Madhouse, Inc.

Native name	株式会社マッドハウス
Romanized name	Kabushiki-gaisha Maddohausu
Company type	Joint venture (K.g.)
Industry	Animation studio and production enterprise
Founded	October 17, 1972; 51 years ago (1972-10-17)
Founders	Masao Maruyama Osamu Dezaki Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Headquarters	Honchō, Nakano, Tokyo , Japan
Key people	Sanae Tashiro (CEO)[a] Akira Shinohara (managing director) Satoki Toyoda (board member) Kako Kuwahara (board member) Hitoshi Nishioka (board member) Takanori Seo (auditor)
Number of employees	70 (including contractors)
Parent	Nippon TV (95%) Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan (5%)
Subsidiaries	Madbox Co., Ltd.
Website	madhouse.co.jp

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! (produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha) in 1973, and including Wicked City, Ninja Scroll, Perfect Blue, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Trigun, Di Gi Charat, Black Lagoon, Death Note, Paprika, Wolf Children, Parasyte: The Maxim, the first season of One-Punch Man, the second adaptation of Hunter X Hunter, Overlord and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Unlike other studios founded at this time such as AIC and J.C.Staff, their strength was and is primarily in TV shows and theatrical features. Expanding from the initial Mushi Pro staff, Madhouse recruited important directors such as Morio Asaka, Masayuki Kojima, and Satoshi Kon during the 1990s. Their staff roster expanded in the 2000s to include Mamoru Hosoda, Takeshi Koike, and Mitsuo Iso, as well as many younger television directors. The studio was also responsible for the first Beyblade anime series as well as the Dragon Drive anime and the 2011 anime adaptation of Hunter × Hunter.

The studio often collaborates with known manga artists, including Naoki Urasawa and Clamp. Madhouse produced adaptations of Urasawa's Yawara!, Master Keaton and Monster, with Masayuki Kojima helming the latter two. The company has animated a number of CLAMP's titles, including Tokyo Babylon, two versions of X (a theatrical movie and a TV series), Cardcaptor Sakura and its sequel Clear Card, and Chobits.

History

Madhouse was established in 1972 by ex–Mushi Production animators, including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, with funding from Yutaka Fujioka, the founder of Tokyo Movie, and co-produced its earliest series with Tokyo Movie. In February 2004, Madhouse became a subsidiary of Index Corporation.^[1] On February 8, 2011, Nippon TV became Madhouse's primary stockholder (replacing Index Corporation), via a third-party allocation of new shares.^[2] NTV bought 128,667 new shares (each ¥7,772) issued by Madhouse for ¥999,999,924 total (about $12.4 million), raising its stake in the company from 10.4% to 84.5%. Index Corporation's stake in Madhouse fell from 60.91% to 10.54%.^[3][4] In January 2012, Madhouse announced their acquisition of the animation rights to the Peanuts comic strip.^[5] In March 2014, NTV bought all the shares belonging to Index Corporation, increasing its stake in Madhouse to 95%.^[1]

Representative staff

Presidents

• Yasuo Oda (1972–1980)
• Masao Maruyama (1980–2000; also COO from 2000 to 2011)
• Jungoo Murata (2000–2009)
• Hiroyuki Okada (2010–2015)
• Masahiro Takahashi (2015–2020; also former chairman and board member)
• Sanae Tashiro (2021–)

Others

• Tsuneo Takayama (former board member)
• Ren Iwasawa (former auditor)

Business

The studio employs approximately 70 employees, with employment levels varying depending on the number of productions currently underway. Additionally, the company has invested in the animation studio DR Movie.^[6] Madhouse has a subsidiary, Madbox Co., Ltd., that mainly focuses on computer graphics.^[7]

