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MAPPA Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社MAPPA, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha MAPPA) is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo.^[2] Founded in 2011 at Suginami, Tokyo by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime television series including Terror in Resonance, Yuri!!! on Ice, Kakegurui, Banana Fish, Zombie Land Saga, Dororo (with Tezuka Productions), Dorohedoro, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan (season 4), Vinland Saga (season 2), Chainsaw Man, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, and Ranma ½ (2024). MAPPA is an acronym for Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association.^[3]^[4]

^ "COMPANY". MAPPA (in Japanese). Retrieved April 26, 2023.
^ "Relocation Of Tokyo Head Office". MAPPA (in Japanese). October 1, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
^ "Otakon 2014 Guests". Otakon. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
^ "Cowboy Bebop Helmer Shinichiro Watanabe, MAPPA Plan New TV Anime". Anime News Network. October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2014.

Business

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History

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The studio was established on June 14, 2011, by Masao Maruyama, a co-founder and former producer of Madhouse, at the age of 70.^[1] Maruyama served as the company's first representative director, and the studio's initial goal was to produce Sunao Katabuchi's In This Corner of the World. Due to financial difficulties at Madhouse, Maruyama and Katabuchi established MAPPA in the hopes of producing the film; however, despite moving studios, the film had a lot of production troubles, and wasn't released until 5 years later.^[2] Maruyama first started working with Katabuchi for the film in 2010 during Madhouse era, but it took three years to start the production due to difficulties to raising funds.^[3]

In April 2016, Maruyama resigned as a CEO of the studio and became a chairman, withdrawing his management position and going on to establish Studio M2 to create Pluto (Japanese TV series). Leaving the studio in hands of animation producer Manabu Otsuka, a founding member of MAPPA and a former employee of Studio 4°C, who became the CEO following Maruyama's official departure.

In September 2019, Director Sunao Katabuchi established Animation Studio Contrail to produce his next work. While Otsuka serving as the representative director for the same.^[4]

In February 2026, It was announced that Contrail will cease to exist as an separate legal entity and will be acquired by MAPPA.^[5] To add, Director Katabuchi said that its just a management shift and they still will be producing under the Contrail name.^[6]

^ "About". www.mappa.co.jp (in Japanese). MAPPA. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
^ "アニメプロデューサー丸山正雄氏 MAPPA設立を語る". アニメ!アニメ!ビズ. September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "ドロヘドロ、ゾンビランドサガ…アニメスタジオ・MAPPA、ヒット作の裏にある"手のかかること"をやる精神【インタビュー】". アニメ！アニメ！. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
^ "「この世界の片隅に」片渕須直監督、次回作に向けたスタジオ設立！". animeanime. December 23, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
^ "「アニメスタジオのMAPPAがコントレールを吸収合併　MAPPAが権利義務を引き継ぎコントレールは解散へ". gamebiz. February 25, 2026. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
^ 片渕須直 [@katabuchi_sunao] (February 25, 2026). "経営は統合されて独立した会社ではなくなりますが、解散はしません。スタジオ・コントレール名義は残ります。" (Tweet). Retrieved February 26, 2026 – via Twitter.

Production system

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In addition to the head office in Nakano, a studio in Sendai was established in April of 2018 specializing in in-betweening and finishing and a studio in Osaka in March of 2022 that specializes in 3DCGI, To decentralize the excessive concentration of animation production in Tokyo and to bring opportunities for the graduates of the local vocational schools in their own respective region, instead of them having to move to Tokyo.^[1]

Tokyo Studio

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The Tokyo studio consists of production department, CGI department, directing department, animation department, rights division, planning and development department.^[2]

Currently, other than every animation related project being primarily handled here, The head office also houses The Rights department which is responsible for copyright, illustrations, merchandises, coordination of events and advertisement of related intellectual property(s). To expand in this area in April 2025, a record label "mappa records" was started Kensuke Ushio's OST for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc being the first publication under that label ^[3]

Sendai Studio

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Opened on April 2018, it was established to build a more stable production base, and to increase the percentage of in-house production, is mainly responsible for the processes of in-between animation and digital painting. There are future plans to establish a CGI section for 3DCG, compositing, and backgrounds.

Osaka Studio

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Opened in 2023, in the center of Osaka city acts as a satellite office of the CGI Department. This studio is primarily staffed by the 3DCG section artists. The studio has future plans to establish other departments such as the CGI Department's background art section, the Animation Department, and the Production Department, with the aim of creating a functional production equivalent to that of Tokyo.

^ "Animation production from sendai". sendai city.
^ "The Company". mappa.co.jp.
^ "Mappa records". mappa.co.jp.

Controversies

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The studio's scheduling, work, and culture have been the subject of scrutiny by industry creators and critics.^[1] Veteran animator Hisashi Eguchi criticized the studio's low pay.^[2] Mushiyo, another animator at MAPPA, also criticized the company for not properly training its animators and the studio's culture of overwork, which led to them eventually quitting their job at the studio.^[3] Besides the animator's individual output within the studio, they also criticized the company's decision to produce four series concurrently.^[3] Kevin Cirugeda from Sakugablog suggested the problems were due to the studio's incredibly fast-paced growth and "recklessness".^[4]

MAPPA denied offering "unreasonable compensation" to "creators" in a response to claims that the studio underpaid workers;^[5] however, animator Ippei Ichii claimed that an anime produced by MAPPA under Netflix was suggesting a pay of ¥3,800 per cut,^[5] to which Ichii claimed that ¥15,000 is the minimum cost that animators should negotiate for.^[5]

^ Liborek (September 19, 2017). "WHAT'S UP WITH MAPPA?". Sakugablog. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
^ Cirugeda, Kevin (January 3, 2019). "WINTER 2019 ANIME PREVIEW". Sakugablog. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Loveridge, Lynzee (May 15, 2021). "Former MAPPA Animator Describes Working Conditions as Like a 'Factory'". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^ Cirugeda, Kevin (June 2, 2020). "ATTACK ON TITAN THE FINAL SEASON AND STUDIO MAPPA: FATED TO END TOGETHER". Sakugablog. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Loveridge, Lynzee (February 15, 2022). "Attack on Titan The Final Season Episode Director Goes Home for the First Time in 3 Days". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 16, 2022.

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