• Hideaki Anno — Co-founder for Studio Gainax before leaving to create Studio Khara; directed GunBuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, His and Her Circumstances, and, perhaps most famously, Neon Genesis Evangelion; friend and protege of Hayao Miyazaki
• Osamu Dezaki — First to use the Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame. Directed The Rose of Versailles, Tomorrow's Joe, the AIR and CLANNAD movies, the 90's anime version of Black Jack, Dear Brother and Mighty Orbots.
• Mamoru Hosoda — Director of several popular animated films, including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and Wolf Children.
• Hiroyuki Imaishi — Animator and director who is a former Gainax staff member and eventually became one of the founders of Studio TRIGGER. His work includes Dead Leaves, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Kill la Kill and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. He also directed the movie Promare. Known for his colorful, surreal, ultra-stylized visuals, hyper-kinetic animation style, and wacky sense of humor.
• Kunihiko Ikuhara — Anime director best known for Revolutionary Girl Utena and his work on The '90s Sailor Moon. He also directed Penguindrum and Sarazanmai.
• Noboru Ishiguro — Animator and director, has directed many influential Space Opera including Leiji Matsumoto's Space Battleship Yamato television series, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
• Atsuko Ishizuka — animator and storyboard artist. Also the director for series such as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, No Game No Life and A Place Further than the Universe.
• Yoshinori Kanada — Considered by many to have been the best Japanese key animator outside of TMS Entertainment^note though has worked with TMS on shows like Acrobunch and Visionaries, and was highly influential on many animators, especially the aforementioned Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masami Obari. He worked on many, many shows in his time, including AKIRA and Various Ghibli projects, certain stand-out episodes of various 70s mecha series (including Daitarn 3, Gaiking and Zambot 3), the wonderfully animated climax in the otherwise not particularly visually noteworthy Harmagedon, an outstanding sequence in the Galaxy Express 999 movie and the virtually plotless yet visually exciting and criminally underrated 80s OVA Birth, for which he was the animation director.
• Yoshiaki Kawajiri — One of the best directors of dark, gritty, flashy and sexy action movies, best known for Wicked City, Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, as well as classic Cyberpunk OAVs such as Cyber City Oedo 808 and Goku: Midnight Eye. Also worked in the X/1999 TV series.
• Shōji Kawamori — The director of the whole canonical Macross series as well as the mechanical designer for Cowboy Bebop, current executive director at Satelight
• Satoshi Kon — Director of Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and the TV series Paranoia Agent. His works frequently dealt with the concept of subjective reality. Died in 2010.
• Chiaki Konaka — Writer of series that range between supernatural horror (Devilman Lady, Hellsing, Shadow Star, Ghost Hound) and sci-fi thriller (The Big O, Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze). Best known, however, for his major role on Digimon Tamers.
• Yuu Kou — Director of Chrono Crusade, Loveless, Princess Tutu, Robby & Kerobby, and Umi Monogatari.
• Kazuya Kuroda — Character Designer of Master of Mosquiton '99, Vandread, the 2008 Spice and Wolf anime, the TV series adaptation of Princess Resurrection and adapted Tsukasa Kotobuki's designs for VS Knight Lamune & 40 FIRE and was the lead animation director for the show.
• Toshio Maeda — Writer of Urotsukidouji and as such one of the founders of the tentacle rape subgenre of hentai.
• Koichi Mashimo — Anime director best known for Noir, .hack//SIGN, and Madlax. Founder of studio Bee Train.
• Leiji Matsumoto — Known for his distinctive art style, the single continuity where most of his works are set, and the unique Anachronism Stew which features, among others, literal trains in SPACE. Passed away in 2023.
• Hayao Miyazaki — Co-founder of Studio Ghibli, one of the biggest names in not just anime, but the entirety of animation as well. A animator and director, his works include Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. One of his earliest directing jobs is The Castle of Cagliostro.
• Tadao Nagahama — Director of The Rose of Versailles, a Genre Turning Point for Shoujo manga, and also the director of the Robot Romance Trilogy.
• Masami Obari — Noted mecha animator and designer for productions like Dancougar, Gundam Build Fighters (and its sequel, Try), the Brave Series and The Transformers. Was also the director of Detonator Orgun, the Battle Arena Toshinden OVA and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture.
• Yukiyoshi Ohashi — Screenwriter for various anime, including Pokémon the Series, Wedding Peach and Cutey Honey F.
• Masahiko Ohta — Moe maestro who helmed such popular adaptations as YuruYuri, Himouto! Umaru-chan, and Gabriel DropOut. Known for his kinetic, colorful directing style.
• Mari Okada — known for screenwriting anime series (usually for P. A. Works) such as Fate/stay night, Vampire Knight, Toradora!, Black Butler, Gosick, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea, Kiznaiver and many others. She also directed the film Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. Known for often including complex character relationships (such as love dodecahedrons) in the series she writes for.
• Toshio Okada — Co-founder of Studio Gainax and director of Otaku no Video.
• Mamoru Oshii — Writer and director, known for his surreal, aesthetically breathtaking, intellectual style, and occasionally his offbeat humor. Signature works include Angel's Egg, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (along with several memorable episodes from the original anime), the Patlabor series and movies, and the two Ghost in the Shell movies.
• Katsuhiro Otomo — Mainly a manga creator, but he directed the movie adaptation of his most famous work, AKIRA, which was considered the breakthrough title for anime in the West.
• Rintaro — Freelance director although his most frequent employer is Madhouse (a studio he himself co-founded). Started as an in-between animator for the anime film Hakujaden in 1958, then Osamu Tezuka's Mushi production, working on Astro Boy. His films include Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999, Adieu Galaxy Express 999, Tezuka's Phoenix: Karma Chapter and the Metropolis (2001)''.
• Junichi Sato — A director who mainly works in fairytale-influenced Shoujo series, and director of some of the best Magical Girl series out there. His credits include the first two seasons of The '90s Sailor Moon (which he continued to write for and direct episodes of afterwards), Prétear, Princess Tutu, Aria, and Kaleido Star.
• Akiyuki Shinbo — Director of the vast majority of Studio Shaft's works since 2004, including Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, the Monogatari series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and March Comes in Like a Lion. Tends to include innumerable Shout Outs to just about everything, as well as some non-standard direction that has come to be recognized as his distinctive style.
• Makoto Shinkai — Director and animator known for directing the popular, record-breaking film Your Name. He also directed Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters per Second, Weathering with You and Suzume. His works are well known for their gratuitous Scenery Porn, and Voices was produced almost entirely as a solo project by Shinkai, showcasing the power that modern computer animation gave to artists.
• Takeshi Shudō: Head writer for the Pokémon anime from Kanto until Johto.
• Masashi Sogo — Screenwriter for various anime, including Pokémon the Series, Hunter × Hunter, Bleach, and Fairy Tail.
• Natsuko Takahashi — Screenwriter for various anime, including Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, Tokyo Mew Mew, Sugar Sugar Rune, Twin Princess of Wonder Planet, Cutey Honey Universe and Chrono Crusade.
• Isao Takahata — Co-founder of Studio Ghibli and famed anime film director. Known for the sad tale of Grave of the Fireflies. Like his colleague, Miyazaki, he worked on anime for a long time; his directorial debut was Toei's Horus: Prince of the Sun in 1968. Passed away in 2018.
• Junki Takegami — Screenwriter for various anime, including Pokémon the Series, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and One Piece.
• Osamu Tezuka — Manga no kami-sama, "the God of Manga," responsible for anime and manga as we know them today.
• Izumi Todo: Creator of Ojamajo Doremi, and the massive cash cow known as Pretty Cure. The name is actually a pseudonym for the Toei animation staff.
• Yoshiyuki Tomino — Worked from the beginning on storyboards for Tetsuwan Atom. Highly influential in creating the Real Robot genre with his series Mobile Suit Gundam, and its many sequels and Spin Offs. One of the foremost popularizers of Everybody Dies Endings in anime; so much so, many online communities have made "Kill 'Em All" his official nickname.
• Atsuhiro Tomioka — Scriptwriter for various anime, including Chrono Crusade, Pokémon the Series, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, and Ace Attorney (2016).
• Kazuya Tsurumaki — Anime director best known for FLCL; protege of Hideaki Anno
• Gen Urobuchi — Scenarist and screenwriter, very famous for his Darker and Edgier works, formerly working with nitro+ on such Visual Novel projects as The Song of Saya. His favorite tropes include Break the Cutie, Crapsack World, Through the Eyes of Madness, and Downer Ending (or if you feel lucky, Bittersweet Ending). Made famous after his work on Puella Magi Madoka Magica. He was also the headwriter of Psycho-Pass and author of Fate/Zero. Also infamous as a Trolling Creator.
• Shinichi Watanabe — a.k.a. "Nabeshin", director of Excel♡Saga and Puni Puni☆Poemi, among others; known for taking the Gag Series anime in a gonzo direction.
• Shinichiro Watanabe — Co-director of Macross Plus. Directed influential series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Other shows he directed are Kids on the Slope, Space☆Dandy, Terror in Resonance and Carole & Tuesday. Skilled at mixing multiple genres (often with a music genre). Often confused for the above.
• Naoko Yamada — animator and storyboard artist best known for her works in Kyoto Animation. She also directed some of their works such as K-On!, A Silent Voice and Liz and the Blue Bird.
• Hiroyuki Yamaga — Co-founder of Studio Gainax and director of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.
• Sayo Yamamoto — animator and storyboard artist. Also the director for series such as Michiko & Hatchin, Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and Yuri!!! on Ice.
• Tadayoshi Yamamuro — Character designer, Animation Supervisor and Storyboard Artist for the Dragon Ball franchise.
• Hajime Yatate — actually a pseudonym for the Sunrise animation staff, often credited as an "original creator" in series like Mobile Suit Gundam, Outlaw Star, or Sgt. Frog.
• Mitsuteru Yokoyama — Manga/anime writer best known for pioneering Humongous Mecha with Tetsujin 28/Gigantor and Giant Robo. Also wrote Kamen no Ninja Akakage and Sally the Witch.
• Kiyoko Yoshimura — Known for writing the screenplays for Sonic X, Gravion, and Twin Princess of Wonder Planet. She has also been involved in projects such as Chrono Crusade and Final Fantasy: Unlimited as a scriptwriter.
• Masaaki Yuasa — The director of Mind Game, Kemonozume, Kaiba, The Tatami Galaxy, The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, DEVILMAN crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Japan Sinks. All of his work is known for having excellent, inventive animation, and having very unusual subject matter.