Works

Television

1973–2000

2000s

2010s

2020s

Television Specials

• Natsufuku no Shōjo-tachi (August 7, 1988)
• Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta (August 6, 1993)
• Yawara! Special - Zutto Kimi no Koto ga (July 19, 1996)
• Di Gi Charat - Summer Special 2000 (August 22, 2000 – August 23, 2000)
• Di Gi Charat - Christmas Special (December 16, 2000)
• Di Gi Charat - Ohanami Special (April 6, 2001)
• Di Gi Charat - Natsuyasumi Special (August 2, 2001 – August 3, 2001)
• Di Gi Charat - Tsuyu Special (August 25, 2001)
• Hajime no Ippo - Champion Road (June 25, 2003)
• A Spirit of the Sun (September 17 – 18, 2006)
• Ani*Kuri 15 (May 7 – December 10, 2007, animated the two of the fifteen segments, "Sancha (The Aromatic Tea) Blues" and "Good Morning", respectively)
• Death Note: Relight - Visions of a God (August 31, 2007)
• Death Note: Relight 2 - L's Successors (August 22, 2008)
• Megumi to Taiyō: Kajū Gummi Tweet Love Story (May 11, 2011)
• Megumi to Taiyō II: Kajū Gummi Tweet Mystery (February 24, 2012, co-animated with MAPPA)
• Megumi to Taiyō III: Kajū Gummi Tweet Fantasy (June 12, 2012, co-animated with MAPPA)

Film

Madhouse's early theatrical work included assistance on the Barefoot Gen films, and Lensman, an anime movie based on the space opera series by pulp science fiction author E.E. "Doc" Smith.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, director Yoshiaki Kawajiri produced a string of action films including Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, and Ninja Scroll.

In the late 1990s, the studio aimed at a younger female audience with Morio Asaka's two Cardcaptor Sakura films, based on the popular television series.

In the early 2000s, an ambitious collaboration with Tezuka Productions resulted in Metropolis, directed by Rintaro and adapted from the manga by Osamu Tezuka. Earlier collaborations with Tezuka productions included two feature-length films made for Sanrio starring Tezuka's unicorn character Unico.

Director Satoshi Kon produced all four of his films with the studio: Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika, as well as his TV series Paranoia Agent. Kon was also making his fifth film the Dreaming Machine with Madhouse, although it was left incomplete at his death in 2010.

In 2003, Madhouse produced Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, which was adapted from the seinen manga Nasu by Iou Kuroda and directed by Studio Ghibli veteran Kitarō Kōsaka. Nasu was the first Japanese animated film ever selected for screening at the renowned Cannes Film Festival.^[8] Kōsaka followed up his film with an OVA sequel in 2007.

In 2006, director Mamoru Hosoda began his career with the studio by directing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

Recent productions included Masayuki Kojima's theatrical debut Forest of Piano (2007), Hosoda's acclaimed Summer Wars (2009), Sunao Katabuchi's Mai Mai Miracle (2009), the company's first CG animated film, Yona Yona Penguin (2009), Takeshi Koike's feature film debut Redline (2009), a theatrical version of the Trigun series, Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010), and The Tibetan Dog, a co-production with China (2011).

The first film in the Hunter × Hunter franchise, Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge premiered on January 12, 2013.

Madhouse co-produced Wolf Children (2012) with Mamoru Hosoda's Studio Chizu.

Collectively, Madhouse films have won a total of two Japan Academy Prizes, four Grand Prizes in the Animation Division at Japan Media Arts Festival, two Gertie Awards, six Mainichi Film Awards (three Ōfuji Noburō Awards, and three Animation Grand Awards), two Tokyo Anime Awards for Animation of the Year, and five Animation Kobe Feature Film Awards.

