15 MAPPA Anime That Will Turn You into Their Stan

2. Jujutsu Kaisen

Idly indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club, high schooler Yuuji Itadori spends his days at either the clubroom or the hospital, where he visits his bedridden grandfather. However, this leisurely lifestyle soon takes a turn for the strange when he unknowingly encounters a cursed item.

Triggering a chain of supernatural occurrences, Yuuji finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of Curses—dreadful beings formed from human malice and negativity—after swallowing the said item, revealed to be a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the “King of Curses.”

Yuuji experiences first-hand the threat these Curses pose to society as he discovers his own newfound powers. Introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to walk down a path from which he cannot return—the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer.

• Director Seong-Hu Park and his incredibly talented team of animators make bursts of exciting, visually active battle scenes when showing off the characters and their various powers
• The soundtracks are clean and well-composed. The songs became world famous being used in every form of social media
• The characters all carry interesting storylines and are dynamic for your viewing pleasure

3. Attack On Titan: Final Season

Gabi Braun and Falco Grice have been training their entire lives to inherit one of the seven Titans under Marley’s control and aid their nation in eradicating the Eldians on Paradis. However, just as all seems well for the two cadets, their peace is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Eren Yeager and the remaining members of the Survey Corps.

Having finally reached the Yeager family basement and learned about the dark history surrounding the Titans, the Survey Corps has at long last found the answer they so desperately fought to uncover. With the truth now in their hands, the group set out for the world beyond the walls.

In Attack on Titan: The Final Season, two utterly different worlds collide as each party pursues its own agenda in the long-awaited conclusion to Paradis’ fight for freedom.

• Despite the short schedule MAPPA was given to animate this, they did a phenomenal job at incorporating the CGI with their already amazing Animation production
• Just like in previous seasons, the soundtracks were crisp this time again. The OP and ED are executed with such skill
• Attack on Titan uses a lot of explicit themes in the story to give it the acclamation it has, like revenge, hate, dystopia, but one of the more implicit themes to be shared is the influence

4. Sarazanmai

One day, Kazuki, Tooi, and Enta encounter a mysterious kappa-shaped life form, Keppi. The life form, mistaking them for frogs, becomes enraged and pulls out the three’s buttock balls. The three are then transformed into kappas.

In order to return to their original form, the three must follow Keppi’s instructions and search for the “Zombie Butterballs”. They become Kappa through “Sarazammai” and collect the Zombie Butterballs while fighting the Kappa Zombies. However, when they perform the “Sarazammai”, the secret that the person is hiding becomes known to the members who performed the ritual.

• The concept is both complex and challenging to understand but at the same time, it’s straightforward and essentially Persona 5 but with anal
• The characters are unpredictable, and their “embarrassing secrets” just add to their 4-dimensional personalities! They all start off simplistic but even after one episode, they are built into mentally complex and peculiar people
• The art and animation are phenomenal and peppered with deep metaphors within every frame underneath a layer of simplicity making it a pleasure to watch for viewers

5. Zombieland Saga

Sakura Minamoto dreams of becoming an idol. Unfortunately, reality hits her like a truck, and she dies in a sudden traffic accident.

Ten years later, she wakes up in Saga Prefecture, only to find herself a zombie with no memory of her past. While still coming to terms with her demise, she meets a man named Koutarou Tatsumi, who explains that he has resurrected her and six other zombie girls from different eras for the purpose of economically revitalizing Saga by means of an idol group. Assuming the role of an abrasive manager, Koutarou begins scheduling events; the girls go along with it, eventually deciding to name their idol group Franchouchou.

An absurdly comedic take on the idol genre, Zombieland Saga tells the story of Franchouchou’s heartwarming struggle to save Saga Prefecture while hiding their zombie identities and rediscovering their past lives.

• Beautiful mesh of CGI and crisp animation/art
• Our veteran Anime character “Truck-Kun” makes an appearance
• Cute girls + heavy metal rock music + THE LEGENDARY TAE YAMADA + a chicly dressed manager, who emanates awesomeness + LOUD YELLING = MASTERPIECE!!!!

6. Banana Fish

Aslan Jade Callenreese, known as Ash Lynx, was a runaway picked off the streets of New York City and raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine. Now 17 years old and the boss of his own gang, Ash begins investigating the mysterious “Banana Fish”—the same two words his older brother, Griffin, has muttered since his return from the Iraq War. However, his inquiries are hindered when Dino sends his men after Ash at an underground bar he uses as a hideout.