• Yoshitoshi ABe — Creator of Haibane Renmei, but mostly known for his artwork and character design for Serial Experiments Lain.
• Mitsuru Adachi — Creator of Touch (1981), H2, Cross Game and many other sports manga, he is one of the most well-known Shōnen authors in Japan. His works have sold over 200 million copies and he actually owns his own baseball team.
• Satoru Akahori — Light Novelist and manga writer; created or co-created Saber Marionette J, Sorcerer Hunters, Sakura Wars (manga only), Maze Megaburst Space, Mouse (1999), the NG Knight Lamune & 40 series, Mon Colle Knights, Akahori Gedou Hour Lovege, and many other series.
• Fujio Akatsuka, known mostly for Osomatsu-kun and Tensai Bakabon, is the king of gag/comedy manga revolving on humor alone, and funny characters that portray these features. He's also secondarily known as the grandfather of magical girls, given he wrote the first manga featuring one, Himitsu no Akko-chan.
• Ken Akamatsu — Creator of A.I. Love You, Love Hina, and Negima! Magister Negi Magi. Love Hina in particular is notable for redefining modern Harem Genre tropes, especially the Unwanted Harem.
• Kozue Amano — Creator of the ARIA manga series (formerly titled Aqua).
• Ume Aoki — Creator of Hidamari Sketch, the Breakout Hit of the CGDGT publisher, and a part of the Magica Quartet that developed Puella Magi Madoka Magica (as the original character designer). Frequent collaborator for Studio Shaft.
• Gosho Aoyama — Creator of Case Closed, Magic Kaito and YAIBA.
• Hiromu Arakawa — Creator of the wildly popular shonen manga Fullmetal Alchemist, which has two anime adaptations. Also known for her manga Silver Spoon, which has a two season anime and a live-action film.
• Hirohiko Araki — Author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, one of the longest-running manga to date (having been continuously published since 1987 and is still ongoing). Known for his unique and constantly-evolving art style, inspired by Greek form and the works of Paul Gauguin, and his heavy use of dynamic movement and intentionally inconsistent/outlandish color palettes.
• Kia Asamiya — Real name: Michitaka Kikuchi. Creator of Silent Möbius, Corrector Yui and Steam Detectives. Began his career as an animator and provided character designs for Sonic Soldier Borgman and Hades Project Zeorymer. Asamiya did concept designs for Martian Successor Nadesico for which he would draw the tie-in manga for and designed the Zodiarts and Horoscopes for Kamen Rider Fourze.
• Kiyohiko Azuma — Creator of Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba&!, the former being best known as the Trope Codifier for the Schoolgirl Series.
• Buronson — Writer for Fist of the North Star and its spin-offs.
• CLAMP — A four-woman team of manga authors and artists who have provided some of manga and anime's defining works in various demographics; among them, Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, X/1999 and Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-/×××HOLiC. Also did the character design for some anime such as Code Geass.
• Koge-Donbo — Famous for her ultra-cute art style and one of the first popular "moe" manga-ka. Series she has created include Di Gi Charat, Kamichama Karin and Pita-Ten.
• Fujiko Fujio — Best known for creating the popular and long-running series Doraemon, the main character of which is officially recognized as a cultural icon of modern Japan.
• Kosuke Fujishima — the original creator of Ah! My Goddess and You're Under Arrest!, and lead character designer on the Tales Series for over a decade.
• Moto Hagio — Creator of classic shoujo manga such as The Heart of Thomas, The Poe Clan and They Were Eleven. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group and along with Keiko Takemiya, is a profound influence on shoujo manga as well as a pioneer of the Yaoi Genre.
• Tetsuo Hara — Illustrator for Fist of the North Star and its spin-offs.
• Matsuri Hino — Creator of Vampire Knight as well as several other titles.
• Rei Hiroe — Creator of Black Lagoon and Re:CREATORS.
• Ouji Hiroi — Real name: Teruhisa Hiroi. Founder of Red Entertainment.
• Riyoko Ikeda — Creator of The Rose of Versailles and Dear Brother, the former of which is notable as the first shoujo manga to achieve mainstream critical and commercial success. She is also one of the members of the Year 24 Group.
• Takehiko Inoue — Creator of Slam Dunk and Vagabond, known for his incredibly detailed art style.
• Shotaro Ishinomori — Protege of Osamu Tezuka, and while he dabbled in a variety of genres, he's mostly known for being an instrumental figure in the henshin (transforming) superhero genre. Created Cyborg 009, the first superhero team in Japan, as well as Kamen Rider and Kikaider. He also created Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and its two manga iterations, as well as J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, both of which would later be incorporated as part of the Super Sentai'' series.
• Tsukasa Kotobuki — Best known as the character designer of Battle Arena Toshinden, Saber Marionette J, VS Knight Lamune & 40 FIRE, Cyber Team in Akihabara and Mayonaka Punch, but he has drawn manga such as Sword of the Dark Ones and adaptations of Gundam such as the tie-in manga for Mobile Suit Victory Gundam and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Day After Tomorrow.
• Masashi Kishimoto — Creator of Naruto.
• Mohiro Kitoh — Creator of Bokurano and Shadow Star.
• Satoko Kiyuduki — Increasingly popular illustrator and character designer who works entirely by herself, without the help of any assistants. Creator of GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class and Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro, but best known for her work on the Dept. Heaven game series. All of her manga are yonkoma.
• Tite Kubo — Creator of the popular long running series Bleach. Also highly regarded as a Trolling Creator in the fandom.
• Masami Kurumada — Creator of Ring ni Kakero, Saint Seiya, B't X as well as a number of other titles.
• Shirow Masamune — Creator of Ghost in the Shell, Dominion Tank Police, Appleseed, and Black Magic M-66.
• Hiro Mashima — Creator of Fairy Tail, as well as Rave Master and EDENS ZERO.
• Kentaro Miura — Creator of Berserk, one of the most influential seinen manga. Known for his incredibly long hiatuses and perfectionism with regard to his artwork. Passed away in 2021.
• Monkey Punch — Creator of widely acclaimed and adapted manga series Lupin III.
• Daisuke Moriyama — Creator of Chrono Crusade and World Embryo, who has been lead character designer on the ALICE in Cyberland.
• Go Nagai — Innovator in several manga/anime genres. Wrote Mazinger Z, which popularized the Humongous Mecha genre, along with Cutey Honey, Getter Robo, and Devilman. Known for breaching taboos in writing and art.
• Mamoru Nagano — Best known for his work in the field of Humongous Mecha. Worked with Yoshiyuki Tomino as a mechanical designer on three occasions, first on his debut work Heavy Metal L-Gaim & then later on Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, where he was responsible for some of the most visually distinctive mobile suits in the show & perhaps in all of Gundam. The two also teamed up once more over a decade later when Nagano provided mecha designs for Brain Powerd. Creator the long-running manga series The Five Star Stories, a Spiritual Successor to L-Gaim, the first story-arc of which was made into an anime film. Married to voice actress Maria Kawamura.
• Keiko Nagita, who shook up the Shōjo genre with Candy♡Candy
• Yasuhiro Nightow — Creator of Trigun (one of Adult Swim's flagship dubs alongside Cowboy Bebop) and Blood Blockade Battlefront.
• Eiichiro Oda — Creator of the long-running shounen series, One Piece, which is currently the number one best selling manga in Japan (and, after Osamu Akimoto's 40-year-old Kochikame, is the oldest manga running in Shonen Jump, for 20 years). Jokingly referred to as the Jesus of shonen manga, with Akira Toriyama being God. Known for his wacky and imaginative character designs and use of clever plot twists.
• Takao Saito — Known for creating the highly-successful and long-running Golgo 13 franchise.
• Norio Sakurai - Artist and manga writer known for creating raunchy comedy manga such as Rororro and Mitsudomoe, before achieving widespread acclaim through The Dangers in My Heart.
• Sayuri Tatsuyama — Author and Illustrator of Happy Happy Clover and Pukupuku Tennen Kairanban. She's well-known in Japan for writing tons of Shoujo mangas that focus on animals more than human characters.
• Kenichi Sonoda — Writer of Gunsmith Cats and Cannon God Exaxxion; also the character designer on several influential productions, including Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (Studio Gainax's first major project).
• Kazuki Takahashi: Best known for his extremely famous series Yu-Gi-Oh!, and still well-known even after more than two decades ever since it was first published. The original has been the inspiration for five sequels already, and the Duel Monsters card game doesn't seem to become any less famous for a long time.
• Rumiko Takahashi — Creator of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, and Inuyasha, among others. One of the most published authors on the entire planet (literally hundreds of millions of volumes sold) and one of the richest women in Japan because of it. Sometimes referred to by American otaku as "The Goddess".
• Yoichi Takahashi — Creator of Captain Tsubasa, the most influential sport manga of all times.
• Keiko Takemiya — The creator of Kaze to Ki no Uta and Toward the Terra. She is one of the members of the Year 24 Group, a group of female mangaka that helped revolutionize shoujo manga and one of the pioneers of the Yaoi Genre.
• Naoko Takeuchi — Creator of Sailor Moon as well as ex-girlfriend to Kosuke Fujishima and wife to Yoshihiro Togashi.
• Arina Tanemura — Primarily works on shojo manga. Creator of Phantom Thief Jeanne and Full Moon, as well as original character designer for the multimedia project IDOLiSH7.
• Yoshihiro Togashi — Author of YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter. Married to Naoko Takeuchi and infamous for taking many long breaks from writing.
• Akira Toriyama — Creator of the famous Dragon Ball series, as well as Dr. Slump. Renowned video-game visual designer (Chrono Trigger and the Dragon Quest series have both benefited from his input). Passed away in 2024.
• Toyotarō — Responsible for the Dragon Ball AF fan comic before being hired by Shueshia to work on the manga adaptation of Dragon Ball Super, helping Akira Toriyama design characters like the Gods of Destruction. Considered Toriyama's chosen successor for the Dragon Ball franchise.
• Naoki Urasawa — Creator of Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys. His work is known for its suspense and critical acclaim, as well as a detailed art style, particularly how distinct the character designs are from each other. He also released a rock album.
• Yuu Watase — Creator of Fushigi Yuugi and Ceres, Celestial Legend, among others.
• Nobuhiro Watsuki — The mangaka behind the hit series Rurouni Kenshin and Buso Renkin, and a failed (but still pretty cool) attempt at a western, Gun Blaze West. His latest manga is Embalming. Known for his love of late nineteenth/early twentieth-century fashion and architectural styles. Unfortunately, he ended up being arrested for possession of child pornography, leaving most of his recent work on indefinite hiatus.
• Mitsuteru Yokoyama — Creator of Gigantor, Giant Robo, and Sally the Witch.
• Tatsuo Yoshida — Anime pioneer who created the original Mach Go Go Go, better known as Speed Racer in the English-speaking world, manga. Later, with his brothers, he founded the anime studio Tatsunoko Production.

