OLM (studio)

OLM, Inc. (株式会社オー・エル・エム), (formerly Oriental Light and Magic), is a Japanese animation and film studio headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, founded on October 3, 1990, by former Studio Gallop and OB Planning employees. They are best known for producing the Pokémon anime series.

Establishment
OLM was founded as Oriental Light and Magic, Inc. on October 3, 1990, by Toshiaki Okuno, Shūkichi Kanda, Shōji Ōta, Kunihiko Yuyama, Naohito Takahashi, Yuriko Chiba, Nobuyuki Wasaki, Tsukasa Koitabashi, and Takaya Mizutani, all of which were formerly affiliated with Studio Gallop or OB Planning. Their name is derived from the American special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic.

In 1995, OLM representative director Toshiaki Okuno founded OLM Digital, which became the main CG work company behind a majority of OLM's works. Toshiaki Okuno stood as both companies' representative director since their establishment until 2024, when he elected to step down from his position. Hideki Kama, the vice president of the company at the time, was declared his successor at the main studio, while Misako Saka would succeed him as the representative director of OLM Digital. These changes took place on April 1, 2024. Okuno remains with the company as part of the board of directors.

Studio structure
Similar to Bandai Namco Filmworks and Bones, OLM is divided into separate production lines that are typically named after the Animation Producer leading the production. As of 2024, the studio officially operates six separate production lines.

Specials

 * Pac's Scary Halloween (2015)
 * Santa Pac's Merry Berry Day (2015)

Game

 * Pokémon Black and White 2 Animated Trailer (2012)

Distribution/dubbing

 * PAW Patrol (2019–present)
 * Tinpo (2020–present)
 * D.N. Ace