Scary Logos Wiki
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1st logo (1935-1950)[]

Toho

The Toho logo (the familiar circle with the kanji "東宝"in the center, arranged vertically) is seen on a gray background. The logo appears to have a drop shadow. Kanji is written on the bottom of the screen which translates to "Toho Motion Picture Company".

Variant: On educational films, the background is a very dark gray (almost black; due to major film deterioration), and the circle is light gray and filled completely.

2nd logo (1950-)[]

On a space blue background with multicolored lines, with a shining center. On the center, we see a white circle with the kanji "東宝" arranged vertically, which means "TOHO". Under the circle, we see yellow kanji that reads "東宝株式会社", which means "TOHO COMPANY, LTD".

Toho 2

Evolution/Variants: The logo has changed through the years. Here, we can see the differences:

  • 1950-1955: The logo is closer to the screen and in black and white. The Kanji wipes in below the logo instead of already being there.
  • 1955-1965, 1984: The logo is in color, and is shown on a dark blue space background with two versions, one with golden stripes various colors of the rainbow spectrum, and clear, light blue stripes with the colors of the rainbow spectrum more apparent.
  • 1965-1997: The most famous variant of the logo. It is shown on a blue space background with mostly clear stripes that correspond to the various colors of light seen in the center of the logo.
  • 1957-1965: "TOHO" and "SCOPE" are on the left and right sides of the circle in a huge font.
  • 1993-: The logo is enhanced to look more modern. The stripes are colored purple and various light blue colors, but also some green and yellow stripes are thrown in as well.
  • Also, some movies had an English-translated logo (with "TOHO" written in the circle and/or "TOHO COMPANY, LTD." in English, replacing the kanji). A still shot of this variant can be seen on the trailer for the anime film Metropolis.
  • There are versions of the logo in 4:3 (full open matte or cropped from widescreen), flat (1.85:1, 1.75:1), and CinemaScope (2.35, 2.55) .
  • The print circle was seen on Godzilla Unleashed for the Nintendo DS, as well as some Classic Media DVD releases of Toho material.

3rd logo (2013-present)[]

Toho Animation 29 29

On a dimly lit white background, a cyan blue circle pops in before fading to black, along with brief red and orange bubbles. It moves around a bit and moves back to position. It then violently shakes and changes multiple colors, in which it forces into a triangle with multiple colors and then resting as a yellow ring, along with multiple bubbles. It then morphs to a cyan ring, then violently shakes to a red one, then finally an orange one as it starts to turn more into angular shapes. The ring then morphs into multiple angular shapes, rotating and flashing colors, as multiple rings come into the center. The rings then collide, briefly zoom into a screen, and then leave out multicolored bubbles and a pulse, settling as a black ring with multiple traces of color around it. Beneath it is "TOHO a n i m a t i o n" stacked on each other.

Variant: On educational films, the background is a very dark gray (almost black; due to major film deterioration), and the circle is light gray and filled completely.

Music/Sounds[]

1st Logo (1935-1950): None or the opening theme of the movie.

2nd Logo (1950-): None or the opening theme of the movie.

3rd Logo (2013-present): Usually silent or the opening theme of the film.

Scare Factor[]

1st Logo (1935-1950): None or the opening theme of the movie.

2nd Logo (1950-): None. This logo is a favorite among anime and tokusatsu fans.

3rd Logo (2013-present): Low to medium, the fast-paced animation may surprise some, but it's a cool logo.

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