Pony Canyon

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Pony Canyon is a division of Fujisankei Communications that primarily focuses on music and anime releases. Until 1987, when Pony Records merged with Canyon, the home video division was known as Pony Video.

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Pony Video

1st Logo (1979-1983)

Visuals: On a blue background, a white TV tube is shown with the word "PONY" inside and below that is the word "VIDEO", with the "V" connected by a line and a TV tube. On the bottom left is the word "株式会社ポニー" with a outlined rectangle.

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: None.

2nd Logo (1980-1983)

Visuals: On a blue background, the abstract shapes of P and C are shown. Below them is the name "PONY VIDEO" in white.

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: None.

3rd Logo (1983-1986)

Visuals: On a blue gradient background, a white spotlight zooms from the bottom towards the horizon and flashes before vanishing. Two golden circles zoom from the horizon as the camera angle changes slightly. The circle on the left has a rectangular edge on the lower-left corner, and the circle on the right has a line from the middle of the circle to the right side. A thin yellow flash of light appears below the shapes and reveals "PONY VIDEO", which is briefly seen before it fades out. The shapes flip over and turn into two identical circles, which flash and merge together to form one circle. The circle flips up and the camera zooms into it to reveal a black background where a series of glowing lines, stars and circles move around, like a light show. After that, the Pony Video "shapes" and the text, now all red, zoom out from the top and bottom respectively before meeting in the center of the screen. The background then turns white.

Technique: CGI and computer animation.

Audio: A calm, dreamy synth tune with synthesized percussion during the light show, a shine sound effect when the print logo zooms out, and a looped synth whistling sound effect when the background turns white. Electronic beeps are heard at the beginning when the spotlight moves.

Availability: This logo was said to have appeared on a Japanese VHS tape release of the movie Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and the original Japanese VHS/Beta of Project A-ko.

4th Logo (1986-1988)

Visuals: On an indigo/white gradient background, a golden blob moves from the right side of the screen and stops in the center where it draws out the Fuji TV "Eye" logo (without the red dot). The golden words "PONY VIDEO" in a different font than the previous logo, sweep from the left of the screen and move through the eye. As they leave the eye, the red dot fades in, completing the Fuji logo. "PONY VIDEO" then zooms out from the screen, with a 3D trail that shrinks as it settles below the eye.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An odd dreamy synth ditty that starts off with what sounds like a tune on cowbells, angklung sounds that changes pitch after one set, and the same tune from before with bongos added.

Availability: It was found on the original VHS release of The Adventures of Milo and Otis (in Japan known as Koneko Monogatari), and it also appears on AnimEigo's subtitled releases of MADOX-01.

Pony Canyon

1st Logo (1987)

Visuals: Essentially just the Pony Canyon print logo in red fading in on a white background.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the promotional music video for "STAR LIGHT" by Hikaru Genji.

2nd Logo (1988-1991)

Visuals:

  1. On a sky blue/white gradient background with a gray floor, a living eyeball with an eyebrow zooms up from the bottom of the screen, pauses in mid-air and blinks twice. Then it zooms into the screen so the sclera (white part of the eye) takes up the entire screen.
  2. The sequence cuts to a mostly gray background with a "sun"-like light shining in the upper-left corner of the screen and some multicolor changing on the other side. In the scene, a CGI-generated face (only eyes, mouth and eyebrows) is laughing. Then, as a field of somewhat odd shapes goes through the screen behind the face, the mouth and eyes suddenly change shape as it appears to be crying and move up the screen as the background becomes completely psychedelic. Then, a slew of somewhat odd living shapes appear from various parts of the screen, including an odd looking triangular creature with what looks like a plant or green hair on top with a bucktooth that jumps from the left, then appears to be gasping in shock as another shape from the right of the screen passes through the right and the bucktoothed shape turns around to look at it.
  3. It then cuts to a scene where a rod with eyes on two more rods with two triangles on top and bottom zooms out and flies to the left. Two chess piece-like shapes come from both sides of the screen and the one on the left bobs up and down, seemingly tapping on something. Then, a CGI mask comes from the left and zooms far out as it goes to the right of the screen, then a triangle with two eyes comes out from behind the chess shapes and goes into the screen very fast.
  4. It cuts to a gray background where all the other shapes (except the eye), including the crying face, the buck-toothed triangle and a couple of others, zoom out revealing themselves to be inside a transparent circle with white confetti floating down inside it, which zooms into the center and fades out as the Fuji eye fades in with "PONY CANYON" underneath. Then, another odd-looking creature, basically a long line with three eyes and one pink shoe, bounces from the left towards the right.

Technique: CGI graphics using TDI Explore.

Audio: A dreamy calypso tune played on synths and drums, accompanied by the following sounds:

  • The eyeball making a descending noise as it zooms up and pauses, then a whoosh as it zooms in.
  • Some distorted alien-like laughing as the face laughs, then even weirder crying when the face cries.
  • A trumpet note when the buck-toothed triangle gasps.
  • A sliding-up whistle sound as the triangle-rod-two eyed shape appears and moves up.
  • A "plinking" noise when the chess-like object tapes.
  • A sliding-down whistle as the two-eyed triangle appears, then a quick whoosh as it moves into the screen.
  • A weird fading out noise, probably the face crying.
  • Two chiming ditties as the three-eyed object with a shoe bounces to the right.

Availability: Seen on some tapes and LaserDiscs of anime and other Japanese content distributed by the company, such as The Abashiri Family.

