Madhouse: Studio discussion, speculation, and whatnot

[Kirarakim]

Madhouse is one of my favorite studios precisely because they don't have a distinct style. They have done so many different things. It's true because of this not everything is a winner but they have enough great stuff to keep me happy.

Next to Ghibli I also look forward to their films the most (well depending on who is behind it). As others have said they have/had a lot of great talents working for the studio. And I certainly hope we will see something new from Hosoda soon.

Murayama also comes to Otakon every year which I think is really awesome of him. I am sad I couldn't go the last couple years.

[MushroomSamba]

Originally Posted by DemiSoda

Great, solid studio overall. When it comes to consistency and diversity in genres, it is probably unmatched. However, they tend to stay away from heavy moe related material, but I did hear that they got blacklisted from doing these kind of series. Not sure what the story is there.

Huh, that's pretty interesting if true. In fact, their penchant for mature-themes and minimal use of moe is one of the main reasons I'm such a fan of theirs. I'd guess I've probably seen more from them than any other studio (with maybe the exception of Sunrise).

And while I agree they're well-versed in a variety of genres, I appreciate them especially for their modern action titles that tend to have distinct 90's feel to them (Black Lagoon, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Gungrave, Gunslinger Girl, Claymore). I'm just glad somebody still makes these kinds of shows, even if they've been dying off as time goes on.

I like that they're a bit of risk-taker as well, and even though I don't always dig their more eclectic works (especially those of the late Satoshi Kon), I respect that they put their lot behind creative minds and their sometimes "artsy" endeavors (Kaiba, Dennou Coil, Casshern Sins, Shigurui).

I'm also a fan of their sillier, light-hearted stuff like Tokikake, Chi's Sweet Home, Tsukikage Ran, Oh! Edo Rocket, and the recent Level E.

This studio also had a helluva impact on me in the 90's too, and is a big reason why I became an anime fan altogether. Stuff like Record of Lodoss War, Birdy the Mighty, Battle Angel Alita, Ninja Scroll, Devil Hunter Yohko, Trigun, and Demon City Shinjuku rocked my world back then, and a few remain close to my heart even to this day.

[DonQuigleone]

It's sad to hear they're in such financial straits, as they have definitely come out with a lot of great stuff, and were closest to rivalling Ghibli for quality movie output. I hope Madhouse manages to resuscitate itself soon.

I suppose that explains why their movie output seemed to have declined of late. Is Mamoru Hosoda's next project still getting funding? I'd have thought that with the success of his last two films, both critically AND commercially, they'd be prioritising that.

[bigdave]

I honestly after seeing what the others have said and looked up the many series done would have to say the same. They do a LOT of series and that leads to good and bad. It comes with the whole doing a lot of series, but I would say they have been able to produce good or top notch titles and are overall a good studio.

Oh btw some reps from Madhouse were at Otakon this year. I think Satoshi Kon was there but didn't get to go to his panel or signing :/

[Last Sinner]

Originally Posted by bigdave

Oh btw some reps from Madhouse were at Otakon this year. I think Satoshi Kon was there but didn't get to go to his panel or signing :/

Satoshi Kon has been dead since last year....

[totoum]

Originally Posted by MushroomSamba

,and the recent Level E.

That wasn't Madhouse,it was done by Pierrot and a relatively new studio: David Production.

I was never interested in the marvel adaptations so I'm glad they're done with those

Here are their upcoming projects,I'm looking forward to all of them:

On the movie front they have To Aru Hikuushi he no Tsuioku

This fall they've got Chihayafuru

And in 2012 we'll get Another

Also remember the blu ray of Redline are finaly coming out later this year!

[duckroll]

http://neragaku.com/contents.php?p=staff
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...e.php?id=14328

Something I didn't notice before, but a more complete staff list is up for Nerawareta Gakuen. The staff list is particularly interesting because instead of regular Sunrise staff on the movie, it looks like Ryosuke Nakamura brought with him a pretty complete team from his Madhouse projects:

Director: Ryosuke Nakamura (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10, Mōryō no Hako)
Screenplay: Ryosuke Nakamura, Yuko Naito
Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Mieko Hosoi (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10)
Art Director: Hidetoshi Kaneko (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10, Mōryō no Hako)
Color design: Yuko Kobari (Aoi Bungaku Ep7-10)
Image Art: Yoshitsugi Yoshida
Screen Design: Kenichi Shimizu (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10 animator)
Special Effects: Kumiko Taniguchi (Mōryō no Hako)
CG Director: Tomohiko Kan
Director of Photography: Shinichi Igarashi (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10, Mōryō no Hako)
Editing: Aya Hida
Sound Director: Youji Shimizu
Music: Shusei Murai (Aoi Bungaku Ep9-10, Mōryō no Hako)

[kyouray]

RIP Madhouse.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Why Madhouse?

