From the 2016 figure skating sports hit that won the hearts of many otaku, to the 2020 supernatural school success that enchanted even normies to get into the anime fad, to some underrated titles that really deserve recognition, MAPPA has made some absolutely fantastic series. But while some of their titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man have garnered popularity and the studio has taken over animating some other notable series’ sequels like Attack on Titan and Vinland Sagawhich series are MAPPA’s best?
Whether it’s lighthearted, absurd comedy you’re looking for or a rollercoaster of deep, emotional turmoil, MAPPA is sure to have a series for whatever you’re craving! Visually, musically, and overall artistically, MAPPA as a studio brings to life so many stories that are sure to make you laugh, cry, and find a new anime favorite! But whether you’ve previously thought these titles to be overhyped or unheard of, these MAPPA picks really shouldn’t be slept on.
1) Dororo
With his land in despair, the greedy samurai lord Daigo Kagemitsu makes a deal with 12 demons to grant him power and prosperity, but at the cost of his firstborn son. Somehow living but born without limbs, nose, eyes, ears, or skin, the child was disposed of in a river to be forgotten. Saved by a medicine man, Hyakkimaru is given weaponized prosthetics and grows up able to fend for himself. Not just being able to live despite being unable to see, hear, or feel, but fending off the demons hunting him as a sacrifice. One day, an orphan named Dororo decides to accompany Hyakkimaru on his journey to destroy each demon to regain the pieces of himself that had been denied to him from birth.
Adapted from Osamu Tezuka’s 1967 4-volume manga, MAPPA beautifully brings Dororo to life as though Pinocchio were set in Japan’s Sengoku period with plenty of action, historical grit, and a dark fantasy twist. Hyakkimaru and Dororo face both demons threatening them with evisceration and the demons of people’s hearts they meet on their journey
Dororo can be streamed on Prime Video, Hulu, and HIDIVE.
2) Terror in Resonance
While on a class field trip to the Tokyo Metropolitan office, Lisa Mishima gets caught up in the chaos when a terrorist accidentally marks her as an accomplice while saving her from his and his fellow abettor’s bomb attack. Escaping with them, she learns that they’re the ones who had been wreaking havoc on Tokyo, planting bombs, sending cryptic riddle videos en masse, and causing city-wide panic. They introduce themselves as Nine and Twelve, the two masked figures in the videos known as “Sphinx”. In challenging the police and government, the terrorist attacks and riddles are really created to send a message, one to expose the government’s shady secret: Nine and Twelve’s tragic origins.
Not all dystopias are about overtly blatant suffering and injustices, nor do all of them depict overly futuristic or decrepit societies. MAPPA hits a little closer to home with this series, depicting an average, modern-day society with secretive, seedy underbellies.
Terror in Resonance can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Tubi.
3) Lazarus
In the year 2048, scientific genius Dr. Deniz Skinner developed the revolutionary painkiller, Hapna, to seemingly transform the world for the better as it gained a reputation as a world-renowned everyday miracle drug. But even as Skinner silently vanished one year after launch, society was none the wiser as, in 2052, he reappeared with shocking news: Hapna was designed to mutate into a lethal toxin, eventually set to kill anyone who had ingested it. While Skinner also claims to have the cure, he says he’ll only divulge it should he be found within 30 days. With humanity’s demise on the line, Axel Gilberto is unwillingly recruited by an eccentric group, Lazarus, tasked to find Skinner before it’s too late.
MAPPA knocks Lazarus out of the park with a top-tier team, including collaborations from director Shinichirō Watanabe, famous for work on series like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champlooand Chad Stahelski, the director behind the John Wick to design the action sequences.
Lazarus can be streamed on Max where available.
4) Yuri!!! on Ice
Yuuri Katsuki, once Japan’s most promising figure skater, now begins rethinking his future after his crushing defeat at the Grand Prix Finale, and his opportunities for skating success seem to be dwindling at age 23. But when a video of him performing the same routine that five-time world champion Victor Nikiforov had performed suddenly goes viral, Yuuri begins gaining recognition not just from figure skating fans, but from Victor himself when he suddenly shows up at Yuuri’s house offering to be his mentor. As a fan of Victor himself, Yuuri eagerly accepts, his future in skating suddenly looking bright again. Even so, he has some fierce competition when Russian rival Yuri Plisetsky is determined to defeat Yuuri and win back Victor’s tutelage.
If you’re itching for an award-winning sports anime, Yuri!!! on Ice is the 2016 hit that won the hearts of many fans for its cool take on men’s figure skating, endearing characters, and wonderful soundtrack.
Yuri!!! on Ice can be streamed on Crunchyroll or Hulu where available.