• Sho Aikawa - Novelist and scriptwriter known by Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Angel Cop and others.
• Natsume Akatsuki - Author of KonoSuba and Combatants Will Be Dispatched!. He also wrote the manga, Kemono Michi.
• Nisio Isin - Novelist and manga writer best known for the Monogatari series which were adapted into several anime seasons, OVA and movies. He also created the Katanagatari series, the Zaregoto series and Pretty Boy Detective Club; and also wrote the manga, Medaka Box, all of which were also adapted into an anime. Known for his heavy use of text and dialogue filled with wordplay and puns; as well as his Mind Screw narrative style.
• Kazuma Kamachi - Light novel author best known for the light novel A Certain Magical Index and the manga A Certain Scientific Railgun, both of which were adapted into successful anime works.
• Tsukasa Kawaguchi - Author of the Lord Marksman and Vanadis light novel series, which was adapted into a successful anime.
• Reki Kawahara - Author of Sword Art Online and Accel World.
• Minoru Kawakami- Author of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere and The Ending Chronicle. All his works are set in the same universe.
• Hajime Kanzaka - Author of Slayers and Lost Universe.
• Ryohgo Narita - Author of Baccano! and Durarara!!. Also wrote the manga Dead Mount Death Play. He is known for his Fantastic Noir stories that often involve an Ensemble Cast with lots of characters.
• Kinoko Nasu - Author of The Garden of Sinners and co-founder of Type-Moon, company responsible for the visual novels Fate/stay night and Tsukihime.
• Fuyumi Ono - Author of The Twelve Kingdoms.
• Yuyuko Takemiya - Author of Toradora! and Golden Time.
• Yoshiki Tanaka - Speculative fiction author best known for the Space Opera epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes, adapted into a similarly epic anime, as well as The Heroic Legend of Arslan which was also adapted into anime twice.
• Nahoko Uehashi - Author of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, The Beast Player, and The Deer King, all of which were adapted into anime.

