Hello everyone! Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. I apologize for the delay. Work and updating the site have gotten in the way. There are still a few things on the site I have to fix but I think it’s coming along greatly and hope you all like it. With said we continue our look at Studio Bones. When we last left off Bones, they had established themselves as reliable studio that could make good and great anime. While the first half of the studio’s life gave us great animes such FMA: Brotherhood, Ouran High Host Club, Eureka Seven, and Wolf ‘s Rain. The studio would really make their mark in the second half of their life. Let’s continue our rewatch.
Busy Bones
2014 would go on to be the studio’s busiest year up to that point as the studio would go on to make 6 animes that year. They started the year off strong with Space Dandy. A Watanabe anime that follows the comedic adventures of an alien hunter named Dandy and his crew. The anime became infamous as it was one of the first animes to be simulcast in America and Japan. In fact, America got to see the episodes before Japan did. It was also one of the first animes to split its season into courses. Instead airing all 24 episodes back to back, it would air the first 12 episodes in one season, take a season off to polish the remaining episodes, and then air them later as the second course. Masahiko in particular was excited to get to work with Watanabe again which is something he wanted to do from the start but held off doing because he knew it would bankrupt the studio if he did. Yep, in an alternate timeline, Bones could have been the ones to produce Samurai Champloo. Anyway, Space Dandy was a good and funny show. It references other sci-fi characters, had good themes, music, and spectacular animation with a good dub to boot. You can read my full thoughts on the anime here. But their adventures in space weren’t done yet as Bones would make Captain Earth, an original anime that follows the story of a young boy named Daichi who pilots a mech to protect Earth from immortal aliens trying to conquer us. Despite it’s pacing issues, the anime was received well by fans who praised it for it’s animation and compared it to Eureka Seven and Star Driver. So if you like those animes I’m sure you’ll like this anime. Bones would introduce audiences to Noragami, an underrated series in my opinion. The story follows a forgotten god trying to make a name for himself in the world. The anime would combine comedy, action, and drama to give us a compelling story with likable characters and introduce new ideas about the spiritual realm. Such as gods dying and being reincarnated as long as people know who they are and believe in them. That strangely makes sense. The anime was a hit and would return in 2015 for a second season that expanded on the story and ended on a cliffhanger. Shockingly, they never made a third season and with the manga finished, I hope to see Bones return to this series down the line. You can read my full thoughts here on both seasons. They would also give us Soul Eater Not, a spinoff/prequel of Soul Eater which focuses on a trio of girls in the Not class, a class that focuses on weapons trying to control their powers and meisters looking for a partner. Not as good as the original and forgetful, but does explain where weapons come from. Finally, they would wrap up the year with Chaika: The Coffin Princess. Based off a manga under the same name, the story follows a verbally challenged girl named Chaika who is trying to find the body parts of her dad to give him a proper funeral. She hires to saboteurs named Toru and Akari to track the remaining parts down before the military gets them. I reviewed this anime in the past so click here to get my thoughts but overall I thought the anime was meh.
