Let's talk companies

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:20 pm

Well, only a few, but now for something different, instead of only shows, directors, or composers, and just to litter the forum with more topics.

I've always wondered about this, so I'll ask for anyone who would know this better than I do... but the most reputable studios (I'll preclude Ghibli from here on) are not always the most prolific ones. By reputable I mean, namely, Gainax, Production IG, Bones, and Gonzo, which are the ones I'm going to heavily discuss anyway. Gonzo to some extent whores itself out, but the others are known for pumping out only a few [TV/OVA] features a year, compared to the likes of Madhouse, TV Tokyo, Pierrot, Studio Deen, JC Staff, and what have you. That's not to demean any of these other studios, obviously, since they all produce undeniable hits. Just to name a few, Madhouse handles Gungrave and Monster, TV Tokyo has Fushigi Yugi and Kaleido Star, Pierrot puts out GTO and Naruto, Studio Deen (and I was surprised to find this out) crafted the incredibly slick animation for Kenshin OVA 1 and Read or Die OVA, and JC Staff jointed with Gainax on Melody of Oblivion and Kare Kano. Other obvious examples would be Bandai Visual and Sunrise. Is the relatively low head count for shows from Gainax/IG/Bones/Gonzo the reason that people tend to perk up when something from one of these companies comes out, since it doesn't happen often?

Regardless, they warrant a closer look...

Gainax
Melody of Oblivion rocks, but it's a little discouraging to look at their self-proclaimed 20th anniversary work, Konomini, since it was painfully mediocre. Mahoromatic also proved to be a disappointment. In terms of highly-touted TV shows, Gainax hasn't put out since Abenobashi, and before that... Kare Kano? Was it really that long of a drought? Thankfully, they seem to be doing well with the OVAs (FLCL, Re: Cutie Honey, and soon-to-come Gunbuster 2), but I could really use another groundbreaking TV show. At the rate that it's going, though, MoO might be it... but it remains to be seen whether it spirals into a typical Gainax ending at the end.

Production IG
Well, if I had to rate purely on the criterion of visual wizardry, IG takes the cake, no questions asked. I don't know what the production costs for GitS SAC were, but they look astronomical; it makes Samurai 7 look like crap, and I'm exaggerating here, but not much. Thankfully, they (usually) have the overall acclaim of their shows to back it up. We have the aforementioned FLCL, the upcoming Innocence and Dead Leaves, which I'll mention despite their being movies, as well as Cromartie and the currently airing Otogizoushi (both of which adopt unconventional art styles, but are impeccably fitting). It's worth mentioning their subordinates, Xebec (Stellvia, Nadesico, Fafner, DNAngel) and Bee Train (Noir... and then other stuff like Noir 2... err, Madlax, Avenger, .hack//SIGN in all its sleep-inducing glory), also notable for their high production values, but it's pretty apparent that the parent company puts out the better stuff overall.

Bones
The youngest of the four, I'd have to say that Bones would win for visuals if we were talking purely in terms of cel animation (however, IG unapologetically does near-flawless integration of CG). Their two major original (not manga-based) works seem to be rather artsy (RahXephon, Wolf's Rain), and, again, being former Sunrise alums, they have obscenely high production values. I have yet to see a bad show from them (well, maybe if you really hated the Escaflowne movie, and they were still Sunrise back then), and I hope their record holds for as long as possible.

Gonzo
Gonzo, Gonzo, Gonzo... they like CG, perhaps a little too much... aside from Blue Submarine No. 6, Full Metal Panic, and Last Exile, I've constantly seen problems in their CG integration (perhaps IG's is too high of a standard, but still), and, on occasion, like in Samurai 7, short-changing the cel animation, which puts a significant damper on things. Also, Gonzo likes to experiment, so that's probably why they've had a fair number of misses. As if rewriting classics weren't enough (Samurai 7 and the upcoming Count of Monte Cristo), a few of their manga adaptations had me displeased overall (Peace Maker Kurogane, Chrono Crusade, Saikano, Gantz). However, their overall goal doesn't seem to be as lofty their three colleague companies. They seem to be in it to make good entertainment, and with stuff like Blue Sub 6, FMP, Vandread, and Kaleido Star they rock in doing so (Vandread 2, in particular, was an absolute blast). It seems that their one concerted effort in creating a "masterpiece" was Last Exile, which didn't have room, I think, to touch all bases. If LE had been 39 episodes, there's no telling how high it could have reached, but alas... nevertheless, Gonzo's stuff is pretty to look at and often a better way to waste your time than half the trash out there, and it's always interesting to see with what they can come up with next.

