Just Who Is Tatsunoko Anyway?

With all this talk of 'Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom', many are left clueless as to who Tatsunoko is. Who are they and how do the relate to Capcom?

Tatsunoko is a very famous animation company in Japan, so famous it can be compared to the likes of the Warner Bros. animation subsidiary ("Animaniacs", "Superman"/"Batman" animated series)

Founded in 1962 by Ippei Kuri, Tatsunoko produced numerous animated series that are now hailed as "animated classics" such as "Mach Go Go Go" (aka Speed Racer), "Gatchaman", "Yatterman", "Superbook" and my personal favorite "Samurai Pizza Cats."

Notably, Tatsunoko also co-animated the highly controversial series, "Neon Genesis Evangelion," regarded as the 'greatest anime of all time.' (Seriously. Watch this and you're whole perception of the world will change. It's that good.)

So, does Tatsunoko have any relation to Capcom?

Xebec Inc., who provided the animation for numerous Rockman television adaptions and in- game cutscenes (RM8, X4,IHX) is a subsidary of Production IG, a branched company of Tatsunoko. Small world, no?

The Capcom/Tatsunoko connection goes beyond animating Rockman. Numerous Capcom characters were based off of popular Tatsunoko heroes. For example, Harp Note of Ryuusei no Rockman fame is based off of Yatterman's "Ai Chan." (left)

Speaking of Yatterman, the antics of the Bonne family from Rockman DASH resemble the antics of Yatterman's antagonists, the 'Dorombo Gang.' Like the Bonne family, Dorombo is always striving to obtain treasure and wealth, sometimes through the aide of home made giant robots. Sound familiar?

Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom is slated for a release this winter releasing on arcades and possibly Nintendo's Wii (RUMOR). Don't get your hopes up for a localization, even though Capcom USA has stated "their working on it."