There’s no doubt that Madhouse is a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to producing anime. They’ve got a large number of fairly big titles under their belt and the quality of so many of their productions is undeniable. That isn’t to say they don’t have any misses and those will need to be looked at eventually, but today is about celebrating my favourite five titles by Madhouse and this was one hard list to put together because I really did want to add a lot more than five. Ultimately I’ve tried to assemble titles that I think represent the range of shows that Madhouse has out there as well as ones that are truly just fun to watch.
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As always, I’d love to see what you would include on your list so be sure to leave a comment below with your favourite madhouse anime.
Please note: There will be spoilers below.
Honourable mentions: No Game No Life and Death Parade.
Number 5: The Irregular at Magic High School
This anime title didn’t have the broad appeal that a lot of Madhouse’s titles have but if you happen to like the story this anime is a really good one to watch. For a magic highschool setting this anime pulls out all the stops crafting a believable world where magic has been integrated with technology and with Madhouse’s attention to detail and great animation has really been brought to life in a truly beautiful manner. Whether the spells are simple or complex, the end result is gorgeous to watch and the fights are exciting and fluid. I really enjoyed this anime for its world building and I think I’m glad that Madhouse was behind this one because in the hands of a different studio it may have ended up decided less than impressive.
Number 4: Ore Monogatari (My Love Story)
I really love My Love Story because of its quirky take on the traditional high school love anime, but again I think part of what makes this show so special is the way it has been put together. The story itself is interesting but without the visuals and animation there was every chance this show would fall flat. Yet every scene draws you into the show and the characters and ultimately watching this is a pure joy.
Number 3: Trigun
This is one of those shows where the story takes awhile to get going so it is a good thing we have fantastic visuals (even if they are a little dated looking by today’s standards) and some really fluid animation to keep us engaged in the early stages where the show presents like a screwball western. Once the story gets going and the transition to dark sci-fi kind of takes over it is impressive how the show manages to remain cohesive but all in all, this is one of those slightly older shows that is worth watching. Vash the Stampede is a hilarious and tragic character who will often leave you scratching your head but when you get right to the end he will step up when needed.
Number 2: ACCA
No surprise that ACCA made my list given it was one of my favourite shows in 2017. It is a slightly off-beat political thriller (kind of) but also has a very laid back tone. Anyway, it all could have been a big mess and yet it became an anime that really held my interest assisted by its distinct visuals and very cool jazzy sound-track. While I wouldn’t describe ACCA as beautiful, it is quite a distinct looking anime and the animation suits the style fairly perfectly. It isn’t as flashy as some of the other titles on the list with less in the way of actual action to show off the fluid animation madhouse has a reputation for, but it certainly has style.
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Number 1: Death Note
Alright, it is a little bit older and from an animation point of view again there aren’t the impressive physical fights to show off just how great it is, and yet this show managed to make writing in a book look intense and amazing and created a visual tone that carried even the weaker parts of the story to fairly lofty heights (there’s a reason this anime is on most people’s must watch lists). With an opening that grabs your attention and is filled with visual symbolism echoed within the show itself (at least the first opening, let’s not discuss the second), and an intensity to every scene that is hard to come by with so many shows striving not to take themselves seriously, Death Note is well and truly worthy of my number one spot on this list even if the second half of the series isn’t exactly flawless.
And that is my list for this week but be sure to check back next week for a new list, or you can check out all of my Top 5 lists here. For now though, I’d love to know what you’ve put on your list.
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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Well Death Note is life to me. Love that anime so much. My love story was such a funny and enjoyable anime
So many great titles from Madhouse! I’d list my top five as follows:
1. Chihayafuru
2. Trigun
3. ACCA 13
4. Cardcaptor Sakura
5. Death Parade
And Dennou Coil and Tatami Galaxy are tops on my “to watch list.”
I didn’t include any movies, because if I did…I do believe they would probably fill my entire top five (though Chihaya and Vash might find a way to sneak him somehow…too hard of a choice, though, between Trigun and Metropolis!).