At the bar, Skip, Ash’s friend, introduces him to Shunichi Ibe and his assistant, Eiji Okumura, who are Japanese photographers reporting on American street gangs. However, their conversation is interrupted when Shorter Wong, one of Ash’s allies, calls to warn him about Dino. Soon, Dino’s men storm the bar, and in the ensuing chaos kidnap Skip and Eiji. Now, Ash must find a way to rescue them and continue his investigation into Banana Fish, but will his history with the mafia prevent him from succeeding

• Not very often do we get an anime based around gangsters and heavy crime-affiliated subplots, so it’s a treat to those of a more mature audience
• Banana Fish‘s cinematography remains very strong throughout its entire run
• The contrasting natures of the two main characters are enthralling. Ash being the stubborn and intelligent gang leader with a dark history, and Eiji a softer character just starting to regain his lost courage

7. Yuri!!! on Ice

Figure skater Yuri Katsuki was having a hard time improving. When he returns to his hometown and skates a program to refresh his mind, the video footage of his performance is leaked on the internet. The footage also catches the eye of Victor Nikiforov, one of the world’s top skaters.

After seeing Yuri’s performance, Viktor came to Japan and announced that he would be his coach. Yuri Plisetsky, who had promised to get a program from Viktor, arrives. The battle between the two “Yuri’s” for Viktor is about to begin.

• The soundtrack of Yuri on ice is great. It features a wild array of instruments, music genres
• LGTBQIA2S+ Friendly
• The characters in Yuri on Ice may seem like cookie-cutter models at first, but as the story unfolds you learn more and more about their personalities and motivations, and (cliche though it sounds) they really will surprise you

8. Terror in Resonance

Painted in red, the word “VON” is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down on the perpetrators.

The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as “Sphinx” directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all.

Terror in Resonance tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth.

• There are many still-life scenes in Terror in Resonance, and each one perfectly captures the essence of Tokyo
• The character design also mirrors the art style: realistic enough to provide a sense of severity, yet different enough to give the show an underlying artistic element
• By incorporating fancy pieces of technology like Twitter, YouTube, and virtual currency as well, it makes the viewers think about the fragility of our current reality

9. Takt Op. Destiny

The United States of America has been in chaos ever since the emergence of D2s, an invasive species originating from a black meteorite that fell to Earth. A public decree banned citizens from playing any melodies, to prevent further casualties caused by the D2s’ hatred for music—even now, in 2047, this prohibition is still in effect. Humanity’s only form of defense against the D2s are Musicarts, young women representing pieces of classical music; and Conductors, the ones controlling them.

Takt Asahina, an aloof piano prodigy, finds himself transformed into a Conductor following a spontaneous D2 attack. The same incident kills Anna Schneider’s younger sister, Cosette, and brings Takt into contact with his Musicart, Destiny. Searching for a means of stabilizing the pact between themselves, Takt and Destiny—alongside Anna—embark on a perilous journey to the Symphonica Headquarters in New York City.

Takt is in a hurry to reach the city so that he can play the piano again, even though his passion attracts the creatures he has come to despise. Meanwhile, Destiny’s sense of duty drags the group into trouble along the way. With a D2-infested path and many more arduous obstacles ahead of them, will the trio make it to New York City in one piece?

• MAPPA and Madhouse did a great job in the art for the anime. It was flawless. From the action scenes to normal chit-chats everything was stunning. The character designs were also amazing
• Takt Op. Destiny feels more adult-like with its characters. But also treating them like such. Even if they may seem a little too cold in some cases, it’s their deeper backgrounds, that really set the scene
• The music for this anime was well executed, and the time and craftsmanship helped bring the melodies to life in each scene

10. Yasuke

Yasuke is based on real-life samurai Yasuke of African origin who served as a retainer under Nobunaga Oda and is believed to be the first African that Nobunaga had ever seen. Yasuke arrived in 1579 in Japan, in service as the bodyguard of Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano during the Nanban trade.

When Nobunaga first saw him, he thought he was inked and ordered to strip him from the waist up and scrub him. Realizing his skin was indeed black, Nobunaga took an interest in Yasuke and liked to talk with him.

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.

• Based on a real-life Samurai whose origins are of African descent
• A sci-fi twist in the original historical anomaly
• Animations are fluid and the bright art styles are a treat to the viewer’s eyes