Animation studios rise and fall almost regularly. Unless you are a long established production house with legacy works such as DragonBall or the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise under your belt, you are not untouchable. And even then, we’ve seen some powerhouse animation studios go through the ringer, whether it be a mess of their own making, or a disastrous event they had no control over. Which begs the question, what is Madhouse doing nowadays?
Something strange happened to Studio Madhouse, leading to a near hidden downfall of the studio that gave us anime giants such as Death Note, Trigun and Paprika, to name a few. Simply put, a lack of funds coupled with overworking its artists and not compensating them led to a mass resignation by employees. This includes the co-founder of Madhouse, Masao Maruyama, who went on to create MAPPA Animations. Along with some bad decisions regarding expensive animated movies that didn’t prove profitable
However, it’s surprising that Madhouse is going through what is something you only see in newer animation studios that are just getting their footing in. After all, recent news has revealed conflict in MAPPA as well. But Madhouse dates back to 1972, with so many successful IPs in their roster. From Cardcaptor Sakura to Overlord and the first season of One Punch Man. But if anything has become evident about the anime and manga industry in the 2010s, it’s that bad management and overworking are enough to kill the biggest of giants.
And so, here we are. What happened to Madhouse is a combination of things, not just one in particular. Unlike with Kyoto Animation, where unfortunate events inflicted by a third party led to some much loss and destruction, Madhouse is going through something that is, sadly, self-inflicted. But to discuss what is happening with Madhouse, we’d have to go through a bunch of things. So, let’s do exactly that in another round of F.Y.I.!
Table of Contents
Madhouse: From Anime Greats…
Let’s face it: Madhouse is a veteran of the industry. The co-founders were people that worked in Mushi Productions, which was created by Osamu Tezuka himself. Yes, that Osamu Tezuka, the one considered the ‘God Of Anime’. So, safe to say, they knew what they were doing when establishing Madhouse.
And it’s actually kind of ridiculous when you go back to see just how many beloved works Madhouse was directly responsible for. I mean, five of my favorite anime growing up were literally all Madhouse creations. From arthouse cult classics such as Perfect Blue, to childhood nostalgia in the form of the first Beyblade series, it’s kind of insane how much versatility the animation studio had. Because each of their shows were genuine hits.
And their animation style of old, still holds up today. It’s timeless in its conception and delivery, with independent projects being just as painstakingly detailed as mainstream ones. And of course, that kind of dedication to craftsmanship can only come from passionate artists and creators employed at Madhouse that truly believed in their vision. And so, should have been respected and rewarded equally. Which, well, you know how the story goes from here, don’t you?
…To Entering Their Flop Era?
See, while Madhouse took on these larger-than-life projects to continue their award winning releases, they ended up exploiting a major amount of their talent. Overworking their artists while not giving them any pay that reflected it, left Madhouse with more of its employees leaving. The breaking point was probably Maruyama leaving, taking with him most of the creative direction that made Madhouse so special.
I think another point of contention was how Madhouse made some bad investments in the long run. Redline was a premiere project for them, and one they put a lot of money, time and effort into. Sadly, it didn’t even break even when it came to profits. So, to compensate, they worked their animators overtime into other projects like One Punch Man, which was well done, but at the cost of artist burnout and resentment.
And so, it’s easy to see why things started to go downhill for Madhouse, to the point where they were known as being the studio that never made a second season of an anime they brought to life. It’s pretty sad, in hindsight.
Not All Hope Is Lost For Madhouse
Lately, a certain anime has been making rounds on the Anime Charts for both an amazing story, characters you can’t help but get attached to and animation to rival some of the best ongoing anime out right now. And that’s Sousou No Frieren, otherwise known as Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. And, you guessed it: It’s a Madhouse production.
Sousou No Frieren is probably the nicest surprise I’ve had this year. From the first episode alone, the plot grips you like no other. It’s simultaneously tragic and hopeful, dealing with topics of loss and love, and what it all might mean to someone who has lived for a millenia, and will live for a millenia more. But it’s amazing how the series isn’t just going viral for the story. But more and more TikTok reels keep talking about the animation.
Even the tiniest bit of fabric ruffling is done beautifully, with fluid animation and color grading that makes the scenes even more heartfelt. There is clearly a lot of love that is going into Sousou No Frieren in terms of its animation and direction, making it one of the best animated anime of this year.
It’s not surprising considering this is the Madhouse we are talking about here. But it feels like a new start from the long established studio that felt like it was falling apart. Let’s hope they keep the momentum going!
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