Comments on: Madhouse: God’s own studio or merely human?

By: Karura

Karura — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:31:11 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts and feedback, everyone.
Necromancer: I will get around to CCS one of these days, honest! I think I’ll start off with the manga, though, since as you know that’s already in my possession.

Anca: Of course one person can’t make an utterly definitive assessment of a studio, but I’m not inclined to carry out an extensive survey and collate the results- instead, I just put my opinion out there and others can, as they have done, add their perspective. It may seem pointless, but then what’s the greater point of blogging at all?

Hige: yay, I don’t feel so alone anymore- I was beginning to think I was the only anime fan on the planet who didn’t ‘get’ the appeal of Claymore.

By: hayase

hayase — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:39:39 +0000

I think it’s unfair to lump Claymore in the miss group, since it hasn’t even finished yet. (I also think it more interesting than say, Death Note or Paradise Kiss.) Although I do have to admit, I am a Claymore fangirl ^_^; And the only thing that I don’t like about it is the animation and the boring background music.

But still, great list. =)

By: Hige

Hige — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:48:43 +0000

I’m relieved someone else isn’t completely enamored with Claymore. It bored me to tears after six episodes and was promptly dropped (even in the face of “No don’t it gets better!!11″).

Agree similarly on Death Note – it’s a serviceable adaptation, but it couldn’t shake the stilted feeling of the manga and it’s harder to ignore something like that when you’re watching rather than reading.

Totally disagree on Kemonozume, though. It was a bit too shallow and self-aware but I grew to really appreciate it. Plus I’m a complete sucker for style. But still, along with FLCL I’d probably show Kemonozume to those unfamiliar with anime to prove it’s more than just cartoons.

By: Anca

Anca — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:52:46 +0000

I wouldn’t exactly count Death Note, Claymore, NANA and Kemonozume among its misses, considering how many satisfied fans they left in their respective wakes. I’m in two minds about Trigun, since I personally disliked just about every aspect of it.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t count Gungrave, Gunslinger Girl, Boogiepop and Paranoia among its hits either – neutral at best.

I AM glad you placed X, Dennou, Monster and KokuMono where you did because those are some of the best anime series I’ve seen since I joined the fandom a long time ago.

I doubt anyone could make an accurate assesment of how good a Studio is based on a handfull of titles and how you personally enjoyed them… especially of a Studio the size of Madhouse. It would be almost as accurate as predicting good or fail a Gonzo series will turn out to be :3

By: Necromancer

Necromancer — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:25:02 +0000

*waves the Akagi fan flag*

I agree that DMC has been very poorly done, I’m a huge DMC fan and was expecting it to be more like Madhouse’s other action masterpiece Black Lagoon.

Dennou Coil’s by Madhouse? I seem to miss their name in some of their shows (like Black Lagoon & SaiMono, I never knew they were by Madhouse till a few months after I started watching them).

You need to get round to seeing/buying/acquiring Card Captor Sakura, probably the best mahou shoujo anime ever and 1 of the best adaptions of a CLAMP manga (though I’ve not read the original manga yet).

By: kiseki gurl

kiseki gurl — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:02:21 +0000

Oh and sorry for double posting but I just remembered that the Devil May Cry adaptation sucked. Granted, its based off a bloody video game where all they do is shoot monsters with guns…but if Madhouse was a great as the hype said they should have made it more interesting, right?

By: kiseki gurl

kiseki gurl — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:00:31 +0000

This is a really good overview of Madhouse. I can’t say how happy I am to see Saiunkoku Monogatari on the “hit” and Death Note on the “miss”. I agree with all your placements except Claymore. But I don’t have the right to complain since I hated AIR *is shot*. Okay getting back on topic, I noticed Madhouse likes to do budget cuts in their series. The animation in Saiunkoku and Claymore could have been much better. Overall, I’d trust Madhouse if they announced they were making an adaption of a manga series I really liked but I don’t trust them 100%.

By: hashihime

hashihime — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:53:47 +0000

Since NANA is one of my top five all-time favorites, clearly our tastes differ radically. And Claymore is outstanding, as well as popular, despite the fact that it’s not a personal favorite of mine (monsters turn me off). Saiunkoku and Beck are good, but I find Dennou Coil slow and flat, despite its good points. For me, if Madhouse has any excellences, they are shown in NANA, Claymore, Beck and Saiunkoku, as well as in Dennou Coil’s animation.

By: Matrim

Matrim — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:37:52 +0000

I really like MADHOUSE but up to now, I have never really tried to make a list in my mind to see how many of my favourites are created by this studio. Now that I saw this list, it really struck me how many MADHOUSE series I have liked.
I can’t say I agree about Death Note, I never liekd the aniem that much but it was because of the (in my opinion) shallow unlikeable characters and quite a few plotholes wehich can be more or less attributed to the manga, while the art, the music, the atmosphere and the direction were top notch.
Claymore is quite overrated indeed, though enjoyable if you don’t take it too seriously, I actually watch it mostly for the voiceacting. :)
Trigun is not good because of Vash but because of Wolfwood and Legato, at least that’s how I see it.
Anyway, the existence of Monster alone proves that MADHOUSE os God’s own studio, let alone the creation of Gunslinger Girl, Paranoia Agent or NANA, ;)

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:00:48 +0000

An excellent summary. This seems a bit weird, but I can’t help but completely agree on the above titles that I’ve seen for myself! There are of course also Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll to consider (not to mention some very innovative parts to the Animatrix), which are cracking examples of mindless action done right. Highlander: Search for vengeance would go on my ‘miss’ list, although it is unintentionally very funny.
Tenjho Tenge and Aquarian Age were my main candidates for the ‘miss’ list too, although the mediocrity/unsuitability of the source material undoubtedly didn’t help matters. Lament of the Lamb and Death Note are prime examples of how a great manga can spawn a ‘meh’ animated adaptation.

All things considered, I’d probably cite them as my favourite studio overall.