MAPPA (Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association) is a Tokyo studio founded in 2011 by Masao Maruyama, formerly of Madhouse. Since the mid-2010s it has produced an unusually high concentration of high-profile titles — Attack on Titan final seasons, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Vinland Saga, Yuri!!! on Ice — and is currently one of the most commercially central studios in the industry.
Founding
Maruyama founded MAPPA at 70 years old after a career at Mushi Production and Madhouse, where he had been a producer since the early 1970s. The new studio's early output was modest; commercial breakthrough came around 2016 with Yuri!!! on Ice.
Production load and workplace concerns
MAPPA has accepted multiple major productions simultaneously since the late 2010s. Public statements from animators working on the studio's Attack on Titan and Chainsaw Man productions have repeatedly described punishing schedules; the industry-wide problem of animator pay and working hours is acute at MAPPA in part because of the prestige of its current slate. The studio has not publicly committed to changes in its production model.
Selected works
- Yuri!!! on Ice (2016), In This Corner of the World (2016, feature).
- Kakegurui (2017), Banana Fish (2018), Dororo (2019).
- Jujutsu Kaisen (2020, ongoing).
- Attack on Titan: The Final Season (2020–2023).
- Vinland Saga (Season 2, 2023).
- Chainsaw Man (2022, with film continuation announced).