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Madhouse, Inc. (株式会社マッドハウス, Kabushiki-gaisha Maddohausu) is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro staff, including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Madhouse has created and helped to produce many well-known shows, OVAs and films, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae!
Madhouse (MADHOUSE Inc.) is a Japanese animation studio based in Nakano City, Tokyo. Ex-Mushi Production animators—including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintarou, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri—are often credited with founding the company in 1972, though Rintarou would not join the studio until 1982.
- Nana (2006 – 2007) ‘Nana‘ avoids the typical female character stereotypes such as moe and tsundere. Yet, the anime shines brighter than most shoujo shows out there.
- Death Note (2006 – 2007) Every anime lover is familiar with the brilliance of ‘Death Note.’ But what makes it a worthy entry on this list is how its animation stands out from other shounen anime.
- Monster (2004 – 2005) Naoki Urasawa is the master of suspense who wrote some of the best anime series in the last decade. But ‘Monster,’ a tale of murder and guilt, is by far his best creation that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
- One Punch Man (2015 – ) Some might argue that there isn’t anything great about the animation of ‘One Punch Man.’ But if you rethink about it, you can see that most of shounen leads wield some sort of weapons.
- 17 Black Lagoon
- 16 Chihayafuru
- 15 One Outs
- 14 Beck
- 13 Trigun
- 12 Parasyte -The Maxim
- 11 Hellsing Ultimate
- 10 Rainbow
- 9 Nana
- 8 One-Punch Man
MyAnimeList: 8.03
A classic action series, Black Lagoonis all thrills and very little filler. Split into two seasons and an OVA series, the anime follows a group of merchants as they take on an eclectic range of cases, each one different from the last and most of them being very high quality. Although largely remembered for its intense action sequences and mature protagonists, Black Lagoonalso throws out the occasional philosophical musings, and they are surprisingly effective and nuanced. Except for season 2'...
MyAnimeList: 8.18
At first, Chihayafuru seems like another plain competitive obscure sport or board game anime since it's about Karuta. It's a Japanese card game introduced to them by Portuguese traders. The anime explores this notion through its protagonist, Chihaya. But through Chihaya's quirks and an upbeat attitude — as well as the anime's unique premise of a shoujo/josei protagonist playing a card game, the title quickly becomes a novel hit. As it turns out, a card game centered around poetry and memoriza...
MyAnimeList: 8.33
Here, we have another sports anime, but this time around, it's about something more popular, baseball. One Outs follows the tale of baseball prodigy, Toua Tokuchi but the catch is that he's also a gambler who's only out to make money and sees baseball as nothing but a means to an end. Viewers can immediately tell what the protagonist's dynamics with acquaintances and colleagues will be based on his arrogant attitude. Sure enough, he gets scouted for a baseball team and the team's owner, as we...
MyAnimeList: 8.29
Beck offers a dramatic spin on the "lost, directionless youth" trope as it sees its protagonist, Yukio Tanaka on a journey of self-realization. He initially had no goals in life (like a lot of young people these days both in and out of Japan). But all that changed after he saved a dog named Beck. By chance, Beck's owner happened to be a semi-popular guitarist and member of a budding rock band. Since then, Yukio was introduced to the world of Western rock and was enamored with music. Together...
MyAnimeList: 8.22
One of the sci-fi cult classics of the 1990s, Trigun is about a conflicted bandit who doesn't actually want to kill people. His name is Vash the Stampede, and he has a dizzyingly huge bounty on his head. The kicker is that he loathes violence due to his troubled past as an experimental weapon; he was manipulated into killing too many innocents for his psyche to handle. It's similar in tone to other classics of its era, such as Rurouni Kenshin. Heck, both Vash and Kenshin Himura even share the...
MyAnimeList: 8.33
When it comes to action-oriented anime, Madhouse is no stranger to calling dibs on reluctantly violent protagonists. Parasyte - The Maxim is another one of their titles that dabbles with this trope. This time around, the trope involves Shinichi Izumi who was accidentally chosen by Migi, an alien parasite who failed to take over his brain and granted him some nifty but disturbing powers. Shinichi, being the upstanding member of society he is, decides to use his newfound powers for good all the...
MyAnimeList: 8.35
Hellsing Ultimate is an OVA or mini-series that ran surprisingly for six years despite having only ten episodes. That's an indication of how careful the creators were in animating the most definitive anime adaptation of Hellsing. It's not just Madhouse who worked here but also other big-name studios. In any case, Hellsing Ultimate retells the story of the titular organization created solely to fight supernatural threats. Their greatest weapon is Alucard — a vampire lord who has committed to f...
MyAnimeList: 8.47
Rainbow is a mature anime intended for the seinen demographic or young men. Thus, one can expect its themes and iconographies to be less apologetic or welcoming especially when compared to shonen anime. This goes to show how Madhouse prefers its audience. Rainbow follows the story of a group of delinquent youth who were forced to transfer to a literal prison school called Shounan Special Reform School. There, they fight for survival while serving their time. This prison drama is no walk in th...
MyAnimeList: 8.55
Nana weaves a complex adult tale of romance, betrayal, and loss. These themes are more commonly associated with josei rather than shoujo anime, but Nana(and Madhouse) does an admirable job of tackling weighty concepts in a way that feels suitable for a younger audience. Nana is thus a story about two women who share the same titular name. One of them is a province girl who risks it all to find her true calling in the big city while the other is a punk rocker and vocalist with big dreams. Some...
MyAnimeList: 8.50
Madhouse did the honors of helping to establish the One-Punch Man manga as a household name and one of the biggest parodies in the anime world. They were responsible for the subversive show's first season, which is a tall order. One-Punch Man notably goes against the grain and pokes fun at shonen anime heroes while also having its own inspiring shonen hero. The anime is about Saitama who was once an unimpressive salaryman. After having a bit of an epiphany, Saitama decided to train for three...
- 2011's Hunter X Hunter (9.11) Coming as a shock to nobody familiar with Madhouse's work, Hunter x Hunter (2011) is the studio's highest-rated project on MyAnimeList.
- Legend Of The Galactic Heroes (9.04) Madhouse cannot claim all the credit for Legend Of The Galactic Heroes' incredible score on MyAnimeList, as the studio only worked on the opening 26 episodes out of a total of 110.
- Hajime No Ippo (8.77), New Challenger (8.69), & Rising (8.62) Fitting three seasons into one entry, Hajime no Ippo is a classic sports anime that follows a timid high school student who learns to express himself through the art of boxing.
- Monster (8.69) When it comes to thriller manga, Naoki Urasawa exists in a league of his own. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of the mangaka's works have been adapted into anime, with Monster being comfortably the best.
Anime-Planet lists all the anime produced by MADHOUSE, a Japanese animation studio. Browse by name, rating, genre, year, staff and more.
Nov 14, 2023 · Madhouse is a legendary anime studio that has produced high-quality series for over 50 years. From Cardcaptor Sakura to One-Punch Man, here are the 10 best Madhouse anime that showcase the studio's exceptional animation and storytelling.
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