Toei Animation Turns 70, Gets Official 'Toei Animation Day'

Japan’s animation heavyweight Toei Animation hits a landmark milestone today: July 31, 2026 marks exactly 70 years since the studio opened its doors in 1956 as Toei Doga. The company marked the occasion by launching a dedicated anniversary microsite packed with a commemorative special video, a decade-by-decade studio history, and a message from president Katsuhiro Takagi.

Alongside the celebrations, organizers formally established July 31 as “Toei Animation Day,” inviting fans to share memories under the campaign hashtag. The studio’s museum is also running anniversary programming, keeping the birthday festivities running both online and on the ground.

From Japan’s first full-color theatrical feature Hakujaden (1958) through trailblazing television hits, Toei’s catalog reads like a map of modern otaku culture. The house that later delivered Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Digimon, One Piece, and Pretty Cure has spent seven decades turning weekly TV slots and summer films into global franchises—while expanding production capacity as recently as its new Osaka studio earlier this year.

Takagi framed the anniversary not as a finish line but as a waypoint toward a hundred-year horizon, reaffirming the studio’s long-running motto of bringing anime’s love and dreams to audiences worldwide. For a production house that helped invent commercial anime as we know it, day 25,568 still feels like the start of the next chapter.

Official: Official site · X