×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Animation studios and their reputations.


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
rainbowcourage



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 1216
Location: what is commonly known as "hell week"
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 12:23 am Reply with quote
people who haven't been long-time anime viewers (myself included) may have questions regarding the reputations of various large animation studios...so I was wondering if y'all could share your general knowledge of the well-known ones (assuming the reader knows pretty much nothing about said studio)

1. major studio name (Madhouse, Gonzo, etc.)
2. greatest success and/or failure
3. famous for (quality visuals, storyline, etc.)

I apologize for the listing.

thanks so much for the help...now maybe I'll actually know what I'm talking about! Smile

Rainbow
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Aylinn



Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:38 am Reply with quote
I think I my help a bit

1.Gonzo
2. greatest success and/or failure?
I series such as Full Metal Panic!, Welcome to the NHK, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo and practically every anime when they managed to do ending that could be considered as good.
Gonzo is infamous for that they often can't do even a decent ending. The ending usually is a big failure/disappointment/WTF at once, for example: Black Cat , Trinity Blood. This is known as Gonzo curse.
3. famous for?
Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others

1. Madhouse Studios
2. greatest success and/or failure?
well known studio they are able to do anime that can be really successful for example: Card captor Sakura, Death Note, X, Black Lagoon.
3. famous for?
Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others

1. Bee Train
2. greatest success and/or failure?
Bee Train greatest successes are series such as .hack, Noir. However the pace in their anime is often too slow and as a result some people consider their anime to be boring.
3. famous for?
Music is often wonderful/very good because of Yuki KAJIURA.

1. Studio DEEN
2. greatest success and/or failure?
Studio DEEN Greatest successes are series such as: Higurashi (both seasons), Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen.
3. famous for?
Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others.

1. Kyoto Animation
2. greatest success and/or failure?
Their greatest successes are series such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kanon (TV 2/2006).
3. famous for?
They can do spellbinding animation.

1. BONES
2. greatest success and/or failure?
Their greatest successes are series suach as: Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven.
3. famous for?
Their storylines are considered to be very good.

1. Sunrise
2. greatest success and/or failure?
Their greatest success is of course Gundam. The most serious accusation against sunrise is the fact they often bring back to life characters that were killed without even trying to do half assed explanation.
3. famous for?
Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 9902
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:47 am Reply with quote
Aylinn wrote:
4x "Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others"

I wonder what else can you write. Plus the quality of music is not controlled by animation studio.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number My Anime My Manga
Aylinn



Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:05 am Reply with quote
dormcat wrote:
Aylinn wrote:
4x "Nothing particular they can do good music, etc but I can't say they are better in this than others"

I wonder what else can you write. Plus the quality of music is not controlled by animation studio.


Really I didn't know. I repeated it because I don't remember situation where large numbers of people were telling something like "Oh I watch this anime because it is made by studio XXX and they are great at XXX." and I think it useless to write 4 different sentences that in the end will have the same meaning.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
young98



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 68
Location: USA
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:11 am Reply with quote
1. Studio Pierrot
2. greatest success and/or failure
known for some prototypical shounen anime, some of their successes are Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Great Teacher Onizuka, the aspect they fail in is that they don't produce a lot of great movies coming from tv series, and i don't know if it is considered a bad thing, but they produce pretty song tv series (ie Naruto, Bleach), also, in the longer series, they usually have filler episodes
3. famous for (quality visuals, storyline, etc.)
famous for i guess creating storylines decent enough to carry on long series without it becoming too tedious
(this information is personal opinion, this isn't fact or popular thought necessarily)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 8:13 am Reply with quote
Most of my opinions reflect what has been released in R1. The "famous for" category is strictly pulled from the ANN rankings. As for what does a studio control is a bit vague. Most studios have producers and directors that work for them from project to project which helps give the studio a certain feel. Oftentimes a director will hire their favorite musician (Hisaishi for Miyazaki for example) which will give that studio a distinct musical sound, although someone like Yasuhiko is also free to hire Hisaishi for a project like Arion or Venus Wars. I also think that certain studios tend to have good working relationships with various manga publishers (in some cases like Kadokawa the publishers also are movie studios) so we see some natural pairings. What it also comes down to is what works for the studio. If a studio makes a show and it is a hit the trend is to make more shows like it.

