Production I. G. has been animating and producing anime since 1987. That’s more than 3 decades in the anime business. They have given us so many masterpieces over these 3 decades. Even if they did not animate it themselves, they have produced a lot of anime. They have 3rd most entries on MyAnimeList after Toei Animation and Sunrise at 404 entries. Of course, the number includes both anime made and animated by them.
For the sake of this list, we are only counting anime animated by Production I. G. and not the ones produced by them. Do not worry, they have animated a lot of anime and quite a few of them are really good. So let’s get started by the list
Easily one of the best and most popular sports anime, Haikyuu follows the team of Karasuno high school reclaiming the lost reputation of their once-great high school. While the animations aren’t that great, the overall production is just amazing. The soundtracks and the openings are really good.
The anime really capitalizes on the hype factor and believe me when I say this: hype never dies in Haikyuu. It just keeps getting better and better. Even minor matches are so hyped and do not feel like filler at all. If you’re into volleyball, you will start playing volleyball after watching Haikyuu just because the anime really does a good job of making the game look very very cool.
The most recent entry on the list and deserves to be here. Yuukoku no Moriarty or Moriarty the Patriot presents a new take on Sherlock Homes instead of being from Sherlock’s or Watson’s perspective, it is from Moriarty’s perspective. Unlike the actual novel, there isn’t a single James Moriarty but James Moriarty refers to 3 brothers who are using crime as a way to improve their country.
If I were to give a comparison, it really feels similar to death note at times without losing the feel of the era it set in. the animations are fairly decent and even if you’re a guy, you will start simping for Will the moment you see his glowing red eyes in close up. Literally, the best part of the episode when Will is giving a speech and the camera zooms in on his eyes. This anime’s take on Sherlock Holmes is truly unique. Season 2 is still airing so don’t waste any more time and watch it now!
So you may ask “why is a masterpiece like Psycho-Pass on number 3?” Because number 1 and 2 are just too damn good. Putting that aside, Psycho-Pass (specifically season 1) is easily one of the best detective anime of all time. Since the world of Psycho-Pass is very different from ours, the methods of investigation vary as well.
The anime really creates a strange feeling that despite being so different, it feels so similar to our world. Urobuchi really nailed everything in Psycho-Pass. Good world-building, good plot, charismatic villain, and the list keeps ongoing. Even after 3-4 rewatches, the first season is as good as the first time I watched it. Psycho-Pass is one of the anime that gets better with rewatches because of all the details they put in the anime.
Oh my god, how tough it was to decide which anime to put on the first place between this and the next one. It’s still a tie between this and the next one for me though. Ghost in the Shell is easily one of the most famous anime movies despite being really old. It’s famous to the point that it got a Hollywood adaptation with Scarlett Johansson in it! Although the Hollywood movie was well….umm…let’s just say it wasn’t as good as the anime.
Ghost in the Shell is one of the best sci-fi anime of all time. It’s kinda like Psycho-Pass but much more advanced and on a bigger scale. The story is actually pretty damn dark and it’s very interesting. I am not sure how to put it exactly but, you should give this old movie a try. I promise you I will be worth your time. It’s really very good.
Of course, this is here. Arguably the best work Production I. G. has ever done. Even when they were running out of money near the end of the series, they used the degrading animation quality as a plot device! They used the degrading quality to describe Shinji’s thoughts! What a genius idea.
I don’t think any anime has ever done that since. No matter how much I praise Evangelion, it will not be enough. The animation, the soundtrack, the opening, and that story! Holy hell Evangelion is just too good. I still remember the first time I watched Evangelion, I thought it was another cliché mecha anime but it changed to a complete psychological anime post episode 14.
Oddly, I came out of Evangelion confused and depressed, it was a really strange feeling. I haven’t felt like that with any other anime. Like Evangelion wasn’t enough for the author, he gave us another masterpiece in the form of End of Evangelion. The series is just amazing. Go watch it now; it’s just a 24-25 episode anime and a movie.
Those are my picks for the top 5 anime by Production I. G. let me know down in the comments what you thought of my picks and let me know if there are other anime you would have put on this list. As usual, stay tuned for more articles, and do not forget to check our awesome art section. With that being said, I will take my leave here. See ya!
