Back to all studios
MAP

Marza Animation Planet

Animation
View roles 0Visit website
Open roles
0
Founded
2006
Employees
51-200
Offices
2

About Marza Animation Planet

Marza Animation Planet is a Japanese 3D CGI animation and visual effects studio headquartered in Tokyo. Its work spans theatrical features, television and streaming animation, video game cinematics, animated shorts, and digital character performances. The studio combines animation production with technology development, supporting both original projects and established entertainment franchises.

Its operational origins lie in Sega Corporation’s Visual Entertainment Research and Development Department, established in April 2006. The unit became an independent company as Sega Sammy Visual Entertainment Inc. in June 2009 and adopted the Marza Animation Planet name in July 2010, with a focus on CG feature animation for international audiences. Following a period under TMS Entertainment from April 2017, it became a direct subsidiary of Sega Corporation in April 2023.

Animation across formats

Marza’s production services cover planning, scriptwriting, storyboarding, visual development, character design, modeling, rigging, layout, look development, and animation. Its capabilities extend to photorealistic visual effects and the integration of computer-generated characters with live-action footage. Alongside film and series production, the studio creates game cutscenes, cinematic trailers, real-time content, and virtual concert performances.

Feature-film work includes contributions to Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Resident Evil: Vendetta, and Lupin III: The First. Marza also served as a co-producer and primary animation house on the first three Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical films, released between 2020 and 2024.

Its animation portfolio includes Chi’s Sweet Adventure, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale, and shorts such as The Gift, The Peak, and Samurai Frog Golf. Game work includes projects in the Sonic, Phantasy Star Online, and Virtua Fighter franchises. Digital character performances extend its production activity into live entertainment, including Hatsune Miku concerts and Pokémon collaborations.

Research and development remains part of the studio’s production approach, connecting character animation, real-time rendering, and pipeline engineering across these different formats.

More about Marza Animation Planet

Leadership

As of November 2026, the report identifies Haruhiro Uchida as President and Representative Director and Shuji Utsumi as Chairman of the Board. Other executives include Genichiro Yajima, Senior Executive Vice President and Director; Akira Ito, Senior Vice President and Director; and Kiminori Kusano, Vice President and Creative Officer.

Production technology

Marza presents proprietary research at SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia. Named developments include SG Delivery for automated USD data dispatching, ShapeMeshing for 2D-to-3D mesh sculpting, and Time Filter for timing interpolation. Its reported production tools include Autodesk Maya, Houdini Solaris, Arnold, Flow Production Tracking, Unreal Engine, and Unity.

Historical milestone

In 2011, the company merged with Sega Sammy Investment & Partners Inc.

Notable credits

33 credits
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Tabekko Doubutsu: THE MOVIE
  • GIRLS und PANZER das Finale
  • Lupin III: The First
  • Resident Evil: Vendetta
  • Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
  • Space Pirate Captain Harlock
  • Chi's Sweet Adventure: Summer Vacation
  • Chi's Sweet Adventure
  • Oni: Thunder God's Tale
  • Sonic Drone Home
  • Samurai Frog Golf
  • The Peak
  • The Gift
  • Sonic: Night of the Werehog
  • Sonic Frontiers
  • Sonic Generations
  • Sonic Unleashed
  • Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
  • Paper Mario: The Origami King
  • Hatsune Miku Magical Mirai
  • Miku Expo 10th Anniversary
  • Pokémon feat. Hatsune Miku VOLTAGE Live!
  • Ensemble Stars!! DREAM LIVE Tour 10th xALL STARS!!
  • Virtua Fighter 5
  • Phantasy Star Online 2
  • Mario Kart 8
  • Splatoon
  • Splatoon 2
  • The Last Guardian

Offices

Where Marza Animation Planet is based

2 locations

  • Tokyo office

    Headquarters
    Tennoz Ocean Square 18F, 2-2-20 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002, JapanTokyo, Japan
    About this office

    Global headquarters housing animation, pipeline technology, R&D, and corporate leadership teams. Tennoz Ocean Square was formerly named NYK Tennoz Building.

    info@marza.com+81 3-6381-0555
    View map

  • Burbank offices

    Burbank, California, United States
    About this office

    **Office** Status: active Address: 2900 West Alameda Ave., Suite 700, Burbank, CA 91505, USA North American regional studio operated by MARZA ANIMATION PLANET USA INC. under unified brand management, supporting co-production, creative development, and licensing. --- **Office** Status: inactive / historical Address: 250 E. Olive Ave., Suite 200, Burbank, CA 91502, USA Former premises of the same-brand North American regional studio. The report identifies West Alameda Avenue as its current address.

Open roles

Find your next role at Marza Animation Planet

No open roles right now

Check back for new opportunities at Marza Animation Planet.

Visit studio website