AIC "Bubblegum Crisis, Tenchi"
This studio always seemed to have fans in mind when making their early OVAs as can be seen in Iczer-1. Along with there buddies in Artmic this studio dominated the OVA scene in their early days with such hits like Gall Force, Bubblegum Crisis, Dangaioh, Megazone 23, Riding Bean and a few others. Since then many of their television series like Dual and El Hazard have retained their "for the fans" OVA feel. They are one of those girls, violence and mecha studios that make series aimed towards otaku. They also seem to place a heavy emphasis on music.

ARMS "Elfen Lied, Kite"
This studio produces lots of hentai titles. Their more mainstream titles like Elfen Lied, Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny, Mezzo, and Kite reflect this studios 18+ tendencies. This studio is oddly in charge of the new Genshiken 2, which makes me wonder if this will be a more graphic series than the original Genshiken.

Bones "Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolf's Rain"
My initial impression of Bones (having their start with the Bebop Movie) is that they were aiming for an older audience. There is some residual Sunrise style in some of these older Bones works especially considering veterans like Kawamoto and Yutaka Izubuchi had long histories with Sunrise. A common theme in older Bones works (Wolf's Rain, RahXephon, Scrapped Princess, and even Fullmetal Alchemist) can be seen by how they handle their last episodes. I almost feel with so many series following this trend there was a decision that all these series need to have spoiler[a "reset" element] although it is most likely coincidence. One thing for certain it really works against building a franchise based off a series which is perhaps what they were looking for since Sunrise was built upon franchises. Their newer shows like Fullmetal and Eureka seem to have more of a shounen appeal compared to their earlier works like Kurau and Wolf's Rain.

Gainax "Evangelion, FLCL"
This is the studio which was built by fans and seems torn between being artistic and pandering to the fans. The Otaku Video OVA is a loosely based account about their humble start. Gainax's first project was the highly ambitious Honneamise. This film didn't have J-pop, giant robots, teenage protagonists, scantly clad women or any of the other gimmicks found in most anime. Sadly I believe the movie wasn't the box office success (please correct me if I'm wrong) and Gainax decided to scrap the then in preproduction R20 film in favor of Gunbuster which featured girls, robots, and fan service. They then went on to do Nadia. The series felt as though it was created by two opposing teams that were pulling in different directions and help set the mood for Gainax for years to come with such titles like This Ugly yet Beautiful World and Mahoromatic which borrow heavily from the rest of the industry.

Gonzo "Full Metal Panic, Hellsing, Chrono Crusade"
This is one of the newer studios which embraced the CG revolution early on. They are also one of the first studios to switch all of their productions into 16:9 widescreen. They also made shows in 5.1 and mastered in HD well before many others. I tend to think of their shows as aimed towards a slightly older demographic with many of their protagonist past (Solty Rei and Witchblade's characters both have kids) their teenage years. I tend to really like Gonzo's productions, although I hear many complain about their lack of animation quality.

J. C. Staff "Excel Saga"
This is one of my guilty pleasures since they tend to be a bit fan oriented with shows like Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, R.O.D. Tsukihime, Slayers, Starship Operators, and Kare Kano. This studio is for the serious otaku and I wouldn't attempt to show half of their titles to non-anime fans. J.C shows are not known for their budget, but I tend to enjoy them.

Kyoto Animation "Melencholy of Haruhi, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, Air"
Although this studio has been around for years it seems to only have recently gain a reputation. Kyoto seems to have a history as a support studio working alongside with other studios on projects like Kiddy Grade and Inuyasha. Considering how popular Haruhi, Air, Kanon, and Lucky Star (at least on amazon.co.jp) are this studio will be the next big studio. Funny for a studio that spent it's first 20 years in obscurity. Also funny how they hijacked Full Metal Panic from Gonzo.

Madhouse "Trigun, Chobits, Death Note, Cardcaptor Sakura"
This is a studio with a rich history of great movies. I find it sad that most people in the States know them for their recent television shows. With films like Barefoot Gen, Dagger of Kamui, Ninja Scroll, Millenium Actress, and Paprika under it's belt this studio is one of the most prestigious. I think of brilliant directors who are good with motion like Satoshi Kon, Kawajiri and Rintaro when I think of Madhouse. Their oveall look tends to be very dark. They also have a number of less mainstream (for the US anime market) titles like Hajime no Ippo and Master Keaton.

