#14: AIC
AIC created dozens of science fiction titles during the 80s and the 90s, and it differs from Sunrise, which also made mostly sci-fi, in how almost everything were OVAs instead of series. This meant beautiful animation, and uncensored over the top gore and nudity. I remember my younger self loving everything these guys were making because of that, but the older me realizes it was just sensationalism. If you shut off your brain, many of them are plain awesome in terms of hand-drawn animation. But critically-wise, these OVAs were full of interesting ideas that were handled as action schlock.
1986: Gall Force
1987: Dangaioh
1991: Detonator Orgun
1992: Bastard!!
They eventually moved to making tv series after the economic crisis of the 90s, since the OVAs were simply not making money anymore. Television became the new advertisement for bringing in cash, not random VHS trailers. This is where they had a huge dip in quality, since they moved from making a couple of OVAs to making 24 episode series… with the same budget. The difference is huge; they look badly drawn and animated, with most of the entertainment factor gone because gore and nudity weren’t allowed on mainstream television in such volumes. The funniest part is how many of their series are alternative versions of the OVAs, so it’s like you are first watching the short fun version, and then you move to the long dull version.
1995: El Hazard: The Wanderers
1997: Tenchi in Tokyo, Battle Athletes Victory, Vampire Princess Miyu, Burn Up Excess
1998: Record of Lodoss War, Bubblegum Crisis
1999: AD Police
Not all their series are bad though; Blue Gender (1999) is a very good dystopian survival / horror. Legend of Black Heaven (1999) is fun as a coming of age comedy with a sci-fi overcoat. The tv version of Ah My Goddess (2005) was lovely looking despite being yet another plotless harem. For a videogame adaptation, Persona 4 (2011) is amongst the best. Now and Then, Here and There (1999) is also a series that was very cherished in the pre-Elfen Lied era, since victimizing innocent children translated in the minds of tasteless casuals as depth and maturity. Needless to say, it’s the spawn of satan and everyone must hate it.
All of them pale in comparison to Space Battleship Yamato (2012), easily the best remake of a cult classic and a pretty damn fun space opera. The reason it came out so good is because it is an OVA series, combining the quality of the former, and the duration of the latter. Plus it’s about space.
With only two worthy titles, AIC doesn’t pass the Sturgeon test. It wasted most of its resources on subpar titles.
#15: Mappa
And now moving to the disappointment that is Mappa. Three years ago they were promising as a new studio, but eventually proved to be focusing only on pretty colors than telling good stories. Kids on the Slope was their first work. Everybody loved it because it was directed by Watanabe and wasn’t taking place in the present, although neither of that made it any different than any other school romance nonsense. Proof of which is how nobody remembers what the show is about by now; they just remember the premise and who was directing it.
Same case with their second work, Terror in Resonance. Hey, the premise of terrorism sounds amazing and it’s directed by Watanabe, so I guess that is enough for 90% of the anime community to label it a masterpiece, even though the writing is shit. But who cares if the colors are pretty, right?
The third work was Rage of Bahamut, which I really liked for awhile and had high hopes for the sequel. In retrospect, the writing was shit again and had nothing but pretty colors to keep you going. I mean, for a show based on a sleazy storyless cell phone game, it is superb and a worthy epic fantasy anime. It just doesn’t have much to offer beyond a hollow spectacle.
The fourth work is Garo, a decent dark action fantasy. Its atmosphere and highlights are great but suffers from a very loose plot and is mostly episodic. I liked the first one, but following seasons are not as good, so it’s another case of watching it for the hollow action scenes than for a good plot.
And it keeps going like this in every other show they made. The best thing about Mappa shows is the variety in genres. They don’t limit themselves by rehashing the same stuff over and over again, so at least you will be getting something completely different every time. Unfortunately, none of them is going to get any prizes for the writing.
Ushio and Tora: generic fighting shonen
Days: generic sport
In This Corner of the World: generic slice of life
Idol Incidents: generic idol show
Yuuri on Ice: generic gayshit
Altair: A Record of Battles: generic epic fantasy
They are also not without their share of throwaway titles, which always manage to attract some attention at first for their high production values, and magically inflict high doses of overthinking. Eventually the illusion breaks and everyone realizes these series are nothing but pretty colors with awful storytelling and pretentious themes.
Punch Line: softporn crap for basement dwellers
Kakegurui: horny sluts
Inuyashiki Last Hero: edgelord nonsense
Mappa is basically another Bones. They don’t care about the narrative and waste all the resources on making stuff look nice. But unlike Bones which despite its problems still has a few worthy titles, Mappa has none. Even their strongest anime are okay at best. And for that reason, they are a complete failure of a studio.