3rd Logo (October 21, 1991-2007)

Visuals: On a gray and rippling background, the beige words "PONY CANYON" zoom by. Then, a beige ring and sphere move. The sphere and the ring go through each other in alternating directions several times. The sphere settles in the ring and the ring rotates a bit. The ring spins, and it grows three protrusions that become the "eyebrows" of the now-finished Fuji eye logo. "PONY CANYON" suddenly flies beneath the "eye", causing the whole thing to jiggle a bit.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Assorted metallic sounds and a "cling" when "PONY CANYON" flies beneath the "eye".

Availability: Can easily be found on Japanese prints of anime released by the company, such as the anime adaption of Air. It is also known to have appeared on various Scitron Laserdiscs like the Virtual Drug Series. This can also be seen on a few American anime releases, such as the Viz VHS of Key the Metal Idol.

4th Logo (1993-1995)

Visuals: Over a black background, there is the Fuji eye logo with the red dot. Below is the text "PONY CANYON" and "PRESENTS" in a golden gradient.

Later Variant: The Fuji eye logo is in plain 2D, the text is white and reads "PONY CANYON, INC." and the Japanese name is seen below.

Technique: A still computer image.

Audio: None.

Availability: The Super Famicom variant was spotted on Jungle Wars 2, while the later variant was spotted on F1GP for the 3DO.

5th Logo (April 21, 2004-June 21, 2017)

Visuals: On a gray/white gradient background, several thin black, gray, and red lines trace all about as 3 thick lines, also in that order, draw in. As they rotate to become flattened, "PONY CANYON" also appears below, flipping out as all the thin lines disappear.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Simple synth notes, followed by three ringing sounds, which sounds similar to the 3rd Pony Video logo. Sometimes, a female voiceover says "Pony Canyon".

Availability: It can be seen on a lot of releases during the time frame, such as Bruce Almighty, The Recruit, Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean and Check It Out, Yo!! (after the Fuji Television DVD logo); with the last (known) releases being the seven volumes of Sound! Euphonium 2, spanning from December 21, 2016 to June 21, 2017.

6th Logo (2016-)

Visuals: On a white background, a red drop falls down, turning black while the rest of the background turns red via an iris effect. The drop then shakes to change the background back to white and reveal 2 more drops, the left gray and the right red. The black drop then hops a little bit, and rushes to the gray drop, causing it to roll and reveal "ony" in a black Bauhaus 93-like font. The black drop hops and becomes a "p", forming "pony", the gray drop hops and turns into a red "c", and the black letters "anyo" appear one by one, with the red drop becoming an "n". All of this forms the word "pony canyon". The wordmark then zooms out and moves down to leave room for larger versions of the "p" and "c" to fade and draw in.

Variants:

  • A short version has a single drop coming in, forming the wordmark as the letters draw in. This version is silent.
  • A still version of the logo exists.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: An echoing drop sound is first heard, followed by a mellow guitar and chime tune, ending with piano notes mixed in.

Availability: It can be seen on all of Pony Canyon's current releases in Japan, such as the Sound! Euphonium series, Asgao to Kase-san and others.

Edit Section

1st Warning (1979-)


Visuals: The warning text in Japanese appears on a lilac blue or black background. It looks like this:

Script from 1979-1982:

このテープの無断複製及び
放送・劇場上映などは法律
によって禁じられています


Script from 1982-1986:

このビデオテープは一般家庭における
私的視聴に用途を限って販売されてい
ます。
従って無断で複製、放送、有線放送、
公の上映、及び業としての貸出しに使
用することは法律で禁止されています。


Script from 1986-2007?:

このビデオグラムは一般家庭における
私的視聴に用途を限って販売されて
います。 無断で複製、放送、有線放送、
公の上映及び業としての貸し出しに
使用することは法律で禁止されています。
尚、違反者は法律で処罰されますので
ご注意ください。


Script from the early 2000's-2007?:

この製品を権利者に無断で、複製、
改変、公衆送信(放送、有線放送、
インターネットなど)、上映、上演、
頒布(販売・貸与など)、翻訳、翻案
などに使用することは法律で禁止
されています。


Script since 2007?:

この商品は一般家庭における私的視聴に用途を
限って供給されています。
法律で認められている場合を除き、 この商品の
全部又は一部(映像に含まれる音楽、音声部分も
含む)であっても、著作権者に無断で、改変、複製、
業としての貸し出し、放送、上映、インターネット
その他の方法による送信(送信を可能にするアップ
ロード行為も含む)等により使用する行為は法律に
より固く禁じられています。
尚、違反者は厳しい刑事罰を課せられたり、損害
賠償請求の対象になることがありますので取扱い
にはご注意いただくようお願い申し上げます。

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: None.

2nd Warning (1990)

Visuals: On a black background, the following text quickly scrolls up:

This motion picture,
including its soundtrack,
is protected by copyright
and this recording may be
used only domestically,
i.e. in private homes, in
Japan.
Any other manner of
exhibition and any broadcast,
public performance,
diffusion, editing copying,
re-selling and hiring in
whole or part are prohibited
unless expressly authorised.
This prohibition may be
enforced by legal action.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: This was found on a Japanese Laserdisc of Police Story.

3rd Warning (2003)

Visuals: Over a black background is the following text in white:

警 告
この映像著作物に対するすべての権利は法律により
保護されています。伴って、個人の私的視聴を除き、
権利保有者に無断でその一部でも上映、放送、複製
レンタルなとに使用した場合は、法律により処禄される
ことがありますのでご注意下さい。

Technique: A still computer graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the 2003 Japanese DVD of Warner's Green Mile.

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