Nippon Animation "Fantastic Children, The Wallflower"
This is one of the older studios. Most people growing up in Japan have probably seen a series produced by this studio like 8 Man (1963), the immensely popular Chibi Maruko-chan, or Miyazaki and Takahata's classic Future Boy Conan. This is one of those studios that has a large mainstream appeal in Japan, but is rather obscure in the States.

Oriental Light and Magic "Berserk"
Although they have a small catalog this studio has some of my favorite titles. Central to this studio is Naohito Takahashi, the director of Berserk, Figure 17, and Kurumi. He tends to bring over most of his staff (writers and artist) from project to project despite being completely different in style. Their recent release of the amazing Utawarerumono, Blade of the Phantom Master proves that they are still alive and well.

Production I. G "Ghost in the Shell, Jin-Roh"
Much like Tatsunoko this studio tends to have a nice Western appeal. Ghost in the Shell did phenomenally well amongst non-anime circles when it came out, as did Blood the Last Vampire. I love Le Chevalier D'eon and think it would do well on cable in the States. There series tend to be mature and soulful. I love their adaptation of Please Save My Earth which has some haunting moments,

Satelight "Hellsing OVA, Noein, Macross Zero"
This is perhaps my favorite studio since Kazuki Akane and Shoji Kawamori are their backbone directors. This is a studio that has consistently integrated CG into their series in a smooth fashion. I'm glad Akane is finally getting a bit of attention with Noein since both Geneshaft and Heat Guy J were greeted in the States with lukewarm reception. Satelight just began their highly anticipated Macross Frontier this week. I'm also looking forward to Kawamori's Aquarion (he brought back most of the Arjuna staff) R1 release.

Studio Comet "School Rumble"
With titles like School Rumble, Peach Girl, Suzuka and Shura no Toki under it's belt I have the general impression that this studio aims towards that teenage crowd who like lighter drama series. The main characters from these series are all good natured characters who make me smile.

Studio Deen "Fruits Basket, Trust & Betrayal"
The studio that brought us Maison Ikkoku seems to have much in common with studio Pierrot which I often confuse it for. With titles like Law of Ueki, Getbackers, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Shounen Onmyouji, and Tactics there taste seem to lean towards shounen manga. Unlike most of their contemporaries who have shows based off of long running manga these shows (with the exception of Maison) don't tend to run for over a year which can be frustrating in cases like Zipang. I wonder if this is a studio decision, or the fact that the shows are not picked up for a second year.

Studio Gallop "Rurouni Kenshin"
This studio has been around for many years but isn't very prolific. A good amount of their projects are based off of popular manga franchises like Akazukin Cha Cha, Initial D, and Kodocha. I've never been very impressed with their animation quality which tends to retain a less refined manga feel although I did enjoy their adaptation of To-y.

Studio Ghibli "Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away"
There isn't much that I can say about them that hasn't been said before. Their films tend to be great for non-anime fans and are primarily directed by founders Miyazaki and Takahata. Miyazaki mentions on a documentary that the studio needs new directors, yet was against his son directing Earthsea. Miyazaki keeps on saying his current project will be his last but continues to make films.

Studio Pierrot "Bleach, Naruto, 12 Kingdoms"
This studio tends to draw a younger crowd and has many popular manga titles behind their arsenal. They got their big break with the immensely popular Urusei Yatsura series. I first became interested in them in the 80s with their release of Area 88 and Orange Road. Besides Area 88 they also released Rumiko Takahashi's Fire Tripper, Cosmo Police Justy, Dallos and jumped on the OVA market in the first couple of OVA years. I'm personally not interested in most of their projects although they are extremely popular both here and in Japan.

Sunrise "Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, Escaflowne, Gundam Wing"
Nippon Sunrise was known for its' line of super robot series in the 70s. This all changed when Sunrise began the real robot boom with the release of First Gundam and Votoms. By the mid 80s (1987?) the name changed to just Sunrise and was known for the large amount of mecha series. They seem to like to build franchises like Dirty Pair, Gundam and have even tried to resurrect titles like Reideen. They have been a long time hold out on the 16:9 (not counting Betterman or Planetes) aspect ratio, but I hear that Gundam 00 is presented in wide screen. This studio also happens to be one month older than me.