But blah, my MoO 14 needs to download faster.

j0hn Ayanami · Post by **j0hn Ayanami** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:39 pm

This is a pretty good summary of the companies in question here.

As far as Gainax goes... I'd say they are far and away the most recognizable of any of the Japanese companies. They have the very old generation in Gunbuster, which is more likely than not the biggest "you've never heard of it" anime from the 80s. Recently they've branched out with a more mainstream series like Maharomatic, which one them a lot of publicity and fans but little support from their more avid fanbase, FLCL which launched a rock band's career as well as going down as one of the better OVA's ever. Abenobashi was another step in the FLCL direction of self-depricating humour that makes fun of a lot of things without regard to image, which is why "hardcore" anime fans like it so much.

Their two crowning jewels were supposed to be Kare Kano and Evangelion; the Kare Kano incident caused a lot of flak against Gainax because word got out that they were forcibly trying to change the show from the direction of the manga, which at the time was immensely popular - if you were a highschool girl in Japan from 1998-2001, chances are you read Kare Kano.

Evangelion is, in my opinion, the single most influential anime. Its popularity basically busted down the doors for everything else. Gainax will probably always be remembered for these two things, good and bad.

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:32 am

Well, I believe The Pillows had been a band since the 80's, so while they might gotten more popular with FLCL, it didn't launch their career.

Since I been following fansubs more close than the actual US release, I been in the more unkown on to which animation company is down which series (with the exception of series I look forward froma c ompany, which is usually Gainax).

Gainax its still considered by many as the Otaku run company (after all, one of their first release was a sort of mockdocumentary about Otaku (Otaku no Video). They did the animation for one of the early 90's most beloved tv serie Nadia (original idea from Miyazaki) and aren't afraid to go all out on animation (just watch WoH) or experiment (Watch Gunbuster, the last episodes... which Anno decided to do them in B&W) and there is also Evangelion which is one of the few anime that have made waves on the whole industry (Other few that could also count for this would be Akira, GitS, WoH) but it also changed the whole mecha genre as Gundam had done a decade earlier.

Sunrise its a strong company, which it focus on doing Gundam (I'm not 100% sure if this is done all inhouse or its just a colaboration with Bandai) or from time to time other small tv series which can either be book adaptation (Banner of the Stars) or other original series.

Gonzo to me been pretty much eye candy anime,which is has to yet make me go out of my way waiting for an original show from them to come out.

Have a nice day

TheDarkOne · Post by **TheDarkOne** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:36 am

wtf, who cares about the companies

doom you are way too insane

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:38 am

I do. >:|

I need to watch Gunbuster before 2 comes out...

j0hn Ayanami · Post by **j0hn Ayanami** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:42 am

The Pillows haven't been around all that long, I'm pretty sure. By "launched" I meant made insanely popular as compared to being an indie rock band not many people outside of Japan had heard of.

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:02 am

j0hn Ayanami wrote:The Pillows haven't been around all that long, I'm pretty sure. By "launched" I meant made insanely popular as compared to being an indie rock band not many people outside of Japan had heard of.

I believe that in the director comentary he says that they been around for like 10 years, and that FLCL didn't really made them that more succeful in Japan but perhaps brought them more fans, specially from the Otaku community.

Have a nice day

j0hn Ayanami · Post by **j0hn Ayanami** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:13 am

They debuted in 1990, but had a long layoff from 1994-1996 where they didn't release anything.

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:24 am

j0hn Ayanami wrote:They debuted in 1990, but had a long layoff from 1994-1996 where they didn't release anything.

yeah, might not been the 80's (forgot when FLCL was released, for a second I though it was 98, then realise it was more like 2000-01

) But still, they were around for a while before FLCL came to been. Then again, I have no idea how many actual albums (not singles) they have released, maybe Tzen knows

Have a nice day

j0hn Ayanami · Post by **j0hn Ayanami** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:28 am

Yeah, there were seven albums released as of 2002. I know they recently released some sort of tribute album... but I'll tell you this - they still aren't known very well in Japan, at least not on the level groups like Bump of Chicken and Road of Major are, which are very comparable bands in The Pillow's genre in terms of longevity and style of music.

... we've drifted off topic.

Seta · Post by **Seta** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:50 am

What about Sunrise? I think it's at least on equal standing with those 4 studios.

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:53 am

Sunrise is indeed a strong company (and I put it in that secondary list), but it's done a whole lot over the years... the ones I focused on have relatively short resumes, and I can't claim to have seen most of Sunrise's works, so I didn't feel that I could comment on them as a whole in length.

suyashs · Post by **suyashs** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:23 am

Gainax's 20th anniversary was basically a boobfest, I am sure Anno was pleased at what his company has become, although he probably regrets the fact that there weren't that many fucked up teenage boys in Konomini.

