6. Studio Durian
While Studio Durian doesn’t have the repertoire of big titles that other studios on this list do, the movie Look Back is the studio’s first big project, in other words, it can seen as the studio’s “real debut”. It can also be viewed as studio founder and Look Back Director Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s baby. Even Look Back creator Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man) was quoted while laughing, “I was also frustrated that his drawings were better than my own.”
Oshiyama himself not only directed and handled the screenplay and character designs for the film, but he also drew the key animation for over half of it! The film has grossed over $7.5 million at the Japanese box office, $1.4 million on opening weekend, and $436k on opening day in just 112 theaters across Japan (in comparison to My Hero Academia: You’re Next, which screened in almost 500 theaters across the country).
It may not seem like much in comparison to other studios here, but Oshiyama and the rest of the staff at Studio Durian deserve their flowers.
5. Sunrise
Sunrise, now the production house for Bandai Namco Filmworks, has built a reputation as “the mecha studio” since its establishment in 1972, and for a good reason. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom became the highest-grossing movie of all time in the franchise’s history with over $30 million at the Japanese box office alone. But that’s not the only big project the studio had this year.
The TV series version of Sand Land was also released, one of the late Akira Toriyama’s last projects to receive an anime adaptation. Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture, which has been met with some solid reviews by fans and is currently airing. The future seems bright as the studio announced Akira (Shin Anime), a series-formatted reboot faithful to the hit classic manga Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo. Sunrise’s projects may not be as popular overseas as compared to other studios’ works here. But there’s no denying it deserves to be with the others on this best anime studios of 2024 list.
4. Shin-Ei Animation
Dangers in My Heart Season 2—need I say more? Besides the undisputed number-one series of the Winter 2024 season which swept the Anime Corner polls for the first time in its history, Shin-Ei Animation is having quite the year so far. The studio also delivered the comfy comedy in Mr. Villain’s Day Off (collab: studio SynergySP) in the winter season alongside The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (collab: Studio Add; recently announced sequel), both of which received solid reviews.
Of course, the studio will always be busy pumping out Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan. Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony, the series’ 43rd movie, earned over $25 million at the Japanese Box Office while Crayon Shin-chan‘s 32nd movie, titled Crayon Shin-chan: Ora-tachi no Kyouyuu Nikki, will hit theaters on August 9, 2024. So what more convincing is needed to have Shin-Ei Animation be on the best anime studios of 2024 list at this point?
3. A-1 Pictures
On top of acquiring Studio 3Hz, A-1 Pictures came out swinging with heavy-hitting titles such as Solo Leveling and Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 to start the year off, placing it back on the best studios list. Mashle Blu-ray sales were up drastically in comparison with the first season, mighty thanks to Creepy Nuts and their work on the hit opening. And while the Solo Leveling sales were the opposite, Season 2 is already on the way with even higher anticipation.
The studio also has NieR Automata Season 2 currently airing alongside the new rom-com Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!, which studio President Akira Shizumu said that a lot of the studio’s core staff members are working on. Both have received exceptional productions. As for the fall, the studio is gearing up to release the anticipated Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Season 2 (previously done by 3Hz; the staff will remain the same) in October 2024, where Shotaro Kitamura will be making his TV anime series directing debut!
2. CloverWorks
CloverWorks makes its way back onto the list and for more than one good reason. Wind Breaker bursts onto the scene with rave reviews and consistent top 10 poll placement due to its high-quality production, giving the manga an insane jump in sales as well as the Blu-ray.
The studio also released a theatrical version of the hit TV anime series Bocchi the Rock! that has grossed over $3 million. For a theatrical release of what we all saw on TV two years ago, I’d say that’s a success.
Black Butler aired at the same time as Wind Breaker, receiving even higher ratings on fan sites than the latter, giving CloverWorks an opportunity to bring back a beloved fan-favorite. The Black Butler sequel has already been announced, and to the joy of many fans, the adaptation is going back to faithfully adapting the manga arcs. Now, the studio has The Elusive Samurai airing this summer, which has trended due to its stellar animation production, and I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time sometime later this year. The studio has announced Wind Breaker Season 2, a sequel to My Dress-Up Darling, and UniteUp! Season 2 all to be released at a later date.
Even more so, CloverWorks is releasing two original movies: Fureru, set to release on October 4, and Grotesque (2025). The two will mark the second and third original movies in the studio’s history, with the first being Her Blue Sky (2019). The two films will also make it the fifth and sixth theatrical release for CloverWorks since 2023 when the studio released two Rascal Does Not Dream of a Bunny Girl Senpai films and Spy x Family CODE: White (in cooperation with WIT Studio). Rascal Does Not Dream is returning with another TV anime season next year, while Spy x Family also has a sequel in the works.
CloverWorks has been putting out quality project after quality project recently. So there’s no denying they belong on a list including the other best anime studios of 2024 up to this point. It’s been a big year for the studio and I anticipate 2025 to be another one as well.
1. Production I.G
Production I.G has delivered some of the top anime of the year both on TV and in theaters. Above all, the studio had the second biggest anime movie hit of 2024 so far in Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle, which grossed over $93 million at the worldwide box office as of August 5, 2024. The only anime movie above it was TMS Entertainment’s Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram, grossing $103 million worldwide. Haikyuu!‘s opening weekend (Japan) brought in seven times that ($14.8 million) of Blue Lock‘s movie, showing the world which sports series will continue to remain supreme.
The film is one of the highest-rated projects of 2024. The movie comes in as the #1 ranked movie of the year so far on both MyAnimeList and Anilist, even placing third on the latter’s overall score list of 2024 for any projects throughout the year. Haikyuu!! also placed as the number-one rated anime movie of the year so far on IMBd with a 7.8 rating and a whopping 99% fan score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Production I.G also delivered one of the most popular anime of the year: Kaiju No. 8, which received wonderful reviews and poll placements during the Spring 2024 season. It became the first anime in history to stream new episodes on X (formerly Twitter) and received such insane marketing that Crunchyroll held a countdown on its app every week for new episodes.
The hit romance series Kimi ni Todoke returned for a Season 3 this summer after being gone for over a decade, even retaining plenty of core staff members. I’d even argue it’s the best shojo anime of 2024 up to this point. As for the fall season Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc begins airing to celebrate its 40th anniversary, marking the rebirth of the classic anime series that started in the 1980s.
I think the combination of quality production, big IPs with even bigger success, and soon-to-release big-name projects in the works all land Production I.G atop the best anime studios of 2024 (so far).
Featured image:
© Satoru Nii, Kodansha / WIND BREAKER Project
© JAKDF 3rd Division © Naoya Matsumoto/SHUEISHA
© Solo Leveling Animation Partners
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