5) In This Corner of the World
When pure, kind, and often distracted with daydreaming, Suzu Urano comes of age, she will have to unknowingly face more than her new married life. With her new husband Shuusaku Houjou being a man she barely knows, Suzu is sent to live with his family and struggles to find her footing in the new household. As though being homesick for her childhood home on the outskirts of Hiroshima wasn’t enough of a hardship, the war effort begins hitting too close to her new home as it reaches their own backyard.
Not only does MAPPA excel in hardcore action, innovative isekai, supernatural suspenseful thrills, and novel industry anime, but also manages to bring to life the emotional edge of Fumiyo Kōno’s historical slice-of-life film.
In This Corner of the World can be streamed on Tubi, Prime, or Pluto where available.
6) Jujutsu Kaisen
While Yuuji Itadori tends to lead a leisurely life, spending his time either doing recreational paranormal activities with the Occult Club as a hobby or visiting his bedridden grandfather at the hospital, the high school student’s life suddenly changes when he unknowingly encounters an actual cursed item that triggers a chain of supernatural occurrences. Coming face to face with a real paranormal being formed from human malice and negativity, Yuuji becomes thrust into the world of Curses after swallowing the item, a finger of the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, aka the King of Curses. Being recruited into the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, Yuuji must now take control of his newfound powers.
Highly praised by fans for its unique take on a cursed protagonist, school of Jujutsu sorcerers, and cool paranormal powers, MAPPA managed to create a sort of gateway anime that even normies have enjoyed with Jujutsu Kaisen.
Jujutsu Kaisen can be streamed on Netflix, Prime, Hulu, or Crunchyroll where available.
7) Zombieland Saga
Although Sakura Minamoto’s life is suddenly cut short, her dreams of becoming an idol surprisingly aren’t even after waking up as a zombie in the Saga Prefecture after ten years. With no memory of her past, Sakura learns that a man named Koutarou Tatsumi was the one to resurrect her along with six others for one unorthodox reason: to create an idol group, of course! Assuming the role of their manager, Koutarou schedules events for the newly named Franchouchou idol group as the girls rediscover their past lives while masking their zombified selves.
While idol series may have some outliers within the genre, like how Oshi no Ko has its own interesting twist, Zombieland Saga knocks the entire genre off its feet with sheer absurd comedy as though struck by Truck-kun itself.
Zombieland Saga can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
8) Zenshu
Natsuko Hirose kicks off her career in animation with a bang as an absolute virtuoso in the industry, quickly rising to the rank of director with renowned recognition. With her next project, a rom-com film themed around first love, Natsuko finally faces a new challenge in her career that she’d never come across before: not understanding the concept herself. As she struggles to figure out where to even start storyboarding, her life is brought to an end. Awaking to find that her life has begun anew, Natsuko isn’t just transported to any world, but the one within her favorite childhood anime movie, A Tale of Perishing.
While many anime fans would think being isakai’d into any anime world of their choice would be an absolute dream come true, MAPPA tackles the concept head-on in Zenshu. Although it seems like it would be nothing but ideal, this series brings to light the consequences that would become as real as the worlds they’re from.
Zenshu can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
9) Banana Fish
After runaway Aslan Jade Callenreese, aka Ash Lynx, is picked off the streets of New York City to be raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine, he eventually becomes the boss of his own gang at the age of seventeen. But when he begins investigating the source of the mysterious phrase “Banana Fish”, his brother Griffin hasn’t stopped muttering since returning from the Iraq War, Ash becomes enveloped in a deeper conspiracy than he bargained for.
If you’re looking for a suspenseful drama-action adventure, Banana Fish may be for you. While many anime tend to take place within fantastical worlds or Japan itself, MAPPA gives a refreshing new scene, taking to the streets of NYC.
Banana Fish can be streamed on Prime.
10) Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill
Tsuyoshi Mukouda, a run-of-the-mill salaryman, is transported to another world upon being summoned as a hero to the Kingdom of Reijseger. But when it’s revealed that his only skill is “Online Grocery”, he’s able to weasel out of the situation since his only skill, a non-combative one, is considered essentially useless. Fortunately for him, striving to live a quiet, simple life in the new land, the skill actually proves incredibly useful, allowing him to cheaply purchase items and food from Japan considered luxuries in this world. When his delicious cooking piques the interest of the legendary wolf Fel, the two create a contract for Fel to become Mukouda’s familiar. Traveling the world together, Mukouda and Fel spend their time adventuring, trading, and, of course, cooking.
With this series focusing on traditional ingredients from Japan, new from the video game-like fantasy world, and some economics while traveling with a wolf companion, Campfire Cooking is like if MAPPA sushi-rolled Delicious in Dungeon, Isekai Izakayaand Spice and Wolf into one delicious series.
Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What’s your favorite series from MAPPA? Let us know in the comments!
