Since Overlord is coming out in less than a couple of weeks (November 8th) on Blu-ray and DVD, we wanted to take a brief look at the production studio behind the glorious action, Madhouse.
Madhouse has been behind some of the best-looking, most well-recieved, and most beloved anime to have come out: Death Note, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Hajime no Ippo, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, and many more. Their series and movies have rocked the anime world time and time again with their amazing animations, shocking stories, and immaculate integration of every involved part. Below we’ll take a look at some of the top titles that this studio has created.
Overlord
The show that starts this anime list is one of the latest hits from Madhouse. It seems like your standard “Trapped in a Video Game” series that has been done before, but this one flips the anime genre on its head by being very self-aware and by making the “protagonist” powerful from the outset. Filled with plenty of humor and beautiful and amazing action, this show is a must-watch especially for gamer fans.
Trigun
This classic series was many anime fans’ first foray into the medium and it delivers quite the emotional punch (or should we say shot) as well as plenty of laughs. Following the adventures of the hapless but optimistic super marksman Vash the Stampede, viewers witness a show that blends comedy, science-fiction, heavy topics, and some of the coolest gun shootouts in a way that reinvigorated the medium of anime.
Summer Wars
We’ve already spoken at length about Mamoru Hosoda’s works in past articles, but because his works hit the emotional core so well, they’re worth mentioning time and time again. In a weird mixture of “Meet the Parents” and the “Digimon Movie”, Hosoda creates a timeless movie about family and fitting in that fuses the digital world of the Internet and the millennial generation and the traditional world of older generations. See this and other Hosoda films if you want good anime movies to watch with the family!
Hunter x Hunter (2011)
This remake of Hunter x Hunter was met with near universal acclaim for its intricate yet easy to follow plot, its robust character development, and the stunning action sequences. It starts deceptively cute and almost as a standard shonen, but it matures very quickly to the type of show that will wrench your gut with everything it throws at you. If you were getting tired of the typical fare of shonen series, you definitely will want to see this series.
Tokyo Godfathers
This unorthodox yet stylistic movie came from the mind of the groundbreaking director known as Satoshi Kon. This movie tackles the themes of Christmas and family using the most unconventional of protagonists: three hobos and an abandoned baby. It’s funny, bizarre at times, witty, and heartwarming and it’s surely a movie you should turn on this Christmas for a different take on things.
Redline
Compared to the plots of the other titles on this list, this movie is pretty solid, but this title takes the cake as the best-looking and is one of the most fun rides that you can have. Animated with over 100,000 frames and taking over 7 years to create, the visuals stand out above most other titles and creates a heart-stopping, gasp-inducing, thrilling car chase akin to Mad Max: Fury Road.
One Punch Man
And to finish off the list of great titles is one of the most recent breakout hits, One Punch Man! This title which parodies the tropes of the anime medium found widespread fame even among non-anime watchers. Although it has been said for many titles on this list, it is one of the most clever and sharpest-looking anime with some top-notch characters to have come out in recent years. Did we mention that it inspired the nerd world to work out? That’s a pretty powerful show.
What do you think of our list of animes from Madhouse? It was very hard to only choose these titles as Madhouse has a highly esteemed track record. They have worked with decorated directors- Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Hosoda to name some- with famed manga authors, and with huge international studios such as Disney and Marvel. They have won international awards and praise for their works across the board. Also if anything, they have been in existence since the 1970s and have made series continuously. Be sure to give their works a look and let us know which of their shows are your favorite.