• Takanori Arisawa: composer known for his work on Sailor Moon and Digimon.
• Choro Club: A musical trio with an acoustic, slightly Latin-American sound, mostly known for their work for ARIA and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.
• Yuki Hayashi: best known for his music in My Hero Academia, Haikyuu!!, KiraKira★Precure à la Mode and HuGtto! Pretty Cure. He also did the live action verions of Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi and Blue Spring Ride. He previously worked with Hiroyuki Sawano in TV Shows like Triangle and BOSS.
• Joe Hisaishi: Composer for nearly all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies. Known for using full orchestra to set the moods of the films. Big fan of American music producer Quincy Jones.
• Hyadain: singer, composer, writer and arranger, best known for his eccentric happy upbeat songs for many 2010's anime opening and ending themes.
• Taku Iwasaki, known for his work on the Rurouni Kenshin OVA's, Read or Die, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Black Butler, Soul Eater, Katanagatari, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (the Battle Tendency arc only), Noragami, Akame ga Kill! and Bungo Stray Dogs.
• Yuki Kajiura: Composer known for her work in Noir, MADLAX, the .hack series, the HiME meta-series, The Garden of Sinners, PandoraHearts, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero (also the Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel film series and Lord El-Melloi II Case Files), Sword Art Online and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Her work tends to include Ominous Latin Chanting and One Woman Wailing. Also known by her musical projects in which she is/was involved, such as See-Saw, Fiction Junction (with people like Yuuka Nanri, Kaori Oda, between others) and Kalafina (see below under Anison singers).
• Yoko Kanno: Composer for many highly rated series including the heavily music-inspired Cowboy Bebop, The Vision of Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and Darker than Black.
• Yugo Kanno: Best known for his music in Psycho-Pass, Nioh, and the rest of the Jojo franchise from the 3rd arc onwards. He also has done the live-action adaptations of Kaiji, Hotaru's Way, and March Comes in Like a Lion. No relation to Yoko Kanno.
• Eri Kawai: Contributed many songs for anime productions as well as video games, both as a composer and a singer. Some of her more well known works include music for ARIA, Sketchbook ~full color'S and Utawarerumono.
• Kenji Kawai: a composer whose body of work includes Ranma ½, Vampire Princess Miyu, Fate/stay night, Higurashi: When They Cry, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and every Mamoru Oshii film.
• Shunsuke Kikuchi: best known for his music in Doraemon, Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, as well as several Toku shows like Kamen Rider (Showa Era).
• Jun Maeda: Composer and partial performer most of the music for the games of Key/Visual Arts and their derivative works (in addition to being the writer for most of their works).
• Shinkichi Mitsumune: known for his use of compositions either for anime or outside of anime. He collaborated with Kunihisa Sugishima two times during the 2000s. He is known for his composition work on Revolutionary Girl Utena, FLCL, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Speed Grapher, The Familiar of Zero, Rozen Maiden, Amagi Brilliant Park and Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS.
• Yuji Ohno: known for his highly-acclaimed jazz score for Lupin III.
• Katsuo Oono: Rock keyboardist/record producer who also composes anime music, mainly known for the theme of Case Closed.
• Kow Otani: Been composing anime soundtracks for decades. Highlights include You're Under Arrest!, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Zoids: New Century, Zatch Bell!, Eyeshield 21, and Pumpkin Scissors. Also did the music for Shadow of the Colossus.
• Shiro Sagisu: composer for several Studio Gainax projects including Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, as well as Bleach, Kimagure Orange Road and a couple of non-Pillows background tunes in FLCL.
• Toshihiko Sahashi: Very prolific composer with a long list of contributions to anime-series, games and drama CDs.
• Naoki Sato, best known for his music in Eureka SeveN, Sword of the Stranger, two CLAMP animated works (X/1999 and Blood-C) and Assassination Classroom. He also did the music for the live-action adaptations of Rurouni Kenshin, Parasyte and Space Battleship Yamato.
• Hiroyuki Sawano: best known for his bombastic and epic style that rivals Hollywood blockbuster soundtracks. Commonly referred to by fans as "the Hans Zimmer of anime." He's worked on quite a few popular shows in The New '10s, most notably Guilty Crown, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Attack on Titan, and Kill la Kill. Another part of his Signature Style is his expert use of German insert songs, usually from his frequent singer collaborator Mika Kobayashi.
• Tenmon: Makoto Shinkai's friend, ex-colleague at Falcom and frequent collaborator in every project he's been involved. Very fond of classical instruments (especially violin and piano) and poignant music, and the combination of said elements has become his mesmerizing signature style.
• Kensuke Ushio - A Tokyo-based composer who also goes by the stage name “agraph". Well known for arranging the soundtracks of A Silent Voice, DEVILMAN crybaby, Chainsaw Man and The Dangers in My Heart.
• Michiaki Watanabe: Composer for the 70s entries in the Mazinger franchise, and eventually became a tokusatsu composer primarily, though he still dabbled in anime like Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos and Video Warrior Laserion. Has also composed music for Super Sentai.

