Studio Ghibli is the animation phenomenon responsible for deeply blending realism, fantasy, and emotion in some of anime's greatest and most defined worlds. The studio's creative drive rivals even that of Disney, though they seemingly don't have the same mass of work.
This is because Ghibli prides itself on being an auteur studio that is willing to take several years to just get their few projects right, such as The Red Turtle or Grave of the Fireflies, and especially Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle.
However, while they function on a quality few, that doesn't mean that they don't have a hand in other projects. Though their name may not be plastered on everything they've worked on, as an animation studio, Ghibli has helped produced some of the most seminal anime out there, whether it be in co-production or even the slightest bit of animation help. This list will be running down a few of Ghibli's unsung credits, as it goes through 10 amazing anime no one knew Studio Ghibli had a hand in.
10 Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Ghibli is arguably more synonymous with fantasy worlds and magic rather than the cold steel and harsh war politics of mecha anime. That has always been Gundam's department, an anime franchise whose spectacular space battles and edgy, robot designs helped revolutionize, define, and streamline the mecha genre for all to enjoy.
However, in 2011, the two would meet, as Ghibli helped co-produce the episode "The Ghost of Laplace" for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, one of the Gundam series' most beloved incarnations in recent years.
9 Crayon Shin-chan
Crayon Shin-chan is a major staple for Japanese comedy whose line or work has drawn in young and old within the country. While some of its content may appear age-restricted to the outside viewer, it's with those crude yet silly qualities that have helped define the Japanese sensibility in comedy, especially within anime.
It focuses on Shin-chan, whose playful yet eccentric nature help put him and his family in humorous situations. As Shin-chan continues to entertain various homes, Ghibli has had a hand in producing some of the in-between animation for the series.
8 Trigun
One of the most defining voices of 90's anime, Trigun is the other space cowboy series that brought fans a series of action-packed shootouts, stoic Western lines, and a goofball main character who ties everything together.
Stumbling into infamy, Vash the Stampede is the most wanted man in the world who's equally skilled with shooting a gun as he is dancing away from gunfire, which is a great quality considering that near everyone in the world wants him dead. While Studio Ghibli may have not had a consistent role in the series, they were a part of the in-between and key animation for the series' third episode "Peace Maker."
7 Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
While not exactly the same animated series (depending on who you ask), they both carry the same essential spirit of the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise. Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse have played against the rules of life and fate, leaving Ed with a few missing limbs and Alphonse a few missing everything.
This tragedy is not without some reward, however, as the two also find themselves as master alchemists capable of reshaping the matter around them at will, which helps a lot when the two are fighting Nazis and mutant incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins. Within both versions of the series, Ghibli dipped their toe in the world's political and philosophical turmoil as they helped produce the series' in-between animation.
6 Samurai 7
Seven Samurai was Akira Kurosawa's seminal film, whose tales of samurai adventures not only built from but helped inspire future generations of Western films and film as a whole.
In honor and outright fanaticism of the great work, Studio Gonzo updated its world with fantastical, sci-fi mechs and put them against Japan's samurai of old, showing heart versus machine in grand spectacle. A huge part of defining that world was Studio Ghibli who helped create the background art of several episodes.
5 Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
Possibly the most separated from Ghibli's works in tone and audience, Black Lagoon is the classic Western pulled into the gritty, scummy world of modern gangs, arms dealers, and mercenaries. Thrust into this world is Japanese salaryman, Rokurou Okajima, who, after being abandoned by his company during a hostage situation, joins his kidnappers and the infamous mercenary group Black Lagoon as they just try to stay on top of a world flooded with blood and lead. Ghibli, in particular, helped do the background art on The Second Barrage's final episode, "The Gunslingers."
4 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Mamoru Hosoda is a modern anime auteur whose line of films, like Wolf Children or Mirai, not only shake up the Japanese film scene but also rival Studio Ghibli in the fantastical, family entertainment department. However, not everything has bad blood (if at all), as Studio Ghibli did help create the background and character art for Hosoda's first, original film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
Taking a stab at the groundhog day market, Hosoda crafts an incredibly nostalgic world, where a teenage girl suddenly finds herself able to turn back time. However, during a transitional period where one must confront new feelings and relationships, time travel won't help anyone escape.
3 Gurren Lagann
By all means, Gurren Lagann is the Gainax work that helped define the very tone and sensibility for the new kid on the studio block, Studio Trigger. It's a tale of freedom, growing up, self-actualization, and community that uses giant robots, giant drills, and giant displays of animation to personify strong emotions not before realized in anime, as every drop of color can get anyone's blood rushing.
However, to give credit where credit is due, Studio Ghibli did help bring this magnificent work of art to people's eyes with its assistance in finish and in-between animation.
2 Usagi Drop
People don't always get to pick and choose their families. If one is willing to let them in, relatives can be a relationship and responsibility that can not only bring in love and warmth but also great change that can help an individual evolve beyond the self.
Such a journey is taken by Daikichi Kawachi as he takes in his grandfather's illegitimate daughter, Rin, after the rest of his relatives turn their backs on her. Helping one of Production I.G.'s best slice-of-life works, Studio Ghibli worked on the in-between animation for a few episodes.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is the furthest thing from anyone's mind of an anime work that was touched by Studio Ghibli. With scarring emotional provocation, surreal imagery, and deep religious symbolism, Evangelion is a mecha series whose use of fantasy and action only tricks the audience into viewing a much harsher and self-reflective reality.
Studio Ghibli was involved with one of the series' most tense episodes, co-producing and animating the eleventh episode, "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still," when the characters must find a way to launch their Evas and fight against Angels when they find their main systems and power have been shut off.