Key takeaways
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Project no.9: Young studio with strong production and adaptation skills, known for good character designs.
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Studio Bind – Rising powerhouse backed by White Fox, excelling in facial and clothing animation.
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Ufotable: Ancient powerhouse that evolves with hits like Demon Hunter, ready to be a heavyweight in the Isekai anime.
The history of Isekai anime is a long and winding road, full of ups and downs and with many forgotten series in desperate need of a remake. But what would this genre be without specialized studies in the creation of its fantastic worlds? This list features some of the best studios specializing in Isekai anime, taking into consideration their technique, overall production quality, fidelity in world-building, and public reception of their adaptations.
With newly founded studios rapidly rising through the ranks, while former powerhouses demonstrate their power of animation skills by creating true masterpieces. Each entry on this list is undoubtedly an infinite source of imagination, and some of the groups responsible for the most popular anime of the last decade.
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Project #9
Blooming studios with a deep talent pool
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Main studio location: Tokorozawa, Saitama
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Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha Purojekuto Nanbā Nain
Born on February 9, 2009, Project no.9 is an anime studio based in Suigami Prefecture, Tokyo, and responsible for the creation of animes such as Why doesn’t anyone remember me in this world?, Love after world domination, Butareba: The story of a man turned into a pigand the infamous And you thought there is never a girl online?
Although they are relatively new studios and have not yet reached that level in terms of skills and animation, their production and adaptation capabilities are their main strengths, as are direction and production. In terms of background, color and special effects, they are quite good, and this is especially noticeable in Why doesn’t anyone remember me in this world? an anime that had a fairly good reception (6.9 according to IMDb) but with great character design.
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Study link
One of the newest contenders, backed by industry heavyweights
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Main studio location: Ogikubo, Tokyo
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Original company name: Kabushiki gaisha Sutajio Baindo
Bind became famous in recent years due to the popular Mushoku Tensei anime series, but they’ve been around for half a decade. Formally known as Studio Bind Co., Ltd., the studios were founded in 2018 as a joint effort between White Fox and Egg Firm Inc., both studios that produced and distributed anime. Being backed by a powerhouse like White Fox (Akame ga mata!, goblin killer, Re: zero, Steins;Door) It helped the studio gather talent and that is reflected in both the quality and reception of its anime.
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Since Bind mainly focuses on adapting the Mushoku Tensei series, there are not too many things in his portfolio. But at the same time, the results speak for themselves and it’s undeniable that Studio Bind is quickly becoming an Isekai anime powerhouse. One of Studio Bind’s strong points is definitely the facial and clothing animation, and critics and audiences noticed this not only in the Rudeus story, but also in another of their recent titles: Onimai: I’m your sister now! topped the ratings in Japan when it aired, and since the show had top-notch character animation and voice acting, it received a lot of praise.
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ufotable
An old power station that gets better and better over the years
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Main studio location: Nakano, Tokyo
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Original company name: Yūfōtēburu yūgen-gaisha
A studio founded in Nakano, in October 2000, and responsible for the creation of 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 along with their CEO were accused of tax evasion, a situation that endangered many ongoing projects and made Tanjiro fans tremble in fear. The studio is also famous for bringing to life the anime adaptations of Tales of Zestiria The X and are currently working on a yet to be revealed project based on Genshin Impact, as well as a co-production with Type-Moon titled Girl job.
Many believe that Ufotable has what it takes to be one of the heavyweights of Isekai anime, especially because of the great work they have done with the Fate series. And that might be true, after all, earning Type-Moon’s trust is no easy task, as many fans will know that they are especially careful about who handles adaptations of their IPs.
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C2C
One of the newest studios, and it still has impressive skills
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Main studio location: Nishitōkyō, Toki
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Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha C2C
C2C, better known as (Challenge To Challenge Studios) is a relatively young anime studio with its main strengths in production, outsourcing and collaborative projects. They have participated in several collaborations with studios such as Satelight, JCStaff and XEBEC, and their most popular project to date has been Tsukimichi: Moonlight Fantasy It’s honestly one of the best isekai anime ever created, albeit quite underrated.
But perhaps the most successful production they have made so far is Reincarnated as a sword (rated 7.1 by IMDb) a story about an office worker reincarnated as a magical talking sword, who is found by a young woman named Fran and they establish a beautiful Teacher-student relationship. His animation skills are notable, especially in the special effects department. You can see the reflection of light in the young MC’s eyes and you can almost forget everything in a two-dimensional world. The environmental storytelling is also an incredible detail in this anime.
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Asylum
A legendary power, with skillful management and a great track record
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Main studio location: Nakano, Tokyo
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Original company name: Kabushiki-gaisha Maddohausu
Founded in October 1972, Madhouse Inc. (also known as MADHOUSE) is responsible for nearly a hundred titles, including of course the critically acclaimed Isekai. Mister and Without play there is no lifewinner of several Anime Season awards in 2014 and nominated for dozens of others. In it Mister series, Madhouse showed his full potential, creating incredibly well-adapted combat scenes, while also showing strict fidelity and respect for the source material. This indicates not only the wealth of talent they have in their ranks, but also the commitment and professionalism of their management team.
But perhaps what makes this studio special is its versatility: they are notoriously famous for other great manga adaptations, such as hunter x hunter, Death Note, parasite, A beating manand the timeless Sakura Card Captorwhich are not Isekai anime, but some heavy hitters and proof of the power of skill that moves the gears of Madhouse.