[kyouray]

Because of duckroll's post, Nakamura kinda 'stole' talents from Madhouse
Some people were Madhouse regulars/members and I guess some left.

[Warm Mist]

Madhouse has been going to shit since some time ago, it's not really surprising a lot of established talents are not working a lot for them anymore. I'm curious to see if Yuasa will go with them for his next project.

Anyway, if I got it right the storyline of the movie is going to be only tangentially related to the original novel, and will be mostly original? I'd like that.

[Guardian Enzo]

Plenty of studios would love to go to shit with Hunter X Hunter, Chihayafuru and Ookami Kodomo.

People seem to love writing Madhouse's obituary for some reason. They lose talent, but they still have talent, and they keep producing good work. It's GAINAX people should be mourning the loss of.

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

People seem to love writing Madhouse's obituary for some reason. They lose talent, but they still have talent, and they keep producing good work. It's GAINAX people should be mourning the loss of.

I'm tempting to add bones to that list.

[Arabesque]

The staff here had been all been a team before on Aoi Bungaku and Mōryō no Hako, both works I had greatly enjoyed, even if the episodes they worked on in Blue Literature weren't my favorite, I thought they were among the better ones from the show. Expectations now are slightly higher than before.

Originally Posted by kyouray

Because of duckroll's post, Nakamura kinda 'stole' talents from Madhouse
Some people were Madhouse regulars/members and I guess some left.

Salvaged would be a better term I'd think. The exodus from the studio over the past 2 years had given a rise to the numbers of talented freelancers that need a place to stay with the House burning to the ground ...

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

People seem to love writing Madhouse's obituary for some reason.

I doubt anyone loves it (I certainly don't) but when it had been written all over the wall for so long, eventually we will have to dictate it to paper ...

And yes, they still have talent left, but ignoring the signs isn't going to make it all better. I love Hunter X Hunter, I love Chihayafuru, I love Hosoda, and I like a lot of the work the studio had got out over the years. I don't want them to go away, but I can tell they aren't doing so well at the moment financially. They hadn't been for a long time now, and it hadn't gotten better.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

It's GAINAX people should be mourning the loss of.

They had died for a couple of years now, we can only mourn for so long. And I prefer to remember the good times we had together.

[HosannaExcelsis]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Plenty of studios would love to go to shit with Hunter X Hunter, Chihayafuru and Ookami Kodomo.

Madhouse may have been on the production committee, but the actual animation for Ookami Kodomo was done by Hosoda's new studio, Studio Chizu.

[fertygo]

And I think Hosoda borrow some people to Chizu too.

[Kaioshin Sama]

This is the first I've heard of Madhouses going to shit. Please tell me more folks.

Originally Posted by Blaat

I'm tempting to add bones to that list.

Bones is a weird one for me. Their production values are as good as they've ever been, yet their seeming inability to put out a show that doesn't make me feel like I've totally wasted my time in the end is getting to be the rule more than the exception of late and has kind of come to a head with Eureka Seven AO. As it stands I'm in no rush to see anything from them in the near future because of how their shows keep ending up and that's possibly the worst thing that can happen to a studio. Total lack of interest due to a complete lack of faith in their ability to hold a show together regardless of staff.

[fertygo]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

This is the first I've heard of Madhouses going to shit. Please tell me more folks.

We just gonna call them with new alias, MAPPA

[duckroll]

Wolf Children is not a Madhouse production. Just saying.

[totoum]

Just looking at the Aoi Bungaku list of directors:

Morio Asaka:still at Madhouse
Tetsuro Araki: directed Guilty Crown at IG
Shigeyuki Miya: ???
Taku Mayumura: directing Nerawareta Gakuen at sunrise
Atsuko Ishizuka : directing Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo at J.C Staff

Then you've also got Madhouse founder leaving to create MAPPA and there's a few Madhouse veterans on the Kids on the Slope staff and the first MAPPA film will be directed by Black Lagoon's director

As for Hosoda he's likely done with Madhouse,their involvement in Ookami kodomo was minor,it's a sign that unlike his last two movies the Madhouse logo doesn't show up at the start of the movie.

Though I wouldn't say "RIP madhouse" yet,maybe they're just going through a rebuilding phase and some young talent will step up and fill the voids left by those gone ,we'll see what Kotono Watanabe can do with Btooom!