2015 would also be a busy year for the studio. Along with a second season of Noragami, they would also give us four new animes to watch. The first was a favorite of mine, Kekkai Sensen aka Blood Blockade Battlefront aka BBB. Based off a manga, New York City becomes a melting pot of monsters and humans trying to live together. We follow a young photographer named Leon who, through a series of events, inherits the All Seeing Eyes of Gods at the cost of his sister’s eyesight. Hoping to find a way to cure her, he journeys to the city and joins Libra a group composed of monsters and humans who fight to maintain peace in the city and stop it from blowing up. The series was fun and crazy with some impressive music and animation that still holds up today, and a great cast of lovable and cool characters. Just like Noragami, it got a second season 2017 and looking back it was actually better than the first season. The first season didn’t follow the manga and instead featured original stories that the author was okay with. The second season followed the manga more closely and focused on the characters and their day-to-day life. So while the first season has a continuous plot, the second season is more slice-of-life and focuses on the characters. In the end both seasons were a fun watch and you can get my full thoughts here on each season. Sadly, just like Noragami they haven’t continued the anime despite the positive reception, and I hope they or someone else brings it back. We also got Show My Rock, an anime based off a rhythm mobile game. Didn’t really care for it, but apparently it gained a fandom as it would go on to have 4 seasons and a short focusing on multiple characters and stories from the game. They would take a break from action anime and give us some romance in the form of Snow White with the Red Hair. An almost old school Disney inspired anime that follows a young girl named Shirayuki who becomes a royal herbalist and falls in love with the prince. It was one of the few romance animes I really enjoyed and features my favorite anime waifu, Shirayuki. Seriously, if she was real, I would marry her. Click here to read my reviews on this anime. They would wrap up the year with Concrete Revolutio, an original anime that’s similar to the M.I.B movies (ever seen Casablanca? Same thing except no Nazis). Aliens and magical beings live amongst humans and a secret organization monitors these beings and eliminates any threats they pose. The anime would go on to have 2 seasons but never really gained any attention. While it had a unique look, it’s storytelling and narrative left fans divided. I watched the first episode and didn’t really get into it. 2014 and 2015 were busy years but they were good and 2016 would be the studio’s biggest year yet.
The My Hero Era
2016 was another busy year for the studio. Along with a second season of Concrete Revolutio they would also give us a second season of Snow White with the Red Hair. They would then go on to give us two animes that would define them in the coming years. The first was Bungou Stray Dogs, a unique anime focusing on an organization that protects their city from a rival gang. What made the series unique was that all the characters are named after famous Japanese authors and have powers or personalities based off their work. It currently has five seasons and Mira along with Shizuku reviewed a couple of them so check out their reviews here if you’re interested in hearing their thoughts. The second was Mob Psycho 100. From the man who gave us One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 follows the story of a boy named Mob with psychic powers, which he uses to fight spirits and grow as a person. The anime became a hit with Mob becoming one of the most beloved MCs in the last decade thanks to his growth and character development. The anime would get a second season and conclude with a third season in 2022. I should probably get around to reviewing that third season, but feel free to hear my thoughts on the first two seasons here. Finally, Bones would deliver the series that pulled them from a good studio to a great studio: My Hero Academia. I spent the whole summer with Shizuku talking about this anime so read my thoughts here, but I’ll give you the short version of this series. In a world full of quirks, 80% of the world has superpowers while 20% are born powerless. Izuku, a quirkless boy dreams of one day becoming a hero. His life changes when he meets All Might, the world’s number one hero who makes Izuku his successor and passes his quirk to him. The story follows Izuku and his classmates of young heroes studying to master their quirks and combat the forces of evil in their world. While the first season started off slow, My Hero Academia would quickly go on to become a global it with its following seasons. With Marvel and Disney riding high with their cinematic universe, My Hero Academia became one of the biggest animes in the world. While Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen would become more popular, My Hero Academia was the one that became consistent on a year-to-year basis and saw its popularity rise with each season until its finale in 2026. My Hero Academia has now become the standard of animanga adaptations. It was a decade-long commitment that included OVAs, specials, and movies but Bones showed they were up for the task and delivered a great series that showed everyone they deserved to be in the same conversation as MAPPA and ufotable for best animation studio in Japan.
Spare Bones
While My Hero Academia may have been the main focus of Bones for the next decade, they had enough people to spare to work on other projects in the years to come. Kekkai Sensen would return in 2017 and in 2018 they would show an original anime called Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan. The story focuses on a girl named Hisone, a rookie JASDF (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) officer when she discovers the concealed Organic Transformed Flyer, or dragon inside the base she’s stationed at. The dragon named Masotan chooses her to be her pilot and joins up with other pilots to go on missions. The series only got popular in Japan and went unnoticed everywhere else. Mob Psycho 100 and Bungo Stray Dogs would return in 2019 along with another Watanabe anime called Carole and Tuesday. A wholesome story that serves as a prequel to Cowboy Bebop and takes place on Mars, where two girls follow their dream to become artists. Like I said a wholesome anime with great music and characters. The fact that it was on Netflix showed everyone how popular the platform was becoming and became an alternative for people not wanting to support Crunchyroll. You can read my full thoughts on the anime here. In 2021 they gave us SK8 the Infinity, a series that focuses on underground skating. A surprisingly enjoyable anime despite a few cliches. Read my thoughts here. A second season is reportedly in the works, so here’s hoping we see it soon. We also got Godzilla Singular Point, a very meh anime in the Godzilla fandom that tries something new. The final anime that year was The Case Study of Vanitas. From the author of Pandora Hearts comes a vampire story taking place in a 19th century steampunk France. Vanitas, a boy claiming to be a vampire doctor meets Noe a vampire and cures her of her predatory tendencies. The two join forces to heal vampires so that they can live in peace with humans. I didn’t watch the series but apparently it was considered one of the best animes of 2021. So if you like vampires give this anime a watch.