Tatsunoko "Speed Racer, Macross Do you Remember Love"
People will recognize Tatsunoko from the three series that were to eventually be combined to make Robotech. Many of the fans in the States between the late 60s to the mid 80s were introduced into anime through this studio thanks to Speed Racer, Gatchaman and Robotech. I'm not really sure how Production I.G and Tatsunoko are related since they are separate entities. Their recent release Karas proves that they are still amazing after all these years.

Toei "Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon"
This is the studio that everyone grew up watching. For me it was the original Captain Harlock series, while younger fans watched Saint Seiya, Hokuto no Ken, and Sailor Moon. Once Toei begins a franchise expect at least 100 episodes. Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro has been a favorite amongst Japanese children since the 60s. Toei shows tend to be insanely popular in Japan compared to most anime listed here.

Tokyo Movie Shinsha "Akira, Rayearth"
This is another older studio who most Japanese people would recognize from Doraemon and Detective Conan. IATV has just released their first batch of TMS classics including Remi, Orguss and Cat's Eye. I hope they will eventually release Rose of Versailles and Space Cobra. Although they have been very successful in Japan most of their shows have not clicked with the fans in the States. Even newer shows like the amazing Requiem from the Darkness didn't do very well here.

Xebec "DNAngel"
Something about Xebec seems really retro. Titles like Stellvia, Nadesco, Dai-Guard, Pilot Candidate, Elemental Gelade, and Fafner all felt like they were made a few years after their prime. Their series all seem a bit derivative. Despite this the studio seems to have gained a bit of reputation. I can't remember which trailer I was watching, but it began with "from Xebec" so it appears that they have a fan basis. I do however like The Third.

Edit: added a few studios. I will agree that Kare Kano is more of a Gainax effort since most of the staff is from Gainax. Gainax rarely does projects by themselves (possibly due to their small size) and even Evangelion was done with Tatsunoko/I.G.


Last edited by Randall Miyashiro on Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:19 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime
Aromatic Grass



Joined: 31 Dec 2003
Posts: 2424
Location: Raleigh, NC
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Aylinn wrote:
1.Gonzo
[...]
3. famous for?

Their 3D animation... sorta. They're also well-known (among fans) for being good some of the time, but screwing up most of the time.

Aylinn wrote:
1. Madhouse Studios
[...]
3. famous for?

Excellent animation. Probably not the best, but it's certainly a studio to suggest when asked about good animation.

I can't think of anything for DEEN and Sunrise, since I'm not exactly a fan of either studio. Sunrise seems to do a lot of series that are longer than one season, and of course they are famous for Gundam.

Randall already gave some info on Production I.G, but I would like to add that it's my favorite studio because it has some of the best visuals and animation.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
countchocula86



Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 159
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 3:34 pm Reply with quote
Showing my ignorance here, but arent most/all of these series' adapted from mangas/light novels? I mean, storywise, how much "control" do these animation studios have?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
frentymon
Forums Superstar


Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 2362
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:25 pm Reply with quote
{Disclaimer: This is all my own opinion and bits of what seem to be popular opinion, save what the name of the studio is.}

Studio Name: BONES
Greatest successes: Fullmetal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess, Ouran High School Host Club
Famous for: Strong character development and scriptwriting. BONES is particularly good at making sure most if not all of the main cast get the proper screen time and background they deserve, and they always do it in the way that's fresh and interesting. I've never seen a bad BONES ending (cheesy, inconclusive, or otherwise), and they've always been good at steering series in the right direction. Their weakness seems to lie in implementing the script, and often times BONES series will move incredibly slowly or fast at the oddest times. Mostly adapt anime from various sources, but create own in-house productions from time to time (Eureka 7, Darker than Black).

Studio Name: GONZO
Greatest successes: Gankutsuou, Welcome to the NHK, Romeo x Juliet
Greatest failures: Hellsing, Last Exile, Gantz
Famous for: Starting off like a million bucks and becoming exponentially weaker as the series goes on. For example, Last Exile had everything it needed in the beginning to become an amazing series - stellar soundtrack, attractive animation & CG, interesting storyline - but started to fall apart due to what seemed like the producers having absolutely no clue how to finish off the job. About 50-50 with adapting anime from source material and creating original productions, and can be hit-or-miss in both.