Great list and thanks for sharing. You are right in that there are just so many great titles from Madhouse.
I have seen death note and my love story. Both was great. I will watch other series also.
Hope you enjoy.
Someday, I’ll get around to watching ACCA, too. *^*
As for my list, I think it’d consist of CCS, Chihayafuru, Hunter x Hunter (2011), Hajime no Ippo, and Ore Monogatari. But I did enjoy Nana, Daiya no A, and some Satoshi Kon movies, too. 🙂
There’s so many good titles in their line up it really is hard to narrow it down, isn’t it?
True. Indeed, they’re a powerhouse. 😀 Not surprising if many people have it as their favorite animation studio. :3
I would add CCS to my Madhouse list, especially since they put so much effort into Clear Card like in getting much of the original staff.
They certainly did make it a worthwhile follow up and have done an excellent job balancing fan expectations while bringing CCS into the modern anime age.
Just curious, if you were to extend the list, would No Game No Life make it at all?
As much as I enjoy No Game No Life, without a continuation of the series I probably wouldn’t add it to the list. The story feels far too unresolved at this point in time.
Well I do have to say that I liked Death Parade and Game No Life more than Death Note 😀 But it’s a good list! Tigun is of course a classic which I loved. The other 3 are in my watchlist! So, great list! 😀
Trigun is a fantastic show. It is definitely one of those I recommend people give a go and push beyond the first few episodes because they really don’t clue you in on what you are about to watch. Normally I dislike the ‘it get’s better’ argument, but with Trigun while it starts okay, it is the second half where things get really interesting.
Yeah true! But the beginning is not that bad! It’s not like it’s a horrible show that then becomes somewhat good. It’s a good show that gets even better in the second half in my opinion
The beginning isn’t bad, but for me it was quite off-putting because the show seemed so silly. I’d heard a lot of good things about the series and then I’m watching the main character do a Daffy Duck style bullet dodge. I’m glad I stuck with it though.
Looking at those I’ve watched from Madhouse… I only come up with four that I think should be on a “top” list.
Chihayafuru
My Love Story
Nana
One Punch Man
In alphabetical order because it’s hard to rank them relatively other than putting One Punch Man at the bottom. I’m not saying it isn’t good, but rather it’s not all that when compared to the others.
The problem with One Punch Man is it is very one note. While what that note is entertaining, it doesn’t have a lot of staying power.
Of those listed, the only one I’ve seen is Death Note. I think that my own list for the studio would possibly be:
Death Note
Black Lagoon
Casshern Sins
Cardcaptor Sakura
Wolf Children
Cardcaptor Sakura really should have been on the list. The only reason it wasn’t was I haven’t really watched it since I was in school.
Ah, see I got to rewatch it not too long ago. One of the joys of having kids for me is to share my old favourites with them and see how they enjoy them
Well, Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Hosoda also had their stuff produced by Madhouse, so…
Great choices and I haven’t seen ACCA yet it looks interesting.
It’s a bit different. While that doesn’t work for everyone I kind of enjoyed it as a nice change of pace.
Interesting choices even though I’ve only seen Trigun and Death Note. Here are some of my favorite Madhouse based series and movies:
Texhnolyze
Perfect Blue
Paprika
Monster
Tokyo Godfathers
Monster is one I’ve been interested in for awhile. I should probably get around to it. Thanks for sharing your list.
Monster is a great, yet very underrated series. However, it is a really long one since it’s over 70 episodes long. Expect to invest a lot of time and brainpower should you watch it.
Well, I still have Hunter x Hunter to finish and then probably should take a couple of other big titles off my list, so maybe I can make that a 2019 project.
Of course. Hey, Madhouse did animate the HXH remake. Way to be on topic still. Watching and reviewing Monster could be a fun, yet lengthy undertaking.
We need to get you to watch Black Lagoon one of these days 🙂
Probably. It is still somewhere on one of my watch lists.
The Madhouse-NTV combo was (is?) incredible. I miss the era of Kaiji, Souten Kouro and other similar titles.