Summary
- Studio Shaft offers a diverse catalog of anime, from well-known series to hidden gems, spanning various genres.
- The anime produced by Studio Shaft feature unique and unconventional storytelling, with interesting premises and complex characters.
- Aside from their quirky staples and other creative additions to their adaptations and original series, Shaft is well-known for crafting gorgeous series, like March Comes In Like a Lion.
The best Studio Shaft anime are a mix of well-known series with deep positive review logs and more obscure titles that glimmer like pearls in the sea once they've been dug up. The studio's robust collection also features plenty of feature films and sequel series.
Although Studio Shaft is not one of the bigger studio names like MAPPA, Kyoto Animation, or Madhouse, it still has a deep catalog of series from many genres, ranging from shojo to slice of life to sports anime. Headed by directors Shinbo Akiyuki, Oonuma Shin, and Oishi Tatsuya, Studio Shaft and its talented staff have produced one hit after another.
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10 Mekakucity Actors Is a Story of Connection
Based on the mixed-media project called Kagerou Daze by Jin
Makakucity Actors first aired in 2014, and opens as a supernatural sci-fi anime grounded in reality, but sprinkles hints of irregularity throughout the first episode, especially with the story's premise. The anime follows Kisaragi Shintarou, who, along with a strange cyber-girl named Ene, get caught up in a dicey hostage situation. Fortunately, they are saved by a mysterious group whose all possess mysterious optical powers. After he's saved, Shintarou is coerced into ing the "Mekakushi Dan" as they unravel the secrets of the world and their deep individual connections.
9 Arakawa Under the Bridge Gives Commentary on Homelessness
Based on the manga by Nakamura Hikaru
Originally airing in 2010, Arakawa Under the Bridge is a rom-com anime like no other, with its wild premise and unreasonable characters. Following Ichinomiya Kou, an elite member of the upper class, and Nino, a girl who lives under Arakawa Bridge. Kou is an elitist, but refuses to owe anybody favors above anything else, and Nino is searching for love, indifferent to everything else. As a result, when Nino saves Kou's life, he wishes to repay her. She only wants a boyfriend, and Kou can't refuse – so the pair begin their bizarre life living together under Arakawa Bridge.
8 Hidamari Sketch Goes Against the Lonely Artist Trope
Based on the original manga by Aoi Ume
Hidamari Sketch is one of Studio Shaft's more popular series, as it boasts three sequels and a large handful of specials and OVAs. Having originally aired in 2007, Hidamari Sketch is a chill slice of life anime with a simple but cute art style that matches the story's premise perfectly. Yuno embarks on a new chapter of her life when she moves out to attend Yamabuki Arts High School. Living alone, Yuno expects her days as an artist will be solitary and lonesome, but to her surprise, her neighbors are all fellow students searching for friendship.
7 The Kubikiri Cycle Tells a Familiar Murder Mystery Tale
Based on the light novel by NISIO ISIN and Take
The Kubikiri Cycle is an OVA series that first aired in 2016, bringing the supernatural and murder mystery genres together. The premise of the series may sound familiar, resembling the classic novel by Agata Christie, And Then There Were None, but the anime adds its own exclusive twists. Akagami Iria is forced to live on Wet Crow's Feather island, an isolated land that she spices up by inviting a diverse group of guests who are all geniuses in their fields. Of course, one night, one of the guests is brutally murdered – marking the start of the unraveling of mysteries.
6 ef - A Tale of Memories Is as Fleeting as Its Characters
Based on the visual novel by Minori
Airing in 2007, ef - A Tale of Memories is a complicated tale twisting together multiple stories, weaving elements of drama, mystery, romance, and more into a collection of assorted emotions. The story seemingly begins with separate stories at random, starting with the meeting of Hirono Hiro and Miyamura Miyako, resembling the meeting of Ash and Misty in Pokémon, but with their roles reversed. Then, there's Hiro's jealous childhood friend Shindou Kei, a promiscuous photographer, Kei's twin sister, and Asou Renji, who all decide to write a novel together. These snippets overlap to as the anime continues, piecing together a complete narrative.
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5 Nisekoi Is a Tale of Promises Forced, Kept, and Unkept
Based on the manga by Komi Naoshi
Nisekoi: False Love is a rom-com anime that leaves nothing out of its title – as Nisekoi uses the popular tsundere trope well and constructs a well-displayed series of ambiguities and misunderstandings. The anime follows Ichijou Raku, who is forced to pretend to be in a relationship with Kirisaki Chitoge due to unusual family circumstances, as he is technically the heir to a Yakuza group. However, the two quickly come to hate each other, and as the story progresses, more girls are introduced, further muddying the waters.
4 Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Is an Aptly Named Story of Despair
Based on the manga by Kumeta Kouji
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei is a dark comedy anime series that first aired in 2007, but despite its categorization under gag humor and parody genres, the underlying messages of the story are deep-seated and psychological. The anime follows a high school teacher named Itoshiki Nozomu who frequently has bouts of depression and seeks to end his life. However, as he gets more involved in the lives of his students and learns about their often quite bizarre problems, he can't help but intervene and put his own despair on hold to prevent his students from making the same mistakes that he did.
3 The Monogatari Series Provides 15 Narrative Lenses
Based on the light novel by NISIO ISIN and VOFAN
The Monogatari Series is a universe that is intimidating to enter, but is a feast of juicy mysteries and supernatural phenomena, as its fifteen different stories weave together in ways never seen before. Starting with the first series, Bakemonogatari, which aired in 2009, Araragi Koyomi laments about his life after surviving a vicious vampire attack. He soon gets involved in the world of apparitions and helps the victims of similar situations like his, with subsequent sequels adding more nuance and complexity to the Monogatari timeline, from Owarimonogatari, to Kizumonogatari, and more, just to name a few.
The Monogatari Series can be reconstructed to be watched in chronological order, but beginners are recommended to first watch Monogatari in season order.
2 Puella Magi Madoka Magica Revolutionized the Magic Girl Genre
An original series directed by Shinbo Akiyuki and Miyamoto Yukihiro
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a surprisingly dark magical girl anime that takes all the tropes of the genre and flips them in a diametric display. The original series aired in 2011, and recently announcing the release of a new Madoka Magica movie. The anime follows Kaname Madoka, a young girl who stumbles across the world of witches and makes a pact with the mysterious cat-like creature named Kyuubey to gain magical powers. Like the traditional magical girl, Madoka has a colorful transformation, but unlike its contemporaries, Madoka Magica explores more gruesome take one the magical world that Madoka and her friends are introduced to.
1 March Comes in Like a Lion Is Shaft's Magnum Opus
Based on the manga by Umino Chica
March Comes in Like a Lion, or Sangatsu no Lion, is a sports drama that has two tension-packed seasons, the first of which aired in 2016. The story follows a high school genius shogi (Japanese chess) pro named Kiriyama Rei, who struggles with finding trust and companionship within a cold world that he’s been thrusted into. As a whole, March Comes in Like a Lion is a beautiful display of art with masterful scenes full of Sakuga where Studio Shaft went all out, and the narrative flow is exquisitely handled and nurtured, culminating in one of the greatest anime of all time.
