Key Takeaways
- Project no.9: Young studio with strong producing and adaptation skills, known for good character designs.
- Studio Bind: Rising powerhouse backed by White Fox, excelling in facial and clothes animation.
- Ufotable: Old powerhouse evolving with hits like Demon Hunter, poised to be heavyweight in Isekai anime.
The history of Isekai anime is a long and tortuous path, filled to the brim with its up and downs, and with many forgotten series that are desperately needing a remake. But what would it be of this genre without studios specialized in the creation of their fantasy worlds? This list has some of the best studios specialized in Isekai anime, taking into consideration their technique, overall quality of production, worldbuilding fidelity, and the public reception of their adaptations.
With recently founded studios quickly rising in the ranks, while old powerhouses flex their animation skill power by creating true masterpieces. Every entry of this list is certainly an infinite source of imagination, and some of the groups responsible for the most popular anime of the last decade.
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8 Project no.9
A Flourishing Studios With A Great Talent Pool
- Main Studio Location: Tokorozawa, Saitama
- Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha Purojekuto Nanbā Nain
Born on February 9, 2009, Project no.9 is an anime studio based in the Prefecture of Suigami, Tokio, and responsible for the creation of animes like Why Does Nobody Remember Me in This World?, Love After World Domination, Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig, and the infamous And you thought there is never a girl online?
Although they’re a relatively new studios, and they are not quite there yet in level of skills and animation, their producing and adaptation capabilities are their main fortes, and so is direction and producing. In terms of background, coloring and special effects, they’re quite good, and this is particularly notorious in Why Does Nobody Remember Me in This World?, an anime that had a moderately good reception (6.9 according to IMDb) but with great character designs.
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6 Studio Bind
One Of The Newest Contenders, Backed Up By Heavyweights Of The Industry
- Main Studio Location: Ogikubo, Tokio
- Original company name: Kabushiki gaisha Sutajio Baindo
Bind became notorious in recent years due to the popular Mushoku Tensei anime series, but they have been around for half a decade now. Formally known as Studio Bind Co., Ltd., the studios was founded in 2018 as a conjoint effort between White Fox and Egg Firm Inc., both studios that produced and distributed anime. Being backed up by a powerhouse like White Fox (Akame ga Kill!, Goblin Slayer, Re:Zero, Steins;Gate) helped the studio to gather up talents and that reflects in both the quality and reception of their animes.
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Since Bind is mainly focused on the adaptation of the Mushoku Tensei series, there are not too many things on their portfolio. But at the same time, the results speak for themselves, and it is undeniable that Studio Bind is quickly becoming a powerhouse in Isekai Anime. One of Studio Bind’s fortes is definitely facial and clothes animation, and the critics and audience noted this not only in Rudeus story, but in another of their recent titles too: Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister! was top of the ratings in Japan when it aired, and since the show had top notch character animation and voice acting, it collected lots of praise.
4 Ufotable
An Old Powerhouse, Getting Better And Better With The Years
- Main Studio Location: Nakano, Tokio
- Original company name: Yūfōtēburu yūgen-gaisha
A studios founded in Nakano, in October 2000, and responsible for the creation of the hits Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, but perhaps its most popular produced anime adaptation is Demon Hunter. In 2019, the studios alongside their CEO were accused of tax evasion, a situation that endangered many ongoing projects and made fans of Tanjiro tremble in fear. The studios is also famous for giving life to the anime adaptations of Tales Of Zestiria The X and they’re currently working on a yet to be revealed project based on Genshin Impact, as well as a co-production with Type-Moon titled Girl’s Work.
Many believe that Ufotable has what it takes to be one of the heavyweights in Isekai anime, especially due to the great work that they’ve done with the Fate series. And that might be true, after all, to gain the trust of Type-Moon is not an easy feat, since many fans will know they’re especially careful with who handles their IPs adaptations.
3 C2C
One Of The Newest Studios, And Still They Have Impressive Skills
- Main Studio Location: Nishitōkyō, Toki
- Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha C2C
C2C, better known as (Challenge To Challenge Studios) is a relatively young anime studios with its main strenghts in production, outsourcing, and collaborative projects. They have participated in several collaborations with studios like Satelight, J.C.Staff and XEBEC, and their most notorious project so far has been Tsukimichi: Moonlight Fantasy which is honestly, one of the best isekai anime ever made, though quite underrated.
But perhaps their most accomplished production they’ve made so far is Reincarnated as a Sword (rated 7.1 by IMDb) a story about an office worker reincarnated as a magical talking blade, who is found by a young girl named Fran and they establish a beautiful Master-student relationship. Their animation skills are notorious, especially in the special effects department. You can see the reflection of the light in the eyes of the young MC and you can almost forget its all in bi-dimensional world. The environmental storytelling is also an incredible detail in this anime.
2 Madhouse
A Legendary Powerhouse, With Skillfull Management And A Great Track Record
- Main Studio Location: Nakano, Tokyo
- Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha Maddohausu
Founded in October 1972, Madhouse Inc. (also known as MADHOUSE) is responsible for almost a hundred titles, which of course include the critically acclaimed Isekai Overlord and No Game No Life, winner of various Anime Season awards in 2014, and nominated to dozens of others. In the Overlord series, Madhouse showcased their full potential, creating incredibly well adapted combat scenes, as well as showing strict fidelity and respect for the original material. This indicates not only the sheer amount of talent they have in their ranks, but also the compromise and professionalism of their direction crew.
But perhaps what makes this studio special, is their versatility: They are notoriously famous for other great manga adaptations, such as Hunter x Hunter, Death Note, Parasyte, One Punch-Man, and the timeless Cardcaptor Sakura, which are not Isekai anime, but some heavyweights nonetheless and proof of the skill power that moves the gears of Madhouse.
