J.C.Staff

• 1. A Studio Begins

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  J.C.Staff is a Japanese animation studio, founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata. Miyata had previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release, Yōtōden, followed in 1987. Its credit list now reaches from that debut to productions scheduled for 2027. It includes television series, feature films, video-only releases and animation made for video games. Names on that list include Azumanga Daioh, Toradora!, One-Punch Man and Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma. Several questions run through the chapters ahead. Where did the studio find its stories? Why do so many of its series return for second, third and even fifth seasons? And how often did it share the work with other studios?

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• 2. Video Beginnings

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  Yōtōden ran for three episodes, from the 21st of May 1987 to the 11th of May 1988, under director Osamu Yamasaki. It was an original work rather than an adaptation. On the 27th of May 1989 the studio gathered those episodes into a compilation film called Wrath of the Ninja.

  The early catalog is crowded with OVAs, short for original video animation, a format that sits outside regular television broadcasts. On the 28th of April 1989 Cleopatra DC began, adapted from a manga by Kaoru Shintani. Three days later came Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma, a two-episode adaptation of a manga by Kei Kusunoki. Earthian, based on a manga by Yun Kōga, started on the 26th of July 1989. Its four episodes took until the 21st of December 1996 to finish. Yun Kōga's work returned to the studio in 2005 as Loveless, a twelve-episode series on TV Asahi.

  Kosuke and Rikimaru: Dragon of Konpei Island was an original work directed by Toyoo Ashida and co-written by Akira Toriyama and Ashida. Ashida also directed Chō Bakumatsu Shōnen Seiki Takamaru, a two-episode original that ran from the 1st of November to the 20th of December 1991.

  Konpeki no Kantai stretched across a decade. Adapted from an alternate history novel series by Yoshio Aramaki, its 32 episodes ran from the 1st of December 1993 to the 1st of August 2003. A spin-off, Kyokujitsu no Kantai, added 15 more episodes between February 1997 and 2002.

  Garzey's Wing, an original work of 1996, placed Yoshiyuki Tomino in the director's chair for three episodes.

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• 3. Slayers and Utena

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  The 5th of August 1995 brought Slayers The Motion Picture, a prequel to the Slayers series. Three more August films followed. Slayers Return arrived on the 3rd of August 1996, Slayers Great on the 2nd of August 1997 and Slayers Gorgeous on the 1st of August 1998. Between the films came OVAs. Slayers Special ran three episodes from July 1996 into May 1997, and Slayers Excellent added three more from October 1998 to March 1999.

  On the 2nd of April 1997, two series premiered on TV Tokyo. Revolutionary Girl Utena, based on an original concept by Be-Papas, ran 39 episodes until the 24th of December 1997. Maze: The Mega-Burst Space, adapted from a light novel series by Satoru Akahori, ran 25 episodes until the 24th of September. Maze later received a sequel film, Maze Bakunetsu Jikuu: Tenpen Kyoui no Giant, on the 25th of April 1998.

  Adolescence of Utena reached audiences on the 14th of August 1999, and the studio describes it as an alternative retelling of the series. Slayers itself came back in 2008. Slayers Revolution began on the 2nd of July, a sequel to Slayers TRY, and Slayers Evolution-R followed in January 2009.

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• 4. Manga Into Series

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  Azumanga Daioh reached TV Tokyo on the 8th of April 2002 and ran 26 episodes until the 30th of September. It adapted a manga by Kiyohiko Azuma. A six-minute trailer film, Azumanga Daioh: The Very Short Movie, had already appeared on the 22nd of December 2001.

  Fuji TV's Noitamina label carried five of the studio's series. Honey and Clover, adapted from a manga by Chica Umino, began on the 14th of April 2005 and ran 24 episodes. A twelve-episode second season followed in June 2006. Nodame Cantabile, from Tomoko Ninomiya's manga, began on the 11th of January 2007 with 23 episodes. Its sequels, Paris-Hen and Finale, each ran 11 episodes, in 2008 and 2010.

  Bakuman began on NHK-E on the 2nd of October 2010, adapting the manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Bakuman. 2 followed in October 2011 and Bakuman. 3 in October 2012. Each of the three seasons ran 25 episodes.

  The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. premiered on the 4th of July 2016 with 26 episodes, adapted from a manga by Shūichi Asō. Its sequel, which began on the 17th of January 2018, was listed on Netflix and ran 24 episodes.

  Hiro Mashima's manga supplied two later series. Edens Zero ran 25 episodes on NTV from the 11th of April to the 3rd of October 2021, and its second season matched that length in 2023. Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, credited to Mashima and Atsuo Ueda, ran 25 episodes from the 7th of July 2024 to the 5th of January 2025.

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• 5. Light Novel Engine

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  The Familiar of Zero began on the 3rd of July 2006 with 13 episodes, adapted from a light novel series by Noboru Yamaguchi. Three sequels followed: Knight of the Twin Moons in July 2007, Rondo of Princesses in July 2008, and The Familiar of Zero F in January 2012.

  Shakugan no Shana premiered on the 6th of October 2005 with 24 episodes, from light novels by Yashichiro Takahashi. Shakugan no Shana II began in October 2007 and Shakugan no Shana III: Final in October 2011, each with 24 episodes. A film adapting the first novel arrived on the 21st of April 2007. An OVA series, Shakugan no Shana S, ran four episodes from October 2009 to September 2010.

