitious international animation collaborations ever.
• Featured work from both American and Japanese animators.
• It bombed at the box office, but animation nerds still love it.
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Why TMS is So Important (A.K.A. Why They Deserve More Respect)
• They’ve animated some of the most visually stunning anime of all time.
• They’ve worked on Western cartoons without people even realizing it.
• They balance quantity AND quality, which is insanely rare.
TMS is basically the quiet overachiever of the animation world.
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🎖 Honorable Mention: Toei Animation (Dragon Ball, One Piece, The Ultimate Anime Giant)
Now let’s talk about the anime studio that has controlled your childhood.
What Did They Make?
• Dragon Ball (1986-Present) – The most influential shonen anime ever. Goku refuses to stop powering up.
• One Piece (1999-Present) – The longest-running anime epic about a rubber pirate who still hasn’t found the treasure.
• Sailor Moon (1992-1997) – The show that invented the magical girl genre as we know it.
• Digimon (1999-Present) – Pokémon’s edgier, slightly darker rival.
• Pretty Cure (2004-Present) – The spiritual successor to Sailor Moon that has been printing money for decades.
• Mazinger Z (1972-1974) – The show that basically created the giant robot genre.
Why Toei is an Anime Powerhouse
• They’ve been running since 1956.
• They created some of the biggest franchises in anime history.
• They keep their shows running FOREVER.
Toei is basically the Disney of anime. They mass-produce, but when they go all out (like in the One Piece movies), they deliver absolute masterpieces.
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Final Thoughts (A.K.A. Why You Should Subscribe Before Toei Animates Your Entire Life in Filler Episodes)
TMS Entertainment? The anime powerhouse that worked on everything.
Toei Animation? The unstoppable anime empire that will outlive us all.
Next up? U for UPA—the studio that turned flat, stylized animation into an art form.
(Spoiler: Yes, we will talk about Mr. Magoo.) 🚀