• Aimer: has performed songs for anime such as Bleach, Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works], Fire Force, and Vinland Saga. She has also sung songs composed by some of the most notable anime composers such as Yoko Kanno (Terror in Resonance), Hiroyuki Sawano (Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn) and Yuki Kajiura (Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba).
• Ali Project (stylized as ALI PROJECT): a baroque pop band known for singing the openings of Rozen Maiden, Code Geass and Another
• angela: a band best known for performing songs for the Fafner franchise. Has also performed songs for many anime series such as Asura Cryin', K and My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!.
• Eir Aoi: known for singing openings and endings for Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online and Kill la Kill.
• Ayane: best known for Memories Off, Higurashi: When They Cry and 11eyes.
• ClariS: a duo band known for singing openings and endings for Oreimo, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Monogatari series, Nisekoi and Cells at Work!
• Columbia Yurikago Kai (Columbia Cradle Club), a children's choir who sang backups to Gatchaman and 70's Super Robot anime theme songs such as Great Mazinger, Raideen the Brave as well as several Toku shows like Kamen Rider and live-action children's shows.
• FLOW: a Five-Man Band who are known for singing the openings for shows like Naruto, Eureka SeveN, Code Geass, The Seven Deadly Sins and Durarara!!.
• fripSide: a band best known for performing the openings of A Certain Scientific Railgun, as well as other anime such as Black Bullet and Seraph of the End.
• GRANRODEO, a band which consists of voice actor Kishow Taniyama and musician Masaaki Iizuka, best known for performing songs for anime such as Kuroko's Basketball and Bungo Stray Dogs.
• Mitsuko Horie: Has been doing theme songs since she was 12 years old. She has often done themes for shojo (and otherwise "soft") anime, but has also done a few themes for shonen anime as well. She as even done theme songs for live action (non-tokusatsu) TV dramas, such as a duet with Sasaki for Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (although she has also done tokusatsu as well)! Also had a live action acting role in the Stealth Parody tokusatsu Space Ironmen Kyodain.
• I've Sound: A joint venture of various producers and performers, contributing opening and ending themes to many anime series. Best known for singers such as:
  • Mami Kawada: best known for her music in Shakugan no Shana and A Certain Magical Index, as well as Jormungand, Starship Operators and Tokyo Ravens. Retired in 2016.
  • KOTOKO: best known for her music in Shakugan no Shana, Hayate the Combat Butler, To Love Ru, and Accel World.
  • Maon Kurosaki: guest singer best known for her work in Highschool of the Dead, A Certain Magical Index, Danganronpa and Tokyo Ravens. Passed away in 2023.
  • Lia: guest singer best known for her music for several Key/Visual Arts series such as AIR, CLANNAD, Angel Beats! and Charlotte.
  • MELL: best known for singing "Red fraction", the opening of Black Lagoon.
  • Eiko Shimamiya: best known for singing the openings of Higurashi: When They Cry.
• Japanese Animation Songmakers Project - JAM Project: This rock band consists of some of the most popular singers in anime. Their stock in trade is Hot-Blooded songs for Humongous Mecha shows and games as well as many, many more. Most famous for Super Robot Wars as well as One-Punch Man. Some of their most noteworthy members include:
  • Masaaki Endoh: one of the founders. Performed songs from GaoGaiGar and has also sung in other anime such as Cowboy Bebop and Angels of Death.
  • Yoshiki Fukuyama: best known for singing the openings of Buso Renkin and Overman King Gainer.
  • Hironobu Kageyama: one of the founders. He is best known for singing the openings of Dragon Ball Z such as "Cha-la Head Cha-la".
  • Hiroshi Kitadani: best known for singing "We are!" and several other openings for One Piece.
  • Ichiro Mizuki (a.k.a. Aniki): one of the founders and former members. Also known as "the Emperor of Anime Songs", active from the 70s up until his passing in 2022. Probably best known for Mazinger Z's songs (as well as Devilman's, Captain Harlock's, Great Mazinger's... the list is very long). Has acted in Jikuu Senshi Spielban, Choujin Barom 1, and Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger.
  • Masami Okui: best known for singing "Rinbu -Revolution-" from Revolutionary Girl Utena and has also sung in Slayers, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shirobako.
• Kalafina: a band formed by Yuki Kajiura (see above under Composers). They were initially created for the The Garden of Sinners film series, but would later go on to perform openings and endings for other anime like Black Butler, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]. They were disbanded in 2019.
• Koorogi '73: usually were backing singers on things such as Denshi Sentai Denziman or Voltes V's theme songs, but sometimes took lead on things like the opening of Akuma Kun 1963. Also did a number of Villain Songs.
  • Masatake Ookura: leading member of Koorogi '73 who also did some things on his own such as a cover of Ai wo Torimodose from Fist Of the North Star, the ending of Daimos, and several insert songs in Kinnikuman.
• Akira Kushida (a.k.a. Kussy): Known for his soul music in addition to his anime works. Actually sang onstage with The Temptations. Best known for singing Kinnikuman's themes.
• LiSA: started off her career as the singing voice of Yui in Angel Beats! Afterwards, she became known for singing the openings and endings for shows like Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
• May'n: Singing voice of Sheryl Nome with around twenty songs to that name alone. She has also performed openings for anime such as Shangri-La, Accel World and The Ancient Magus' Bride.
• MIQ: a gal known for singing Hot-Blooded giant robot themes for things like Aura Battler Dunbine and Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Speaks fluent English.
• Takayuki Miyauchi: known for his extremely authoritative midrange to deep voice. Debuted in 1983 with Brocken Jr.'s theme(Red Rain Of Berlin, with Koorogi '73) in Kinnikuman. Also did several sentai songs, Kamen Rider BLACK RX's theme and Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin's theme.
• myco: a former band member of Changin' my life has done both music and voice work for Full Moon in which she played Mitsuki Koyama and her Full Moon persona. However, it's her only acting credit as she continues to do more music than voice acting.
• MYTH & ROID: a band best known for performing the themes of Overlord (2012), Re:Zero, The Saga of Tanya the Evil and Boogiepop Series.
• Porno Graffiti: a band best known for performing openings for anime such as Great Teacher Onizuka, Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Bleach and My Hero Academia.
• Isao Sasaki: This deep-voiced singer has done more Humongous Mecha theme songs then you can shake a stick at. However, he has also done non-mecha themes too (such as Galaxy Express 999) - and not only is he still active, but he's still kept his powerful voice despite his age (listen to "Midnight Dekaranger" for proof). Also acts, played Joe the Condor in Gatchaman and did several live action roles, guesting in shows such as Kamen Rider and Juspion. He was also the voice of Superman in the first 4 Superman films.
• Psychic Lover: A rock duo consisting of vocalist Yoshiyuki "Yoffy" Wada and guitarist Tatsuhiro Imajo. Known for performing the songs for Transformers: Armada, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, and Super Sentai.
• Savage Genius: A two-person band contributing many anime theme songs and being highly successful in the charts with them.
• Masato Shimon: Active during the heyday of Humongous Mecha anime, Masato Shimon is probably best known for being the king of Hero Songs, singing many tokusatsu themes as well as Gatchaman's theme song. He is the singer of the infamous Jet Jaguar song. After 1993, claimed to hate humanity and vanished until 1998, when he sang Seijuu Sentai Gingaman's OP and ED. Fluent in English. A Real Life invoker of I Have Many Names, as he has gone through many Stage Names when performing, probably most famously Akira Tani and Kouichi Fuji. Had a Funny Afro.
• T.M.Revolution: a solo project by singer, Takanori Nishikawa. Has performed in several anime such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Soul Eater.
  • abingdon boys school: a band formed by Nishikawa whom have performed songs for series such as D.Gray-Man, Darker than Black and Soul Eater.
• UVERworld: a band known for performing the openings of Bleach, D.Gray-Man, Blue Exorcist, My Hero Academia and The Promised Neverland.
• Yukio Yamagata: a voice actor and anime singer best known for Ginga Reppu Baxinger, Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger and Makyou Densetsu Acrobunch's opening songs.
• YOASOBI: a band primarily a J-Pop performer, but has performed for several anime such as Beastars, Oshi no Ko (in which their single, Idol, was a chart topper) and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
• Kenshi Yonezu: primarily a J-Pop performer, but has performed for several anime such as My Hero Academia, March Comes in Like a Lion, Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? and Chainsaw Man.
• Hideaki Takatori: Got his start as the vocalist for the band Weather Side and COA before making his solo debut sinning the opening theme to Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger. In addition to the Super Sentai, also performed themes to Sonic X, Transformers: Armada, Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. Currently performs with the band Zetki. Has a youtube page here.