  October 2008 saw two light novel adaptations start within two days of each other. Toradora!, from Yuyuko Takemiya, began on the 2nd of October with 25 episodes. A Certain Magical Index, from Kazuma Kamachi, began on the 4th with 24. Takemiya's other novel series returned in 2013 as Golden Time, which ran 24 episodes from the 3rd of October.

  Kamachi's world then grew in several directions. A Certain Magical Index II began on the 8th of October 2010, and A Certain Magical Index III, with 26 episodes, on the 5th of October 2018. A Certain Scientific Railgun, adapted from a manga series, began on the 3rd of October 2009 with 24 episodes. Railgun S followed in April 2013, and Railgun T, with 25 episodes, in January 2020. A Certain Scientific Accelerator, also adapted from a manga, ran 12 episodes in the summer of 2019. The film The Miracle of Endymion, an original story, arrived on the 23rd of February 2013. Heavy Object, another Kamachi light novel adaptation, ran 24 episodes from October 2015.

  Two more entries sit on the schedule. A Certain Scientific Railgun Season 4 is listed without a date, and A Certain Item of Dark Side is listed for the fourth quarter of 2026.

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• 6. Returning Seasons

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  Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma premiered on the 3rd of April 2015 with 24 episodes, adapting a manga by Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki. Four more television runs followed, titled The Second Plate, The Third Plate, The Fourth Plate and The Fifth Plate. The last ended on the 25th of September 2020. A five-episode OVA ran from May 2016 to May 2018.

  Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, also known as DanMachi, started on the 4th of April 2015. It adapts light novels by Fujino Ōmori. Seasons II to V arrived in 2019, 2020-2022 and 2024. The fourth ran 22 episodes through the 18th of March 2023, and the fifth ran 15 episodes to the 7th of March 2025. A spin-off, Sword Oratoria, premiered in April 2017. The film Arrow of the Orion, an original story, opened on the 15th of February 2019.

  The Duke of Death and His Maid premiered on the 4th of July 2021, from a manga by Koharu Inoue. It returned in July 2023 and again in April 2024, with 12 episodes in every season.

  Mewkledreamy, based on a character from Sanrio, ran 48 episodes on TV Tokyo from the 5th of April 2020 to the 4th of April 2021. Mewkledreamy Mix! added 50 more, ending on the 27th of March 2022.

  One-Punch Man 2 began on the 9th of April 2019 on TV Tokyo and ran 12 episodes. One-Punch Man 3 Part 1 ran 12 episodes from the 12th of October to the 28th of December 2025. Part 2 is listed for 2027.

  Patlabor EZY, a reboot of the Patlabor series, began on the 15th of May 2026. Its eight episodes are listed to run until March 2027.

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• 7. Game Worlds

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  PaRappa the Rapper began on Fuji TV on the 14th of April 2001 and ran 30 episodes until the 11th of January 2002. It was based on the PaRappa the Rapper video game, with production cooperation from Production I.G.

  In 1996, two OVAs drew on fighting games. Battle Arena Toshinden ran two episodes and Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer ran three. Games also asked the studio for animation directly. Psychic Force and Langrisser III, both from 1996, carried opening animations from the studio. Guilty Gear X followed in 2000, and Mega Man ZX Advent in 2007 used its cutscene animation. The studio's table lists twelve games between 1995 and 2015. It ends with The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures in 2015.

  Blue Reflection Ray, a spin-off of the game Blue Reflection by Gust Co. Ltd., ran 24 episodes from the 10th of April to the 25th of September 2021. Last Period, based on a role-playing game by Happy Elements, aired for twelve episodes in the spring of 2018.

  selector infected WIXOSS began on the 3rd of April 2014 as an original work made in collaboration with Tomy and Warner Bros. Japan. selector spread WIXOSS followed in October 2014, and the film Selector Destructed WIXOSS opened on the 13th of February 2016. Lostorage incited WIXOSS arrived that October as a spin-off. A further spin-off, WIXOSS Diva(A)Live, began on the 9th of January 2021.

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• 8. Shared Credits

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  Kare Kano began on TV Tokyo on the 2nd of October 1998 and ran 26 episodes. It adapted a manga by Masami Tsuda and was co-animated with Gainax. Gainax appears again on Melody of Oblivion, a 24-episode series that began on the 6th of April 2004.

  Tantei Opera Milky Holmes began on the 7th of October 2010 with 12 episodes. Its sequels show a changing set of partners. Act 2, in January 2012, was co-animated with Artland. Futari wa Milky Holmes, in July 2013, and Milky Holmes TD, in January 2015, were both co-animated with Nomad.

  Dai-Shogun - Great Revolution, an original work directed by Takashi Watanabe, began on the 9th of April 2014 and was co-animated with A.C.G.T. The same partner shared Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club in January 2017, adapted from a manga by Noriyuki Matsumoto. Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc., which began on the 4th of October 2024, was co-animated with Studio Moe.

  Some entries are partial. The listing marks You're Under Arrest, adapted from Kōsuke Fujishima's manga and co-animated with Studio Deen, with the note episodes 1 to 2 only. The Heroic Legend of Arslan carries the note episodes 5 to 6 only.

  Hi Score Girl, with 12 episodes from the 13th of July 2018, is marked production cooperation, with animation by Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment. Its second season, Hi Score Girl II, carries the same credit for nine episodes from the 25th of October 2019.

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