1980s

• The Fantastic Adventures of Unico (March 14, 1981)
• Natsu e no Tobira (March 20, 1981) (co-produced by Toei Animation)
• Haguregumo (April 24, 1982) (co-produced by Toei Animation)
• Harmagedon (March 12, 1983)
• Unico in the Island of Magic (July 16, 1983)
• Barefoot Gen (July 21, 1983)
• Lensman: Secret of the Lens (July 7, 1984)
• The Dagger of Kamui (March 9, 1985)
• Barefoot Gen 2 (June 14, 1986)
• Phoenix: Karma Chapter (December 20, 1986)
• Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger (December 20, 1986)
• Hoero! Bun Bun (April 4, 1987)
• Wicked City (April 25, 1987)
• Neo Tokyo (September 25, 1987)
• Twilight of the Cockroaches (November 21, 1987)
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars (February 6, 1988) (co-produced by Artland)
• My Neighbor Totoro (April 16, 1988) (co-animated with Studio Ghibli)

1990s

• A Wind Named Amnesia (December 22, 1990)
• Urusei Yatsura: Always, My Darling (August 18, 1991)
• Yawara! Soreyuke Koshinuke Kids!! (August 1, 1992)
• Ocean Waves (May 5, 1993) (co-animated with Studio Ghibli)
• Ninja Scroll (June 5, 1993)
• Rail of the Star (July 10, 1993)
• Kattobase! Dreamers ―Carp Tanjō Monogatari― (January 22, 1994)
• Anne no Nikki (August 19, 1995)
• Memories (segment Stink Bomb) (December 23, 1995)
• X (August 3, 1996)
• Black Jack: The Movie (November 30, 1996)
• Perfect Blue (August 5, 1997)
• Clover (August 21, 1999)
• Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie (August 21, 1999)

2000s

• Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card (July 15, 2000)
• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (April 21, 2001)
• Metropolis (May 26, 2001)
• Spirited Away (July 20, 2001, co-animated with Studio Ghibli)
• Millennium Actress (July 28, 2001)
• Di Gi Charat - A Trip to the Planet (December 22, 2001)
• WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 (March 30, 2002)
• Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road (April 18, 2003)
• Tokyo Godfathers (November 8, 2003)
• Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (December 21, 2003)
• Howl's Moving Castle (November 20, 2004, co-animated with Studio Ghibli)
• The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (July 15, 2006)
• Tales from Earthsea (July 29, 2006, co-animated with Studio Ghibli)
• Paprika (November 25, 2006)
• Bleach: Memories of Nobody (December 16, 2006, co-animated with Toho Company and Pierrot)
• Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (June 5, 2007)
• Forest of Piano (July 21, 2007)
• Cinnamon the Movie (December 22, 2007)
• Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (December 22, 2007, co-animated with Toho Company and Pierrot)
• Hells (October 18, 2008)
• Summer Wars (August 1, 2009)
• Redline (August 21, 2009)
• Mai Mai Miracle (November 21, 2009)
• Yona Yona Penguin (December 23, 2009)

2010s

• Trigun: Badlands Rumble (April 24, 2010)
• The Secret World of Arrietty (July 15, 2010, co-animated with Studio Ghibli)
• The Tibetan Dog (July 15, 2011)
• The Princess and the Pilot (October 1, 2011, co-animated with TMS Entertainment)
• Wolf Children (July 21, 2012, co-animated with Studio Chizu)
• Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge (January 12, 2013)
• Death Billiards (March 2, 2013)
• Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission (December 27, 2013)
• No Game, No Life Zero (July 15, 2017)
• Kimi no Koe wo Todoketai (August 25, 2017)
• Okko's Inn Movie (June 11, 2018, co-produced with DLE)

2020s

• Goodbye, Don Glees! (February 18, 2022)
• Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom (January 27, 2023)

OVAs

(These also include some outsourced productions)

1980s

• Wounded Man (1986–1988)
• Phoenix: Yamato Chapter (1987)
• Phoenix: Space Chapter (1987)
• Bride of Deimos (1988)
• Demon City Shinjuku (1988)
• Kaze wo Nuke! (1988)
• Fairy King (1988)
• Goku Midnight Eye (1989)