• Aniplex - Japanese anime and music producing company owned by Sony Music's Japanese division.
  • A-1 Pictures - created by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata to serve as the animation studio for the above.
  • CloverWorks - A1 studio turned sister company.
• A.C.G.T./OB Planning
• Actas - Founded by ex-Tatsunoko staff.
• AIC - Current copyright holder for most of Artmic's works.
• Ajia-Do
• Anime R
  • Studio Mu - Sister studio to the above.
• Anime Spot
• Anime Torotoro
• Animal Ya and Studio Comet - Originally companion studios before splitting off from each other. Animal Ya would rebrand itself as Ekura Animal in 2007.
• The Answer Studio
• APPP - Went defunct in 2021 after the passing of the studio's founder.
• ARMS Corporation
• Artland
• Asahi Production
• Ashi Productions - Founded by ex-Tatsunoko staff, known as Production REED from 2007 to 2018, but then changed their name back to Ashi Pro in 2019
• Atelier Musa
• Bee Train - Founded by ex-Tatsunoko employee Koichi Mashimo as a subsidiary of Production I.G. before splitting off, inactive, if not defunct, since 2012.
• BONES - Formed by ex-Sunrise staff
• Brains Base - Formed by ex-TMS staff
• Bridge
• C-Station - Former Bee Train subsidiary.
• Daewon Media - Former Toei subcontractor like Sei Young.
• David Production - Founded by former GONZO producers Taito Okiura and Koji Kajita.
• Dogakobo
• ENGI
• Far Eastern
• feel.
• Flying Dragon
• G&G Entertainment
• Gaina - former Gainax subcontracting studio
• Gainax
• gímik
• Go Hands
• GONZO - Founded by ex-Gainax members... before Gainax became famous.
• Graphinica - Spun off from Gonzo in 2009 after being sold to Q Tec. Would eventually buy out TYO Animation and rename it back to Yumeta Company.
• Heewon Entertainment
• J.C. Staff
• JM Animation - Another South Korean studio similar to DR Movie and Dong Woo. Now known as as JM Reinforce.
• KK C&D Asia - The studio did do some anime work under the name Animation Staff Room, but is mostly known for their work on DiC Entertainment shows.
• Knack Productions
• Kinema Citrus
  • Gift-O'-Animation - Sister company to Kinema Citrus
• Koko Enterprises - Also known as Dong Yang, a subdivision of TMS; located in Korea.
• Kusanagi
• Kyoto Animation
• Madhouse - Spun off from Mushi Pro in 1972.
  • DR Movie - A South Korean studio owned by Madhouse.
  • Tiger Animation - Sister company to the above. Formerly known as Moi Animation.
• Magic Bus
• Maki Pro
• Manglobe
• MAPPA - Established by Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama.
• Mook DLE
• Mushi Productions - Original incarnation of the company would spawn many of the studios listed here. Eventually succeeded by Tezuka Productions.
• Nakamura Productions - Spun-off from Mushi in 1974. The most prolific animation studio in Japan, with more than 2000 titles to their name.
• Oh! Production
• OLM Incorporated
• Passione
• P. A. Works
• Polygon Pictures
• Production I.G - founded by ex-Tatsunoko staff and partially owned by the company until the mid '90s, under the name Tatsunoko IG.
  • Wit Studio - Subsidary of Production I.G
  • Signal.MD - Other subsidiary of Production I.G
• Radix
• Satelight
• Sei Young - A Korean studio often used by Toei during the 80s.
• Shin-Ei Animation
• Shirogumi - First studio in Japan to specialize in computer graphics.
• SILVER LINK. - Spun off from animation studio Frontline.
• Studio 4°C
• Studio Bihou
• Studio Colorido
• Studio DEEN
• Studio Elle - Formerly known as Studio Leo in its early years. The studio would eventually buy out both J-Fox and Anime Spot in 2005 and 2021, respectively.
• Studio Fantasia
• Studio Gallop
  • Dong Woo Animation - A South Korean studio owned by Gallop.
• Studio Ghibli
• Studio Gokumi
• Studio Hibari
• Studio Junio
• Studio Jungle Gym
• Studio Korumi
• Studio Khara - formed by ex-Gainax staff, including Hideaki Anno
• Studio Lings
• Studio Live
• Studio Nue
• Studio Pierrot
• Studio Ponoc
• Studio Shaft
• Studio TRIGGER - formed by ex-Gainax staff
• Studio Twinkle
• Sunrise - Currently owned by Bandai Namco Holdings.
  • Bandai Namco Pictures - A spin-off sister studio to Sunrise to handle most of their non-mecha output (and Gintama).
    • Studio Dub - Originally spun off from Sunrise, would be rebranded as BN Pictures Iwaki studio in 2018 after nearly three decades as an independent studio.
• Takahashi Production/T2 Studio
• Tama Productions/drop - The first studio to form out of Mushi Pro in 1965 and would go bankrupt in 2011. drop would spin off from Tama in 2004, only to meet a similar fate in 2018.
• Tatsunoko Production - Currently owned by TV station Nippon TV (54.3%), toy company TakaraTomy (20%), talent agency Horipro (13.5%), and I.G. Port (11.2%)
• TMS Entertainment - Own of the oldest and most respected studios in Japan. Currently owned by Sega Holdings. Here are some units:
  • Telecom Animation Film
  • Jinni's Animation Studio - Now known as simply TMS Jinni's
  • Double Eagle (defunct)
  • V1 Studio (defunct)
  • 3xCube (defunct)
  • 8 Pan (defunct)
• TNK
• Tokyo Kids
• Topcraft - most of its staff went on to found Studio Ghibli; best remembered for their work for Rankin/Bass's holiday specials.
• Toei Animation
• Trans Arts - Went bankrupt in 2012, spun off studios Artbox and Advance Shakujii.
• Triple A
• TROYCA
• TYO
• ufotable
• Wang Film Productions - One of the best-known animation studios in Asia, has done some work on anime and has worked with several of the other studios listed here on their cartoon work.
  • CGCG Inc - Co-owned by the above until 2008, has also done some anime work.
  • Hong Ying - Spin-off to the above.
• WaoWorld
• White Fox - Formed by former OLM employee Gaku Iwasa after splitting from the company.
• Wish - Spun-off from EMUAI.
• Xebec - formed by ex-Tatsunoko staff as a Production I.G. subsidiary, defunct and divided between Sunrise (as Sunrise Beyond) and Production I.G. (as I.G. Zwei)
• ZEXCS