Studio Name: Sunrise
Greatest successes: Gundam franchise, Mai-HiME, Code Geass
Greatest failures: Kekkaishi, Idolmaster Xenoglossia
Famous for: Pacing. Example, Mai-HiME was paced excellently and the transition from from ordinary school life to insane madness was really smoothly done. Their other reputations include botching up a few Gundam series, and having some of the worst cop-out/cliffhanger endings ever. Do more original studio productions than adaptations, and they also known for their mecha designs and creating series with mecha in them (not surprising, being the studio responsible for Gundam).

Studio Name: DEEN
Greatest successes: Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen, Full Moon, Fruits Basket
Greatest failures: Amaenaideyo, Higurashi Season 1 (animation-wise)
Famous for: Being oddly polar. They've churned out some of THE best looking stuff as well as some stuff that looked like DEEN had the budget equivalent to that of a cheap hentai studio (not a good thing). If you were to take a look at Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen (a.k.a. Trust & Betrayal) and Higurashi Season 1, it'd be hard to believe that it was animated by the same studio. DEEN does both adaptations and original productions.

Studio Name: Madhouse
Greatest successes: Death Note, Nana, Black Lagoon
Greatest failures: Ichigo 100%, Mokke
Famous for: Solidity. Save a select few series, when I know a series is being animated by Madhouse, I can generally expect very solid and attractive animation as well as good pacing and scriptwriting and among other factors, with an overall trustworthiness factor to it. I've never seen them come out with something that was amazingly stunning and mindblowing to the masterpiece level, and I rarely if ever see them create original in-house series, but you can count on them to create excellent anime adaptations of manga and other sources.

Studio Name: Kyoto Animation
Greatest successes: Air, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kanon 2006
Famous for: Producing few, but very high quality productions. They produce significantly less series than some of the other well-known studios among the fans, and they average only one show per season (much less than other studios), but so far most if not all of the shows they have produced have been received very well among fans in all aspects (animation, story, character development, music, etc.). So far they have not done any original productions but instead have stuck to very high quality adaptations of manga, light novels, and visual novels.

Studio Name: JC Staff
Greatest successes: Honey and Clover, Shakugan no Shana, Asatte no Houkou
Famous for: Versatility. Their most notable style is the refreshingly original watercolor animation style they use for select series that it fits well in (Honey & Clover, Nodame Cantabile, Kimikiss), but it seems like there's a huge variety of styles of animating they use to animate the various productions they have come out with. They do more adapting but also do original productions, and they do a lot of collaborating with other studios.

Studio Name: SHAFT
Greatest successes: Negima!?, Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, ef ~a tale of memories~
Famous for: Artistry. I've never seen any other studio use camera angles or do as much crazy experimental stuff as they do. They use all sorts of cool artistic effects all the time, the way they animate their skies is amazing and colorful, and overall they do amazing stuff with their animation that usually works and fits really well. They mostly do adaptations and make them refreshingly different from the originals.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime
mokuhazushi



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 95
Location: Atlanta
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Randall Miyashiro wrote:


J. C. Staff "Excel Saga"
This is one of my guilty pleasures since they tend to be a bit fan oriented with shows like Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, R.O.D. Tsukihime, Slayers, Starship Operators, and Kare Kano. This studio is for the serious otaku and I wouldn't attempt to show half of their titles to non-anime fans. J.C shows are not known for their budget, but I tend to enjoy them.



I think you'll find that Gainax did Kare Kano (hence the well-known non-ending of the series). Maybe you were thinking of a different series?

I'd agree that J.C. Staff has had some pretty solid output--I liked R.O.D. and Starship Operators, and I'm mostly enjoying Daphne.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Porcupine



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 1033
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 8:08 pm Reply with quote
I have many agreements and disagreements with what various people said above, maybe later on if I have more time I can elaborate.

But I would like to emphasize one thing. Some of the comments people made earlier don't make sense or are confused, and this is because they made the mistake of considering a particular animation studio to be the same studio from its birth to its end (or current state).

I have noticed that animation studios do tend to follow certain trends in their work, HOWEVER this often changes every 3-7 years or so, at which point generalities about the animation studio no longer apply and it is best to consider them an entirely new animation studio.