2022 would see the return of Mob Psycho 100 for its final season and 2023 saw Bungo Stray Dogs return with two seasons. In 2024 Bones would return to their mecha roots with Metallic Rouge a series that follows a robot and her human partner hunting down other robots who want to destroy humans. Didn’t watch it and didn’t hear a lot of people talking about it. We also got The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies which follows the story of an evil lieutenant named Byakuya who falls in love with Mira, a magical girl who was sent to defeat his organization. This was another series I didn’t watch and heard nobody talk about it. In 2025 as My Hero Academia was gearing up for its finale, Bones would adapt the spinoff Vigilantes. An interesting series that shined a spotlight on different people and explored a part of the hero society they didn’t touch on in the main series. A second season came out in 2026 and it looks like a third season will be coming out in the future to wrap the series up. You can read my reviews on those two seasons as well. Bones would also adapt another Jump series that was on the rise in popularity, Gachiakuta, which follows the story of a boy named Rudo who lives in dystopian world that separates the rich from the poor. After he is falsely accused of murdering his foster father, he gets thrown into the Pit where the rich dump all their trash. Rudo vows to climb his way out of the Pit and get revenge on his accusers and partners up with other people in the Pit after discovering his unique power. The anime quickly became a hit and has helped the manga grow in popularity. A second season is reportedly in the works so I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Finally, in 2026, Bones would move into a post My Hero Academia era by giving us Marriagetoxin. This focuses on a man named Gero who is an assassin of the Poison Clan. His clan tells him to get married and produce an heir to the clan or they’ll force his sister to bear a child which he doesn’t want to happen. He heads out and meets Mei a cross-dressing swindler who agrees to help Gero in exchange for Gero not killing him. Gotta be honest, I didn’t hear about this anime until today so I don’t know anything about it. They also gave us Daemons of the Shadow Realm. From the author of Fullmetal Alchemist comes a new story involving daemons and the occult. The series focuses on two twins named Yuru and Asa who were separated at young age. Yuru grew up in a village that has cut itself off from the modern world while Asa grew up in the modern world. When Yuru’s village is attacked by Asa and the military he awakens twin daemons who pledge fealty to him and goes on a quest to avenge his village and confront his supposed sister. I gave this series a three episode watch and didn’t really get into it. But I hear a lot of people like it and are calling it one of the best animes this year. Clearly I’m missing something.
Conclusion
And that’s the history of Bones. From humble beginnings to powerhouse studio that has earned the right to be called one of the best studios out there. While My Hero Academia controlled the studio for the last decade, they didn’t fall into the same hole as Wit did with Attack on Titan. Bones had already established themselves as a solid studio by this point thanks to FMA: Brotherhood and other animes. My Hero Academia was just a big notch under their belt that showed everyone how great they were. Now that My Hero Academia is done it seems like the studio is in a good spot and will continue to move forward. They’ve already announced another season of Marriagetoxin coming out next and we can look forward to SK8 the Infinity and Gachiakuta coming in the near future as well. I’m still hoping to see their past animes like Noragami and Kekkai Sensen make a return down the line as well as Ouran High Host Club. In the end, Studio Bones has become one of my favorite studios over the years and I can’t wait to see what they do next. What are your thoughts on Studio Bones? What’s your favorite anime from them? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