• Animax (Network)
• Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
• AT-X
• Fuji Television
• Mainichi Broadcasting System
• NHK
• Nippon Television
• Tokyo Broadcasting System
• Tokyo MX
• TV Asahi
• TV Tokyo
• WOWOW

English dub producers (active; especially associated companies in bold)

• 4K Media (New York City): Formerly 4Kids' in-house English dub studio before the entire company was bought out by Konami. Mostly works on Yugioh!-related
• Artwood Production (Hong Kong)
• Azur Studios (Vancouver)
• Bang Zoom! Entertainment (Los Angeles)
• Centauro Group (Miami)
• Cinelume (Montreal)
• Da Capo Productions (Winnipeg)
• Difuze (Montreal)
• Digital Sound Magic (Vancouver)
• DuArt Film and Video (New York City)
• Dubbing Brothers (Los Angeles)
• Epcar Entertainment (Los Angeles)
• Funimation (Dallas): In-house dub studio for Funimation.
• Harmony Gold (Los Angeles)
• Headline Sound Studios (New York City)
• Igloo Music (Los Angeles)
• Iyuno • SDI Group (Los Angeles; formed through a merger between Iyuno Media Group and SDI Media in 2021)
• Kocha Sound (Houston, sometimes New York City)
• Macias Group (Miami)
• Nelvana (Toronto): In-house dub studio for Nelvana's forays into anime.
• NYAV Post (Los Angeles, sometimes New York City)
• The Ocean Group (Vancouver)
  • Blue Water Studios (Calgary, later also Edmonton)
• Okratron 5000 (Dallas, Los Angeles)
• Red Angel Media (Hong Kong)
• Roundabout Entertainment (Los Angeles)
• Sentai Studios (Houston, FKA. Seraphim Digital): In-house dub studio for Sentai Filmworks.
• Sound Cadence Studios (Dallas)
• Studio 306 (Toronto)
• Studiopolis (Los Angeles)
• Studio Nano (Dallas)
• The Kitchen (Miami)
• Universal Cinergia (Miami)
• Voice & Script International ("VSI") Media (Los Angeles, sometimes London)

English dub producers (defunct; especially associated companies in bold')

• ADV Studios/ Amusement Park Media (Houston; FKA Industrial Smoke & Mirrors): ADV Films' in-house dub studio.
  • Monster Island (Austin)
• Arvintel Media Productions (Los Angeles, very briefly Atlanta)
• Audio Dolce (New York City)
• Audioworks Producers Group (New York City)
• Central Park Media (New York City): In-house dub studio for the same company.
• Coastal Studios (Wilmington, North Carolina)
  • Phoenix Post Sound (Asheville)
• CINAR Studios (Montreal)
• Creative Products Corporation (Manila)
• CTV Studios (Cardiff)
• Elastic Media (Los Angeles)
• Electric Media (Los Angeles)
• Frontier Enterprises (Tokyo)
• Gaijin Productions (Los Angeles)
• Intersound (Los Angeles)
• Kaleidoscope Entertainment (Toronto)
• Knight Mediacom (New York City)
• L.A. Hero: in-house dub producer for US Renditions. Once US Renditions went kaput, it became...
  • Animaze
• Magnavision (Manila)
• Matlin Recording (New York City)
• Media Concepts (Los Angeles)
• Mercury Productions (New York City)
• National Sound (New York City)
• Omni Productions (Hong Kong)
• Optimum Productions (Toronto, later also Montreal)
• PCB Productions (Los Angeles)
• Planet to Planet Sound (New York City)
• Pretend Productions (Los Angeles)
• Sky Quest Entertainment (Los Angeles)
• Skyhigh Productions (New York City)
• Skypilot Entertainment (New York City)
• Sound Dimensions (New York City)
• Soundz Nu (New York City)
• Southwynde Studios (Wilmington, North Carolina)
• Streamline Pictures (Los Angeles)
• Studios VOA (Miami)
• Swirl Films (Wilmington, North Carolina)
• TAJ Productions (New York City)
• Titra Productions (New York City)
• TripWire Productions (New York City)
• Synch-Point (Los Angeles)
• Village Productions (London)
• Voice One Productions (San Francisco)
• Voiceovers Unlimited (Singapore): Odex's in-house dubbing studio that broke off before too long.
• World Wide Group (London)

English distributors (active)

English language distribution of Japanese anime can be traced back to The '80s but the real boom was in The '90s - as home video release on VHS became more commonly adopted. The boom reached its peak at the Turn of the Millennium when the new DVD format made it practical to purchase entire seasons of anime in one box set (as opposed to a full shelf of VHS tapes). This was further fueled by TV channels such as Cartoon Network broadcasting age-appropriate anime during the after-school time block, and teen to adult anime on [adult swim]. During the peak from around 2004 to 2007, the "Big Three" distributors were Bandai, Geneon, and A.D. Vision. Most releases usually came with a full English dub from in-house studios.

Then came the anime crash of 2007-2008, during which several major distributors shut down and the industry never fully recovered. It followed the pattern of a classic boom-bust cycle of over-expansion (purchasing the rights to every series no matter how obscure hoping they would be hits, and making English dubs for all of them). This was compounded by the fact that by the end of The New '10s high-bandwidth, high-speed internet downloads and file sharing became commonplace - notably with an up and coming and at first illegal file-sharing platform called Crunchyroll founded in 2006. When the dust from the crash settled, all of the Big Three shut down, along with several other companies (though ADV's rebranded spiritual successor Sentai Filmworks managed to claw its way back to life, it remained a shadow of what ADV was during the boom era). With the top companies knocked out, the fourth-place but decently sized Funimation expanded within only a few years to practically dominate the market. Moreover, Funimation strategized to work in tandem with Crunchyroll, elevating them from illegal status to at least charging a fee for their streaming services.

As mainstream media itself became locked in the Streaming Wars starting in 2019, and physical media distribution waned, by The New '20s there was a major wave of mergers and acquisitions. Sony Corporation, which already owned Aniplex, bought Funimation in 2017, then bought Crunchyroll in 2021. In 2022, Sony merged the two services together and retired the name "Funimation" along with their streaming service, though functionally the English translation/dubs largely use the same production team as part of the new combined company. That same year, Sony's Crunchyroll also bought Right Stuf/Nozomi and Australia's Madman. Sentai Filmworks was also bought by AMC Networks in 2022, though it remained active as a subsidiary. Unlike Funimation or ADV/Sentai, which didn't publish print manga that their anime series were based on, Viz Media is primarily a print manga distributor - in fact its parent company is actually a manga publisher in Japan. Viz doesn't release a large catalogue of anime titles, but those it does are massively popular anime video adaptations of the world's biggest manga titles. Viz was therefore able to rely on the manga side of its business to carry it through the industry transition.