1990s

• Eguchi Hisashi no Nantoka Narudesho! (1990)
• Nineteen 19 (1990)
• Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990–1991)
• Record of Lodoss War (1990–1991)
• Devil Hunter Yohko (1990–1995)
• Doomed Megalopolis (1991–1992)
• Urusei Yatsura (OVA's 10 and 11) (1991)
• Tokyo Babylon (1992–1994)
• Zetsuai 1989 (1992–1994)
• Download: Devil's Circuit (1992)
• Battle Angel (1993)
• Mermaid's Scar (1993)
• The Cockpit (Slipstream segment, 1993)
• Black Jack (1993-2011)
• Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals (1994)
• Phantom Quest Corp. (1994–1995)
• Clamp in Wonderland (1994–2007)
• Spirit Warrior (1994)
• DNA² (1995, co-animated with Studio Deen)
• Bio Hunter (1995)
• Birdy the Mighty (1996–1997)
• Psycho Diver: Soul Siren (1997)
• Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1997–1998)
• Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)

2000s

• 48x61 (2002)
• Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey (2002–2003)
• Trava: Fist Planet (2003)
• The Animatrix (2003, co-animated with Studio 4°C, DNA Productions, Square USA)
• Hajime no Ippo: Mashiba vs. Kimura (2003)
• Lament of the Lamb (2003–2004)
• Aquarian Age: The Movie (2003)
• Di Gi Charat Theater - Leave it to Pyoko! (2003)
• Tsuki no Waltz (2004)
• Otogi-Jūshi Akazukin (2005)
• Last Order: Final Fantasy VII (2005)
• Strawberry 100% (2005)
• Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase (2007)
• Batman: Gotham Knight (2008, co-animated with Studio 4°C, Bee Train Production, Production I.G, Warner Bros. Animation)
• Hellsing Ultimate (V–VII) (2008–2009)

2010s

• Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (2010–2011)
• Supernatural: The Anime Series (2011)
• Highschool of the Dead: Drifters of the Dead (2011)
• Arata-naru Sekai (2012)
• Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (2013)
• Chihayafuru 2: Waga Mi Yo ni Furu Nagame Seshi Ma ni (2013)
• Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher (2014)
• One-Punch Man: Road to Hero (2015)
• Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Prologue (2017)

2020s

• ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. - Regards (2020)

Video games

• Sol-Feace (1991)
• Earnest Evans (1991)
• Annet Futatabi (1993)
• Wild Arms (1996)
• Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (2010)
• Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (intro sequence) (2012)
• Persona 4 Golden (intro sequence) (2012)
• Persona 4 Arena (intro sequence) (2012)
• Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl (2013)
• Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight (2014)
• Echoes of Mana (trailer) (2022)^[9]

Collaborations

Madhouse designed the characters for Hudson Soft's game Virus (the first installment of the Virus Buster Serge franchise).^[10] Madhouse worked with Square Enix on the OVA Last Order: Final Fantasy VII as well as Capcom for the mini series of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series.

They collaborated with Studio Ghibli by contributing animation to Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), and The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), as well as Tomomi Mochizuki's I Can Hear the Sea (1993) and Goro Miyazaki's Tales from Earthsea (2006).

Madhouse also collaborated with Disney for the anime Stitch! for its first and second arcs (equal to 56 episodes total), between 2008 and 2010. They also animated the intro cutscene to PlayStation video game Wild Arms and the opening movie to PlayStation Vita video game Persona 4 Golden (Persona 4: The Golden in Japan), along with opening to the PSP remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.

