When it was announced Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association, or MAPPA, would animate the final season of Attack on Titan, many fans expressed fear over having the popular anime switch studios after the first three seasons had already been by WIT Studio. It was difficult to imagine any studio that could follow in the footsteps of the high quality animation style that the first three seasons had established as their hallmark. However, with the release of the trailer, many fans are eagerly looking forward to the last season.
While Attack on Titan will certainly push MAPPA further into the limelight, it’s important to note that MAPPA already boasts a diverse repertoire of critically-acclaimed anime, from sports to psychological thrillers, and more recently expanded into the horror genre and webtoon adaptations. MAPPA has already carved out a place in the animation world as one of the leading studios in Japan.
MAPPA’s First Anime
The first anime that MAPPA produced was an adaptation of Yuki Kodama’s manga Kids on the Slope. The series is about how music brings a group of unlikely people together: a classical pianist, a delinquent who loves jazz and a girl whose family owns a record store. This slice of life anime was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame. It's a quiet sort of series exploring the friendships the three have through a jazz music framework.
Kids on the Slope reuninted Watanabe with Bebop's composer Yoko Kanno. The manner in which they skilfully weave music into the narrative tells the story much more powerfully than it does through visuals and dialogue.
The Breakout Originals
Terror in Resonance was MAPPA's first original series, and stood out not only in genre but in the art and storytelling style. Terror in Resonance is a psychological thriller about two geniuses, known only by the numbers Nine and Twelve, who threaten to destroy Tokyo if their cryptic riddle isn’t solved in time -- two boys versus the entire world.
Terror in Resonance's vibrant colour scheme gets a washed-out filmic look, the lines more clean and bold set against a backdrop of Tokyo that looks like it came straight out of a photograph taken with a film camera. This anime is another Watanabe-Kanno collaboration, featuring music inspired by the Icelandic band Sigur Rós.
Yuri!!! On Ice became MAPPA's biggest international breakout hit yet in 2016. Yuri!!! On Ice is about a figure skater named Yuri Katsuki who decides to hang up his skates after landing in last place at the Grand Prix Final. But before he can do so, he's greeted by fellow competitor, Victor Nikiforov, at his home in Japan who spontaneously announces that he's going to be Yuri's coach now.
This anime was absolutely revolutionary, not only for the canon romantic relationship between Yuri and Victor, but also for how realistically the show handled mental health issues in a respectful way. The same-sex romance was powerful, but the series was never promoted as a Boys Love series, making sure to focus on Yuri's journey not only as a young man trying to overcome his mental barriers but also his growth as an athlete.
In This Corner of the World
Directed by Sunao Katabuchi, In This Corner of the World is about a young woman named Suzu who moves from her hometown in Hiroshima to Kure when she gets married. Suzu has to figure out how to take care of her family in the midst of her country being at war. The film is set in the 1930s and '40s, leading up to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
In This Corner of the World isn't a pro-war propaganda film in the slightest. This heartbreaking but beautiful film is about the impact war has had on those who never had a say in the war: the civilians. The movie wasn't a huge hit in theaters, but was celebrated by critics and is now streaming on Netflix.
Adapting Older Manga
MAPPA has a history of adapting classic manga like Hajime no Ippo, but it recieved extra attention for its adaptations of Banana Fish and Dororo.
Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida was first serialized in 1985. The manga is noted for its strong influence on the BL genre. Banana Fish is about Ash Lynx, who wants to find out what "Banana Fish" means after recognizing that these are the same words that his brother said when he came back home from the war. It focuses on the relationship between Ash and photographer Eiji Okumara. Besides the praise it received from portraying a same-sex relationship, Banana Fish also was praised for its focus on more mature themes like drugs, gangs, pedophilia and sexual abuse.
Dororo is a classic Osama Tezuka manga which previously recieved an anime in 1969.The series is about a young man named Hyakkimaru who has to kill demons in order to regain the body parts that he lost as a result of his father bargaining his body away for power when he was only a baby. The 2019 adaptation came with a significant departure in art style from Tezuka's cartoonier manga. Character designs were reimagined with more attention to details and expressions.
A Combo of Horror and Fun
One great thing about MAPPA is what a wide variety of anime it makes. Dorehedoro is an adaptation of Q Hayashida's cult hit hmanga. The series takes the audience deep into the world of the Hole ,where humans are subjected to horrible experiments conducted by Sorcerers. The protagonist, a violent lizard-headed man named Caiman, must find a way to reverse his condition.
The anime is a mix of gore and quirk that play off each other in a really remarkably entertaining way. Despite the dark and gritty world created by Hayashida plus the large amount of blood that can be spilled in a single episode, it's juxtaposed against the dark humour it exudes even in scenes when it's packed with action and darkness. MAPPA animated the series with a mixture of 2D and 3D animation which makes it incredible to watch.
The Future of MAPPA: Titans and More
The studio will have its hands full this year with animating the final season of Attack on Titan. Not only that, MAPPA has also taken the reins on producing the studio’s first webtoon The God of High School by Yongje Park, a battle shonen about a high schooler who participates in a tournament to determine who is the strongest high schooler only to later realize there’s something darker and more sinister lurking beneath. The webtoon adaptation's first episode premiered July 6.
Another highly-anticipated anime is Jujutsu Kaisen, a dark fantasy by Gege Akutami, about an unnaturally athletic boy named Yuji who swallows a talisman in the form of a rotting finger of a creature called Sukuna and must now help find the rest of the fingers so Sukuna (and consequently Yuji) can be destroyed. The series will broadcast sometime in October 2020.
MAPPA has already proven itself to be the studio to look for great anime, and it doesn't look like its momentum will slow anytime soon.