I watch anime because it interests me, not because “So and So wrote it” or “Studio XYZ did the animation”. I will, however, watch anything from Hayao Miyazaki (and usually anything Ghibli); no exceptions. But when it comes to studios in general, I have a blasé, “meh” attitude towards the matter. To be quasi-scientific and to see if I actually do prefer one studio over another, I look at my favorite, or at least, memorable, anime and come up with:
- Production I.G.: Six great anime
- GONZO: Five great anime, one so-so
- Studio Ghibili: Ten excellent anime movies
- Madhouse: One good movie and I can’t wait to see their Devil May Cry anime this year!
- Gainax: Two good anime
- Sunrise: Five great anime
- Satelight: Three good anime
- BONES: Two great anime
- J.C. Staff: One great anime
- Manglobe: One good anime
Those are the studios who’ve made some memorable anime over the years but I have no preference of one over the other. I suppose if you had to point out that “Hey Rachel, Studio Ghibli has the highest number of anime you like! They must be your fave studio!!” Well, OK, but they’ve never made anime series and I would judge a studio for their series rather than their movies. So, yes Studio Ghibli is my preferred studio that makes anime movies. Aside from that, I have NO preference for studios.
Are most people like me or do you find that one studio tends to crank out the anime you prefer and therefore is your fave? Will you watch anything that Studio What’s-it’s-Name produces or does an anime need to pass muster with you, no matter who made it, before you pop it in the DVD player? Are there any studios I’ve left out that people have a preference for?
Where’s Kyoto Animation!?
They’re clearly my favourite
To know where you are coming from, it would be nice if you listed what the great/so-so anime are, so others can agree/disagree with you.
And include an “other” category, so studios such as SHAFT and ufotable can get love too. :3
You should have left out Ghibli, everyone knows them
Anyway, when it comes to anime *series*, Madhouse have made a lot I enjoy.
hahaa, jc staff is my choice for some of the best shoujo series created.
I almost wanna say Bones but having only seen two series of that, I can’t really pass any judgement yet. Overall, I like Sunrise’s works best, I don’t have anything against train wrecks LOL Madhouse’s good too, they ain’t VERY GOOD, but if it’s doing an anime, you can be sure it’ll at least be decent quality, not extremely good, but never bad. J.C Staff is better than Madhouse, but not up to Sunrise’s level IMHO.
Just my two yen =p
Oh, btw, I think Kyoto Animation is a bit overrated. Sure, they make good adaptations, but adaptations alone don’t make you a great studio in my eyes. At least Sunrise has Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, Mai Hime/Otome, Code Geass… XD
Sorry for the double post!
I echo on the query on the absence of Kyoto Animation and Shaft. Studio 4C and Aquaplus are missing too. At least have an “Others” option for other people with varying preferences. ^^;
Cheers.
@Hectci3, sorry, no room in the poll to put more than 10. That’s why this comment board is so handy.
@TheBigN, good idea to have listed all the anime I referenced! I’ll try and get back to do that when/ if I have the time. I’d love to share the anime I’ve liked with you guys.
@i-k, I couldn’t leave out Ghibli, not when they’re such an excellent gateway to anime ^^.
@Impz, I think they only did one anime series I liked.
@CherylHew, whew, you’re familiar with your studio houses! I guess I don’t care about studios as long as they produce quality anime.
@Skane, it goes back to having no room in the poll system. But you put in your two cents here so that’s even better than an anonymous poll, IMO.
Kinda off topic, but the Ergo Proxy DVDs are on sale this weekend at Fry’s. $12.99 each. If you have a Fry’s near you, pick em up. That show’s pretty entertaining.
@ Chris
Just include that Ergo Proxy’s studio is Manglobe and you’ll be closer
to being on topic…
I really don’t have a preference. I think all of the above have made something I love and something that put me to sleep. I’ve only seen two Manglobe shows (that I can recall) and I liked both, but I’m sure they’ve made something that wasn’t to my liking.
Hehe, the last few words really sounded pessimistic. Didn’t mean it like that.
MADHOUSE IS THE BEST STUDIO with shows like
MONSTER
HAJIME NO IPPO
TRIGUN
BECK
GUNGRAVE
DEATH NOTE
BLACK LAGOON
PARANOIA AGENT
…
or movies
Ninja Scroll
VHD: Bloodlust
Satoshi Kon movies
…
Gonzo is also good in my opinion (Gankutsuou,Full Metal Panic,Gantz,Welcome to the N.H.K. and Samurai 7)
Bones best anime for me is Wolf’s rain…FMA or Scrapped Princess or Eureka 7 were good but not amazing…
I only like Kyoto Anim. for the Full Metal Panic sequels (Kanon or Haruhi is not my cup of tea though the animation is really really good)
Prod. I.G….i don’t like any GitS (but the animation is always awesome)
manglobe is AWESOME with Sam. Champloo and Ergo Proxy they have two fantastic shows
Gainax…hmm NGE is cool and a classic but that’s it for me… but Gurren Laggan is AWESOME
Sunrise…Gundam and Cowboy Bebop and many medicore series (My hime…) i still like them for the amazing Planetes or Vision of Escaflowne
J.C. Staff offers always great animation…my personal fav. is Tsukihime
Ghibli…Grave of the Firelflies is one of the best movies i’ve seen otherwise i don’t really have a favourite here, maybe Mononoke is also good (I’ve seen though every one of their movies)
k. Yah, I love Madhouse and Manglobe
Ghibli is the sweetness too.
@ Lops: You know, I can’t really get into GitS SAC at all either. I love the movies, but I think the show’s rather uninteresting. Are you a fan of the films at all, or do you just dislike GitS period?
Studio Ghibili
I don’t like anything the other studios made. Gungrave wasn’t bad though.
I’m more into movies, then series. Don’t really like series
@chris: i dislike GitS in general…animation is always awesome but that’s it
@superrats, same with me. I don’t think that any studio is exempt from making crappy anime (’cept Ghibili)
@Chris, Manglobe and Madhouse have only each made one anime apiece that I can honestly say is memorable, to me.
@getter25k, I really dug Gungrave, against my initial yark reaction. How come you dislike series?