Madhouse collaborated with professional rapper Snoop Dogg in the 2006 horror-comedy anthology movie Hood of Horror, in which they assisted in the animated sections of the movie.^[11] They also worked with the Wachowskis and other famed Japanese animators and studios to create The Animatrix, an animated anthology adaptation of the Matrix franchise; Madhouse particularly worked on its short films "Program" and "World Record."^[12]

Madhouse collaborated with Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures to create adaptations of Blade, Iron Man, Wolverine and X-Men,^[13] and then again with Marvel Entertainment, Disney+, and Walt Disney Japan to create an adaptation of the Avengers.^[14][15][16] Conversely, they worked with Marvel's rival company, DC Entertainment, Warner Premiere, and Warner Brothers to create an anthology adaptation of Batman.^[17] Madhouse had also worked with Warner Brothers and Sony on separate occasions to create adaptations of Ultraviolet ^[18][19][20] and Supernatural.^[21][22] Additionally, they were commissioned by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, to provide an anime adaptation of Aphrodite IX. However, the project was suddenly canceled without any explanation.^[23][24][25]

2010 also saw the publication of Devil, a manga intended specifically for the American market; the property is a collaboration with Dark Horse Comics, and is written and drawn by Torajiro Kishi.^[26]

Madhouse also participated in animating the Wakfu TV special Ogrest, la légende in collaboration with Ankama Japan.^[27]

Foreign production history

In addition to Madhouse creating anime of Western media, they were also responsible for making a few notable American cartoons, particularly through collaborations with Western companies such as Hanna-Barbera, Film Roman, and HBO.

• The Pirates of Dark Water (ダークウォーターの海賊) (February 25, 1991 – May 23, 1993) (co-animated with Hanna-Barbera with Fil-Cartoons, Wang Film Productions, Tama Production, Big Star, Kennedy Cartoons, and Mr. Big Cartoons)
• The Adventures of T-Rex (T-レックス) (1992–1993) (co-animated with C&D (Créativité et Développement), Gunther-Wahl Productions, and Kitty Films)
• Street Fighter (ストリートファイター) (October 21, 1995 – May 14, 1997) (co-production with InVision Entertainment, Graz Entertainment, USA Studios and Sunrise)
• Wing Commander Academy (ウイング・コマンダー・アカデミー) (September 21 – December 21, 1996) (co-animated with Universal Animation Studios)
• Todd McFarlane's Spawn (トッド・マクファーレンのスポーン) (May 16, 1997 – May 28, 1999) (co-animated with HBO Animation, Todd McFarlane Entertainment, with Mook Animation, DR Movie, and Koko Enterprises Ltd.)
• X-Men: Evolution (X-メン:進化論) (November 4, 2000 – October 25, 2003) (co-animated with Film Roman, Marvel Studios, with Mook Animation, DR Movie, and WHITE LINE)
• Hood of Horror (恐怖のフード) (November 4, 2006) (co-production with Social Capital Films, BloodWorks, and Snoopadelic Films; animated prologue and sequences only)
• Hellboy Animated (ヘルボーイアニメ化) (October 28, 2006 – March 10, 2007) (co-animated with Film Roman, Revolution Studios, and Starz Distribution)
• Hulk Vs. Wolverine (ハルク対ウルヴァリン) (January 27, 2009) (co-animated with Marvel Animation and MOI Animation)
• Hulk Vs. Thor (ハルク対トール) (January 27, 2009) (co-animated with Marvel Animation and MOI Animation)
• Planet Hulk (プラネットハルク) (February 2, 2010) (co-animated with Marvel Animation and MOI Animation)
• The Boondocks (ブーンドックス) (November 6, 2005 – June 23, 2014) (co-animated with Dong Woo Animation, MOI Animation, JM Animation, Studio Mir, and Lotto Animation; uncredited)
• Wakfu (ワクフ) (October 30, 2008 – present) (co-animated with Ankama, France Télévisions, Frakas Productions, and Pictanovo)

See also

• MAPPA, an animation studio founded by former Madhouse producer Masao Maruyama.
• Nut, an animation studio founded by former Madhouse producer Takuya Tsunoki.
• Triangle Staff, an animation studio founded by multiple former Madhouse animators.

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madhouse (company).

• Official website (in Japanese and English)
• Madhouse, Inc. at Anime News Network's encyclopedia