Studio Review: Ufotable

Studios are a key par of the anime industry. The studio is the entity that hires the employees (animators, voice actors, etc.) and acquires the rights of the manga they're making the adaptation of. Studios are associated with a certain style of animation. That's why there's certain always pressure under some studios of making a good adaptation, since if it's not the case, it WILL have repercussions on the studio's reputation.

Today, I'm talking about a studio that stayed in the shadows for a long time, but now is one of the most popular ones. It's not any other than Ufotable. A studio that started with just 3 guys drawing and buying a table that had a UFO form, to one of the most prestigious studios out there.

Fate/Zero

The first masterpiece that the studio created was Fate/Zero, in 2012. An adaptation of visual novel very popular in Japan. This series, made up of 24 episodes, had astonishing animation. Ufotable is one of the few studios whose animators are actually well-paid. Today, it's one of the top 70 most popular anime series ever. It's also available to watch on Netflix.

Fate/Stay Night

After Fate/Zero, it's sequel, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, which came out 2 years later, also had astonishing animation and lived up to the expectations of the Fate/Zero fans. So is that, that it was called by some "Unlimited Budget Works". The soundtrack was also top-tier, with japanese singer Aimer singing one of her most famous songs "Brave Shine" for the opening theme, according to many fans, the best anime opening ever. Link to one of her songs below!

Demon Slayer

But, over all of the studio's masterpieces, the one that stands out the most is, undoubtely, "Demon Slayer". An adaptation of the manga that goes by the same name, which stayed at the top 10 mangas in japan's shonen jump magazine (one of, if not, the most popular in japan), that after his release, in 2019, skyrocketed in popularity to become the first anime series in voer 20 years to surpass One Piece as the most selled manga. 

The studio did another one of his regular works. Top-tier animation, soundtrack, story, voice acting, etc. Today, its the 13th most popular anime of all time, being extremely popular in japan, with personalities such as the prime minister himself, Fumio Kishida, accepting they love the series. The most recent sequel, the movie "Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The movie: Mugen train", which came out the last 2020 year, made history as being the most seen anime movie in theatres ever, and also the highest-grossing film of the year, surpassing movies such as Sonic the Hedgehog or Tenet, and being qualified as the 5th highest rated anime movie ever.

I think that's pretty much it. It'd be impossible to tell you about all the series Ufotable made, so I'm not putting all of them here. Clicking here you can listen to one of Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works' OSTs (or in the video below) and here to the demon slayer opening. 

Have a great day and stay tuned for more reviews and content!