11 Best MAPPA Anime That Aren’t 'jujutsu Kaisen' Or 'chainsaw Man'

Established in 2011 by Masao Maruyama, a co-founder of Madhouse, Studio MAPPA was originally designed to be an artistic refuge. Maruyama envisioned a boutique studio where prominent directors could escape the constraints of corporate production committees to pursue personal passion projects that other companies might refuse to fund. Over its two and a half decades, this indie-focused foundation has merged with rapid commercial growth, creating a studio identity that balances mainstream dominance with a persistent willingness to take creative risks.

Before achieving widespread fame with major action properties, MAPPA built its reputation on highly diverse and unconventional projects. The studio's catalog spans historical dramas, subversive comedies, and complex psychological thrillers. By looking past its flagship franchises, viewers can find a rich lineup of unique stories, including the 2023 original film Maboroshi. Directed by Mari Okada, this ambitious supernatural film explores a Japanese town frozen in time after a 1991 industrial disaster, serving as a strong example of the auteur-driven storytelling that defined the studio's early years.

MAPPA has also demonstrated a strong capability for modernizing classic properties and collaborating with legendary industry figures. In 2019, the studio released Dororo, a stylized adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's classic manga directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, which successfully balanced brutal action with emotional depth. Years earlier, the studio partnered with iconic director Shinichiro Watanabe to produce the 2014 series Terror in Resonance. Despite facing significant financial hurdles during its five-year development, the political thriller showcased the high-prestige, artistic ambitions of the studio's formative era.

The studio's versatility is further highlighted by its successful ventures into comedy and self-reflective narratives. In 2018, MAPPA surprised audiences with Zombie Land Saga, a horror-comedy parody about resurrected girls forming an idol group to save the Saga Prefecture. More recently, the 2025 original series Zenshu, created by Mitsue Yamazaki and Kimiko Ueno, offered a direct love letter to the anime industry itself. Following an exhausted animator transported into an animated world, the series reflects both the frustrations and the enduring passion of creators working within the animation medium.

In addition to lighter fare, MAPPA has consistently tackled complex sci-fi and dark crime dramas. The 2017 series Inuyashiki: Last Hero, directed by Shuhei Yabuta, explored mortality and human connection through an existential conflict between an elderly man and a youth who both receive extraordinary powers. In 2018, the studio undertook the difficult task of adapting Akimi Yoshida's beloved crime manga Banana Fish. By modernizing the tragic story of gang leader Ash Lynx and photographer Eiji Okumura, MAPPA introduced a classic narrative to a new generation of viewers.

Perhaps the most transformative television project in MAPPA's history was the 2016 original figure-skating drama Yuri on Ice. The series became an overnight global phenomenon, earning praise for its authentic depiction of relationships and its meticulous attention to athletic detail. To ensure realism, the production team hired retired ice dancer Kenji Miyamoto to choreograph the routines and recorded actual ice-scraping sounds from various arenas. This dedication to authenticity helped establish MAPPA as a household name worldwide.

The studio has also succeeded where others feared to tread, particularly with Q Hayashida's manga Dorohedoro, which was long considered unadaptable due to its grimy art style and chaotic energy. MAPPA's 2019 adaptation successfully captured the manga's unique blend of dark comedy, horror, and fantasy. On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, the studio's 2016 film In This Corner of the World offered a devastatingly beautiful portrait of a young woman navigating life in wartime Japan. The critically acclaimed film proved MAPPA's capacity for exceptional, deeply moving cinematic storytelling long before it became synonymous with mainstream blockbusters.