TheDarkOne · Post by **TheDarkOne** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:45 am

i'd like to say i know wtf is going on, but of the aformentioned companies, i just know Gonzo, Ghibli, Prodiction IG, and Gainax ... i didnt even know TV Tokyo produced anime

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:46 am

Yeah, broadcasters occasionally jump in on the production, or at least that's what ANN tells me.

TheDarkOne · Post by **TheDarkOne** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:53 am

and we all know how reliable ANN is

wtf! we need

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:55 am

Hey, they get things wrong, but they actually fix them, unlike some other places... (*cough* THE MARS TEABREAK)

Post by **Grey Fox** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:59 am

Good summary Doom! I'd have to agree that Production IG easilly produces the best all around animation. Speaking of which, has anyone seen the music video they did for Linkin Park's newest single "Breaking The Habit"? Pretty cool looking.

j0hn Ayanami · Post by **j0hn Ayanami** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 4:07 am

Grey Fox wrote:Good summary Doom! I'd have to agree that Production IG easilly produces the best all around animation. Speaking of which, has anyone seen the music video they did for Linkin Park's newest single "Breaking The Habit"? Pretty cool looking.

Yeah, it's pretty awesome. We had it playing on Channel M (our arcade's closed-circuit TV network) and it rocks

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 4:08 am

Grey Fox wrote:Good summary Doom! I'd have to agree that Production IG easilly produces the best all around animation. Speaking of which, has anyone seen the music video they did for Linkin Park's newest single "Breaking The Habit"? Pretty cool looking.

Wasn't that Gonzo?

Have a nice day

Doom · Post by **Doom** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 4:08 am

Yes, that was Gonzo.

Jeff 2G6 · Post by **Jeff 2G6** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:16 am

Wasn't Gonzo on the Muppet Babies?

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:43 pm

You know what a good company is?

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:52 pm

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:32 pm

himurokoken wrote:sony

No apple.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 5:17 pm

Things around here are making less sense all the time.

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:46 pm

Jeff 2G6 wrote:Wasn't Gonzo on the Muppet Babies?

And he was probably the only good one (ok, maybe also Animal).

Have a nice day

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:14 am

Gonzo wasn't as good as he seemed.

Jeff 2G6 · Post by **Jeff 2G6** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:24 am

Well probably cause he was always trying to go after fat ass Miss Piggy.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:31 am

And chickens. Dozens of chickens.

Last One · Post by **Last One** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:41 pm

Whats wrong with it being a bestiality(is that even considered, seeing as no one knows what he is? For all we know, he could be a pretty fucked up rooster)/Chubby chaser?

Have a nice day

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:04 pm

He's an alien or something.

Besides, he's probably not a pig/rooster hybrid.

And his voice is annoying.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:35 pm

Last One wrote:
Jeff 2G6 wrote:Wasn't Gonzo on the Muppet Babies?
And he was probably the only good one (ok, maybe also Animal).

Have a nice day

No way. I used to think that when I was a kid, but Gonzo's really just the same old tired "I'm weird" bit, that's usually not funny. Fozzy is the true best character.

"What's the difference between an orange?"

Ha! That's genius. It just shows how stupid the Muppet Babies are that none of them can appreciate Fozzy's jokes.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:43 pm

Fozzy was decent, but he wasn't the best.

Nor was Gonzo.

The Swedish Chef was where it's at.

And Sam the Eagle.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:45 pm

Well, I don't remember the Swedish Chef showing up on Muppet Babies, but I do agree that, in general, he is the best Muppet.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:57 pm

The RDM forgot this conversation was about the Muppet Babies.

In that case, Beaker probably wins the prize.

Poor Beaker.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:06 pm

Meh....Beaker was only in a few episodes anyway.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:28 pm

At least he was in more than Robin.

Stupid Robin. What a douche bag.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:34 pm

I hate Robin in everything.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:44 pm

Good. He's a douche bag.

Jeff 2G6 · Post by **Jeff 2G6** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:26 am

Actually I agree Beaker was probably one of my favorites. I liked Gonzo in the beginning till he started getting on my nerves along with Miss Piggy and Kermit.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:33 am

To be entirely honest, the anime industry needs all four. I can't stand up and cheer as a fan girl for any of them.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:40 pm

The anime industry needs Beaker?

Jeff 2G6 · Post by **Jeff 2G6** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:46 pm

The anime industry needs all the help they can get.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:47 am

That's Bunson. And that 8-ball is green.

Jeff 2G6 · Post by **Jeff 2G6** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:46 am

Hmm I guess I got them mixed up for some reason.

Square Gamer

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