Anime is growing more popular in Japan, North America, and countless other countries in the world, and anime studios are a big reason as to why the medium is gaining such steam. 2023 has been a major year for all things anime, with the medium having big roles in this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Anime Expo, Crunchyroll Expo, and many other conventions. As anime becomes that much bigger, now seems like the perfect time to focus on the biggest anime studios of the year.
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There are some major studios in the anime game who create quite a few series, while others, might spend their time working more on feature-length films, or sticking with a long-running series. As these production houses become more popular, they can be employed by entertainment studios in North America to create new animated projects. Such is the case with the recently announced Suicide Squad Isekai series that will partner Warner Bros with Wit Studio to tell a decidedly different take on Harley Quinn, The Joker, and other members of the DC Universe via an anime style.
With the advance of technology, anime studios have been exploring new methods of animation, with a prime example being CG animation. One major example has been with the likes of Attack on Titan, as MAPPA has taken the opportunity to re-create the Titans using the new style that retains their horrific look from the prior three seasons from Wit. As technology marches forward, it will be interesting to see how anime changes in the face of the future.
What have been your favorite anime studio in 2023? Which anime series do you think had the best animation of the year? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of anime studios.
Studio Pierrot
Studio Pierrot has been quite busy in the anime world this year, with the production house perhaps best known for its work on Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. While the Hidden Leaf Village is currently on hiatus, though set to return this fall with four original episodes of the first anime series, Pierrot has been hard at work when it comes to Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War. The studio also released the first film in the Black Clover franchise via Black Clover: Sword of The Wizard King, making for quite a busy 2023.
MAPPA
Studio MAPPA is perhaps best known for the sheer amount of major anime series that it is currently working on. In 2023, MAPPA worked on the penultimate episode of Attack on Titan, with the series finale coming later this fall. The production house also released and completed the second season of Vinland Saga, taking the reins from Wit to continue Thorfinn’s journey. MAPPA also released a new bloody series that gained traction in Hell’s Paradise, while also releasing the lesser-known Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill. Of course, one also can’t forget Jujutsu Kaisen which began its second season recently.
Toei Animation
Toei Animation has the longest history of the anime studios that made the list, first beginning in 1948. Perhaps best known for working on the Dragon Ball franchise, animating the recent side story known as Super Dragon Ball Heroes, the studio has worked on some long-running anime series. Toei Animation has made waves with One Piece this year, continuing the story of the War For Wano Arc and giving some of the best animated battles and sequences of the series to date. Toei Animation also had a hand in the recent Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir which has become a fan-favorite animated series the world over.
Wit Studio
While Wit Studio handed the reins of both Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga to MAPPA, the production house hasn’t slowed down when it comes to its projects. This year, the studio helmed the spin-off series for Ranking of Kings, Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage, while set to partner with CloverWorks once again for Spy x Family season 2 and the first film in the franchise. Wit is also looking to create an anime focusing on Japanese VTuber, Kizuna AI, and then will partner with DC Comics on Suicide Squad Isekai.
Studio BONES
Earlier this year, BONES completed the sixth season of My Hero Academia, wasting little time in confirming that a seventh season was on the way following Deku’s Dark Hero Saga. This summer, the animation studio is looking to make waves with the fifth season of Bungo Stray Dogs, the supernatural series that focuses on the adventures of the Armed Detective Agency. While this might seem a tad lighter than other production houses on the list, the production house is also working on a brand new series in Metallic Rouge, based on no original manga and/or source material.
Studio Ghibli
It’s tough for Studio Ghibli to not make any list when it comes to the biggest anime studios of any given year. In 2023, Ghibli released the last film by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki in How Do You Live. Re-titled The Boy And The Heron in North America, the film has already been confirmed to hit theaters in the West. While Ghibli’s works are far from released on a weekly basis, the studio remains the pinnacle when it comes to what anime can achieve.
