Top 5 Anime Studios

Over the past few years, anime has grown in popularity and has evolved to become one of the most popular forms of entertainment there is.

With the anime industry consisting of over 430 production studios and over 12 000 series, it comes as no surprise that anime has generated an immense fan base. With so much attention being paid to the anime itself, people often don’t give the credit deserved to the companies which brought us these rays of light.

We have gone through lists of anime companies and have picked our top 5, which have brought us some of the most beloved anime of all time.

Toei Animation

Toei Animation started it all.

Founded in 1948 by the two incredible animators, Kenzō Masaoka and Zenjirō Yamamoto, Toei Animation originally started out as a regular animation studio until later in 1956, when the company “Toei” purchased the studio and it was renamed “Tōei Dōga Kabushiki-gaisha”.

Later on they started branching out into other western countries which is when it was given its English name, “Toei Animation Co., Ltd.” in 1998. Currently, the main headquarters of Toei Animation are located in the Ohizumi Studio in Nerima, Tokyo, and is still controlled by the head corporation of the same name, Toei Company. We have this glorious studio to thank for the release of many wonderful and iconic animes over years.

To help you get an idea of what they have given us, we have chosen our top five animes by Toei Animation:

• One Piece
• Dragon Ball
• Digimon
• Slam Dunk
• Sailor Moon

Madhouse

Madhouse was founded on the 17th of October 1972 by three ex–Mushi Pro animators, Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Originally going by the name Pao House Inc., this studio only got the name Madhouse Inc. in 1999.
This company currently located in Honchō, Nakano, Tokyo, and has created hundreds of breathtakingly wonderful and memorable anime over the years. A few of these animes are:

• Hunter x Hunter
• Death Note
• One Punch Man
• Parasyte
• Overlord

Studio Pierrot

Studio Pierrot (ぴえろ) was founded in May 1979 by ex-Tatsunoko Production animator and director, Yuji Nunokawa.
This studios headquarters are currently located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan and is best known for the release of the famous Shōnen anime, Naruto among others:

• Naruto
• Bleach
• Tokyo Ghoul
• Tokyo Mew Mew
• Black Clover

Bones

Studio bones was founded in October 1998 by Masahiko Minami, Hiroshi Ōsaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto.

Starting from their first project which was a Cowboy Bebop feature film based on the Cowboy Bebop series, Bones Inc. has brought us many memorable anime over the years, bringing you everything from fighting and romancing, to the supernatural and more!

With so many amazing anime to note, it was remarkably difficult to choose just the top 5, but it was done, and here they are:

• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Mob Psycho 100
• Ouran High School Host Club
• Noragami
• My Hero Academia

Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation was founded on the 12th of July 1985 by the companies still president, Hideaki Hatta and his wife and vice president, Yoko Hatta who used to work for Mushi production before she married Hideaki and they started their company.

An interesting fact about this company’s current logo, is that it is based on the flag’s emblem of the Kyoto Prefecture, which is a white flower shaped design with gold lining and golden centre.

Originally, Kyoto animation was a limited company consisting of a group of friends who worked together on various art projects, and it has progressed over the years to become one of the top anime studios in Japan, specially known for its “slice of life” anime. Some of their most well-known work include:

• Chuunibyou
• Free!
• Lucky Star
• Violet Evergarden
• K-ON

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