Animation Studios: Can you tell the difference?

[illuminousX51]

If you were to watch an anime show without knowing the name of the studio that animated it, would you be able to tell the difference? Between Madhouse, Production IG, Xebec, JCStaff and the other animation studios, I am pretty sure the process varies between each company. Gonzo is easy to tell sometimes as they tend use really rich colors and blend their CGI pretty well. While each anime individually has it's own style of course, it's the "fluidity" of the animation that I am trying to figure out between the companies.

[Cap'n Nick]

I don't know much about animation studios, but for awhile I was able to guess the exact year an anime was produced by looking at it and getting a feel for the fluidity and colors used. I can't do this any more because there are more titles and more variance among them but I certainly agree that with enough study it would be possible to identify a studio by their style. But then, it's not like a studio will stay the same forever. For example, I've noticed that Studio Pierrot is involved with a lot of my favorites, but it isn't quite the same every time and I've seen some downright shoddy work from them, too.

[Debitt]

I get the feeling you can usually pick out a Gainax series from it's inherent weirdness and from its ED sequence (compare Kare Kano to FLCL's endings. =O)

I can usually pick out a Studio DEEN anime as well, because they've produced 3 of my favorite series. (Matantei Loki Ragnarok, Tactics, and Kyou Kara Maou!)

[AngelSakura]

I can usually tell the studio just by the style, even if they're using the style of what it was based on. With GAINAX, it's something about the nose and the eyes. Studio MADHOUSE, it's the nose. Same with BONES. You know, the BONES nose. Like Spike has.

[Jeikobu]

Studio Ghibli has a very distinctive look and style. Especially the faces. I think I could definitely catch that.

[starwarsboy90]

same here, Jeikobu

[Kami]

Usually you can tell whether the series is going to be Violent/gorey or hilarious/sweet depending on which studio. For example, Studio DEEN[ Or geneon who licensed it ] has done some hilarious work like Kyou Kara Maou!, like Kokoro Daisuke-san said, while others like Pioneer tend to go into the darker series' like X/1999 and Hellsing. I'm not saying everything they do is like that, it just tends to roll that way to me.

- Kami

[Debitt]

wewt! A fellow KKM and MaLoki fan! Love your avatar!

[Splitter 2.0]

Xebec is fairly easy to tell.... just look for all the characters to have very big eyes ^_^

Another easy one is GONZO..... look for bad overusage of CGI.

BONES usually has somewhat heavy outlines around their characters

[Kami]

^^ Thanks. He's adorable isn't he =^_^= ?

-Kami

[aule1701]

i think gonzo is the best and one of the most reconized
JCstaff
and aniplex also do great jobs as does Ig but they donot have a suyle that you ca say that that studio
Gonzo does with th CGI and great cell and lighting

[mechana2015]

I can tell them apart on color mostly.

[majestic_21]

Usually I can tell if the animation is more "fluid" than the other show. It's hard to actually notice anything unless you watch so much anime that you can start distiguishing the different studios. Gonzo and Production IG are very similiar in CGI and cel animation, but one will notice that Gonzo sticks to the traditional "choppiness" of the CGI whereas Production IG tends to use "smoother" computer animation. It's all a matter of paying attention to the movement of the animation while knowing the guys that animated it.