For example frentmon recently made positive comments on SHAFT works. I know what he is talking about but mostly these are the result of a skilled director with a particular style, Akiyuki Shinbo. He primarily works for SHAFT over the last 5 years. However, he has done works for other studios as well such as Petite Cossette for Doumu which has the feel of a SHAFT production. And long ago he used to work for J.C. Staff. And long ago, SHAFT shows did not necessarily have the same feel....for example Mahoromatic (which sucks but at least it has nice drawings).

edit: I have actually not seen any of the 3 SHAFT shows frentymon mentioned (I don't watch fansubs). But I just checked the ANN Encyclopedia credits and surprise, all 3 are directed by Akiyuki Shinbo (in one is he only the executive director). I could tell by frentymon's descriptions who directed those series.

Another issue is that the same animation studio sometimes has sub-groups who work on different shows which are not clearly credited or differentiated from each other, which can result in the same studio producing vastly different qualities of work during even the same time period. IMO one of these groups is Gonzo, they have produced a number of vastly inferior shows these past 5 years but also a few decent shows.

On a totally different note, regarding dormcat's comment, sometimes production studios can partially influence things like quality of music or even voice acting. For example as was previously stated, half of Bee Trains works use Yuki Kajiura's music (the other half uses Ali Project). Studios tend to go with similar directors and staff, at least for a period of 3-5 years like I mentioned earlier. And half of what Yuki Kajira does is probably Bee Train works. Japanese voice actors tend to be less studio-centric, but at times you can see this pattern even with them. It's no coincidence that Aya Hirano does many Kyoto Animation works, that Rie Kugimiya does many J.C. Staff works, etc.

Anyway these are just my thoughts. Maybe I'll comment in more detail later.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Aromatic Grass



Joined: 31 Dec 2003
Posts: 2424
Location: Raleigh, NC
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:26 pm Reply with quote
mokuhazushi wrote:
I think you'll find that Gainax did Kare Kano (hence the well-known non-ending of the series). Maybe you were thinking of a different series?

Both GAiNAX and J.C. Staff are known for Kare Kano. Just like both GAiNAX and Production I.G. are known for FLCL. Does somebody know why this is sometimes the case? That two studios take the credit for one product?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
frentymon
Forums Superstar


Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 2362
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:40 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
But I would like to emphasize one thing. Some of the comments people made earlier don't make sense or are confused, and this is because they made the mistake of considering a particular animation studio to be the same studio from its birth to its end (or current state).


I was contemplating adding this to my post earlier, but I'm referring to all these studios in their current state, from about year 2000 onward (some later). Basically - a rough idea of what to expect from them if they were to come out with a new show in the next few seasons.

Quote:
for example Mahoromatic (which sucks but at least it has nice drawings).


Wasn't Mahoromatic primarily Gainax? It has a real Gainax feel to it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime
Porcupine



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 1033
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:40 pm Reply with quote
Yeah Mahoromatic probably wasn't the best example, but I couldn't think of any better SHAFT examples in the pre-Akiyuki Shinbo era. It's almost like SHAFT came into existence when Akiyuki Shinbo joined them, but not quite.

I totally agree Mahoromatic has a completely GAINAX (pre-2000 version) "feel" to it because it's controlled by GAINAX writers and directors. Which is why it sucks. I think Mahoromatic has a completely SHAFT "look" to it though, in terms of drawing style and animation quality. I suspect most of the show was drawn by SHAFT. Hard to truly compare because Mahoromatic is still cel-based anime even though it was made roughly in 2002.

GAINAX is another good example though of how animation studios change with time. I think post-2000 GAINAX is really different from pre-2000 GAINAX, mainly when their next generation of directors/storyboard artists took over. I haven't seen the new Eva movie or Gurren-Lagann yet though so I don't know how those are. ANN says that Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, Gunbuster 2) directed Eva 1.0 so hopefully he managed to overcome Hideaki Anno's bad influence and screenwriting. Smile

Not sure what the exact deal is with GAINAX/J.C. Staff for Kare Kano. I've only seen half of Kare Kano (whatever was free on TV) so I'm not sure I'm qualified to form my own opinion. It definitely has a GAINAX "feel" since Hideaki Anno directed most of it, not as sure about the look. I kinda liked Kare Kano (Hideaki Anno is a bad director in my opinion but he is still way better than the GAINAX guy who directed Mahoromatic who is among the worst of all-time) I wish I could have seen all of it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
frentymon
Forums Superstar


Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 2362
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:43 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I think Mahoromatic has a completely SHAFT "look" to it though, in terms of drawing style and animation quality.


Hm, I thought the character designs and animation style heavily resembled other Gainax series though (KonoMini in particular).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group