While in 2022 Sony's combined "Crunchyroll" at a near-monopoly on anime in the USA, seemingly the end of the story, within only two years a changing marketplace saw it facing heavy competition. A report by Bloomberg summarized that this was due to two reasons: first, simple mismanagement between all of the merged companies, sometimes staffed with executives who didn't understand the anime business. The second reason was more widespread: while for three decades the anime industry had been a physical media business selling VHS and DVD, by the 2010s it was already transitioning to primarily streaming - and the early 2020s streaming boom saw the rise of other new competitors. Sony's Crunchyroll may have dominated the old niche of North American anime companies, leveling up to the big leagues meant it now faced competition from the top tier generalist streamers such as Netflix itself. Disney+ launched in the 2019 streaming boom and began acquiring children's anime titles, while Netflix and Amazon Prime also expanded their content libraries to compete. Inevitably, as "anime" becomes more and more mainstream, it becomes harder for niche anime-only companies to compete. By late 2025, even HBO Max announced that it was expanding its anime catalogue, though with more of a "quality over quantity" approach by focusing on movies that have topped Japan's theatrical box office (Summer Wars, Your Name, etc.).

By 2025, the main surviving English anime distribution companies are:

• Crunchyroll (having absorbed Funimation, Nozomi Entertainment (i.e. Right Stuf), and Madman Entertainment, and part of Aniplex USA within the overall umbrella of Sony Corporation)
• Sentai Filmworks (spiritual successor of ADV, became a subsidiary of AMC Networks in 2022)
• Viz Media

Minor niche companies that are still active include:

• Discotek Media - focuses on restoring obscure anime titles for serious collectors, comparable to the Criterion Collection
• Eleven Arts
• GKIDS (now with Toho as a parent company)
• Media Blasters

English distributors (defunct)

• 4Kids Entertainment
• ADV Films
• AnimEigo (bought by MediaOCD in 2024)
• Bandai Entertainment (USA branch)
• Central Park Media
• CINAR
• DiC Entertainment (not a formal distributor but they did distribute some animes)
• Enoki Films
• Funimation
• Geneon Entertainment
• Harmony Gold
• Manga Entertainment
• Pony Canyon
• Saban Entertainment
• Streamline Pictures
• Synch-Point
• Western Connection
• ZIV International

Spanish dub studios (active)

• Candiani Dubbing Studios (Mexico City. Also credited as Audiomaster Candiani.)
• CB Audio (Cuernavaca. Had a branch in Mexico City until 2016. Owned by Jesus Barrero until his death, currently owned by his nephew, Victor Covarrubias.)
• Centauro Comunicaciones (Colombia. Has a branch in Mexico City)
• Cine Dub (Mexico City)
• VSI Civisa (Formely known as Civisa Media, now owned by Voice & Script International (VSI). Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• DINT Doblajes Internacionales (Chile)
• Elefante Films (Cuernavaca)
• Etcetera Group (Venezuela)
• Grupo Macias (Mexico City. Actually a Dubbing Producer, which owns several separate studios, only two of which are still active)
  • IDF
• Iyuno • SDI Group; Mexico (Known as Prime Dubb before being purchased by SDI Media and renamed SDI Media Mexico. Mexico City. Founded and previously ownedy by Eduardo Giaccardi. Merged with Iyuno in 2021 and became Iyuno-SDI Group)
• Koe Dubbing Masters (Mexico City. Founded and owned by Gabriel Gama.)
• Labo (Formerly known as Labo Prime Dubbing Producers, Mexico City. Founded and previously ownedy by Eduardo Giaccardi.)
• Lipsync Audio Video (Venezuela)
• New Art Dub (Formerly known as Grabaciones y Doblajes [Internacionales], Mexico City)
• Media Access Company (Formerly known as Media Pro Company until 2018 and Non Stop Digital until 2023. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Known mostly for it's work with Disney)
• Point.360 (Formely known as All Post or VDI Media, Los Angeles)
• Provideo S.A. (Colombia)

Spanish dub studios (defunct)

• Audiomaster 3000 (Mexico City. Merged with Candiani Dubbing Studios.)
• Dubbing House (Mexico City)
• Intertrack (Mexico City, then Cuernavaca. Merged with Doblaje Paris.)
• M&M Studios (Venezuela, stopped doing Spanish dubs in 2012)
• Hispanoamérica Doblajes (Also known as Technoworks) (Chile)
• Palmera Record (Known for some of his work with Sony. Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Sono-Mex Doblajes, S. A. (or simply Sonomex, Mexico City)
• Suite Sync (Known as Sensaciones Sónicas during the mid 00s and the mid 2010s and later also known as Suite Naranjo. Known for most of his work with Cartoon Network and some with Warner Bros. and NBC Universal. Mexico City)

Spanish distributors (active)

• Alebrije Entertainment (Formerly known as Xystus)
• Anime Onegai
• Artworks Entertainment
• Kora International
• Rose Entertainment
• Televix Entertainment

Spanish distributors (defunct)

• Cloverway Inc.
• Locomotion/Animax Latin America

Based in Belgium

• Sofia Atman
• Maia Baran
• Marie Braam
• Nathalie Hons
• Julia Kaye
• Aurélien Ringelheim
• Claire Tefnin

Based in Canada

• Émilie Bibeau
• Nicolas Charbonneaux-Collombet
• Hugolin Chevrette-Landesque
• Kim Jalabert
• Martin Watier

Based in France

• Adrien Antoine
• Jean Barney
• Barbara Beretta
• Daniel Beretta
• Jackie Berger
• Nathalie Bienaimé
• Fanny Bloc
• Anatole de Bodinat
• Damien Boisseau
• Benjamin Bollen
• Patrick Borg
• Bastien Bourlé
• Laurence Bréheret
• Aurélia Bruno
• Françoise Cadol
• Adeline Chetail
• Caroline Combes
• Emmanuel Curtil
• Maïk Darah
• Richard Darbois
• Nadine Delanoë
• Henry Djanik
• Philippe Dumond
• Benoît Fort-Junca
• Nadine Girard
• Claude Giraud
• Marie Giraudon
• Marion Gress
• Pierre Hatet
• Anouck Hautbois
• Éric Herson-Macarel
• Nathalie Homs
• Fabrice Josso
• Emmanuel Karsen
• Jérôme Keen
• Éric Legrand
• Christophe Lemoine
• Gilbert Lévy
• Michèle Lituac
• Marie-Eugénie Maréchal
• Taric Mehani
• Virginie Mery
• Martial Le Minoux
• Céline Monsarrat
• Éric Peter
• Philippe Peythieu
• Dorothée Pousséo
• Donald Reignoux
• Elia-Carmine Robbe
• Vincent Ropion
• Annabelle Roux
• Valerie Siclay
• Geneviève Taillade
• Pierre Tessier
• Barbara Tissier
• Alexis Tomassian
• Antoine Tomé
• Jean Topart
• Julie Turin
• Vincent Violette

Brazil

• Wendel Bezerra
• Guilherme Briggs
• Alfredo Rollo
• Angélica Santos