Random Anime That Switched Studios (19 items)

(#10) Gunslinger Girl
- Action, Sci-fi, Drama
Madhouse is not known for creating sequels - some anime fans even call it the Madhouse Curse. It's not that they never make sequels - Card Captor Sakura Clear Card is an example of a sequel they did take on - but it's uncommon. This tendency may have been why they passed Gunslinger Girl onto Artland during its second season. This anime, which deals with a corrupt Italian government organization that takes young girls with serious health problems, gives them cybernetic enhancements, and then forces them to become soldiers, had a pretty good first season. While the second season retained its characterization and plotting, the animation quality went down.
(#18) To Your Eternity
- Adventure, Supernatural, Drama
There's been no official announcement explaining why, but To Your Eternity switched studios from Brain's Base to Drive for its second season. With this studio change, Kiyoko Sayama took over as role of director from Season 1's Masahiko Murata.
With the switch in studios, the show also saw shift in its reception. Season 2 of the show unfortunately did not receive the same positive response that it got in Season 1. There is still discussion on whether this is at fault of Drive's work on the series, or if viewers were no longer interested in general. Regardless, the change in style was definitely noticeable once the new season began.
(#8) Spice and Wolf
- Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Spice & Wolf was originally animated by Imagin, a little-known anime studio with few titles to its name. For its second season, Brain's Base took over the animation, but many of the original staff stayed on board. Major changes included Toshimitsu Kobayashi becoming the new chief animation director and character designer in lieu of Kazuya Kuroda, as well as a complete change in animation staff. The voice actors and other roles remained the same. Some feel that Season 2 was a step down from Season 1, but others have the opposite opinion.
(#7) My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
- Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama, Romance, School
The first season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (also known as Oregairu) was a Brain's Base production. Brains' Base is a well-known studio responsible for lauded series like Baccano! and Natsume's Book of Friends, while also handling slice-of-life romance like My Little Monster. Season 1 was a light-hearted school comedy.
Studio Feel took on Season 2. Studio Feel isn't as renowned - their biggest titles are probably Hinamatsuri and Tsuki ga Kirei - good shows to be sure, but they're no Baccano! But while the switch-up might have sounded like a downgrade, Season 2 of Oregairu is what made this show stand out from other school comedies. Rather than using the characters' traits to elicit laughs, Studio Feel chose to actually do an in-depth exploration of Hikigaya's psyche. He is one of the few characters in the genre who feels like a real person.
Brain's Base is capable of excellent character development, so it's possible that the outcome would have been the same if the studio change hadn't happened, but the second season was a work of art.
(#9) Fairy Tail
- Action, Adventure, Comedy, Magic, Fantasy, Shounen
Originally, Fairy Tail was produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight. After that, its two sequels were produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge. The reasons for this change were never confirmed, but there are significant differences between the first series and the two that came after.

These differences are many, but they boil down to a change in tone, character designs, and color pallette, and in adherence to the manga. Satelight's season was brightly colored and light-hearted, while Bridge's seasons are drawn with darker, more muted colors that underscore the more serious themes the seasons deal with. Bridge is also more diligent about closely following the manga instead of relying on filler arcs.
(#19) The Ancient Magus' Bride
- Slice of Life, Magic, Fantasy, Shounen
There's a chance you haven't heard of the studio in charge of The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2, and that's because it was established just for the show's 2021 OVA. Studio Kafka was created by Kouichi Naruse, Kazuaki Terasawa, and Takahiko Abiru, who saw the opportunity to set up a company for the show and grabbed the reigns from Wit Studio. Creating a studio specifically for a show leaves the company with large shoes to fill.
While the second season has yet to be released, there are little to no issues that fans had with The Ancient Magnus' Bride's 2021 OVA. With this in mind, we have high hopes that Studio Kafka will meet our expectations and produce an adaption to be proud of.