When one has watched too much anime, certain animation styles and efforts tend to become too apparent or even preferred. Some anime studios simply put more care and perfectionism into their craft. That's why one might also be able to judge whether an anime will fail or succeed based on their host studio.As such, studios like Sunrise even became so big and successful that they became responsible for some of the most culturally relevant anime. They also have their own fan-designated trademark. Due to their fluid animation and attention to detail, a new standard for anime production has been coined as "Sunrise smooth." These anime from Sunrise are the finest examples of that.
10 Yakitate!! Japan
- Release Year: 2004
- Number of Seasons: 1 (69 episodes total)
Yakitate!! Japan was one of the progenitors and pioneers of exaggerated food contest anime. It focuses on baking but was nonetheless highly popular back in its heyday for portraying some hyperbolic and even graphic reactions from whoever tastes the protagonist's inventive bread recipes.
That protagonist would be Azuma Kazuma and his shonen-esque goal is to create a national bread for Japan just as the French bread is France's. The kicker is that he already has an advantage in the form of his "solar hands" which heat up the dough during kneading, making it more flavorful.
9 Love Live! Superstar!!
- Release Year: 2021
- Number of Seasons: 1 (12 episodes total)
One of the most recent anime released this year from Sunrise would be an adaptation of an already popular franchise called Love Live! Superstar!! It's an anime about idols or aspiring ones as the group of girls find their footing in the highly competitive Japanese idol industry.
At the center of that dream maelstrom is Kanon Shibuya. She once quit her ambition of becoming a famous musician due to stage fright. However, a friend urges her to persevere, but in a more relaxed setting, such as a high school that's not dedicated to music.
8 City Hunter
- Release Year: 1987
- Number of Seasons: 4 (140 episodes total)
City Hunter is a classic representation of the 1980s but in anime form. It's a neo-noir detective anime spearheaded by none other than a duo with boundless chemistry, just like the cop duo dramas/action/comedies of its time period.
City Hunter sees the episodic escapades of "sweeper" Ryo Saeba – a member of the City Hunter mercenary group tasked with cleaning up the criminal scum of Tokyo. In partnership with a tomboy named Kaori Makimura, the two of them brave City Hunter's toughest cases such as taking on syndicates, arms dealers, and petty offenders.
7 InuYasha
- Release Year: 2000
- Number of Seasons: 2 (193 episodes total)
Anyone who's witnessed this anime back in its heyday likely has children by now or lots of cats/dogs instead. It's one of the most prominent and long-running isekai anime in existence, with the first season boasting a whopping 167 episodes across four years. There's also a belated final act season worth 26 episodes, so there's plenty of InuYasha to be had.
InuYasha follows Kagome Higurashi's story as the 15-year-old high-schooler magically gets transported into a mystical medieval Japan where she is tasked with collecting pieces of a wish-granting jewel that got shattered. Thankfully, a demon-human hybrid named Inuyasha is kind enough to help her in her adventure.
6 Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
- Release Year: 2015
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 2 (50 episodes total)
Sunrise is actually responsible for most of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime but their highest-rated TV series involving these pop culture mechs would be Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. Granted, most of the protagonists in a Gundam anime are orphans of sorts. But this one cranks that trope up to 11.
As always, this iteration of Mobile Suit Gundam has pretty complex geopolitics akin to a World War setup. Earth in Iron-Blooded Orphans is essentially divided into four factions in an uneasy peace. Meanwhile, the humans that live on Mars are at an economic stranglehold after being neglected by Earth.
5 Daily Lives Of High School Boys
- Release Year: 2012
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 1 (12 episodes total)
Daily Lives of High School Boys is good proof that Sunrise is highly versatile in its anime genre. It doesn't just pick big action set-pieces or epic stories but also some slice of life drama in an angle that doesn't get explored often.
Daily Lives of High School Boys is also a comedy anime that's all about the three stooges of Sanada North High School. Those three would be Hidenori, Yoshitake, and Tadakuni. Each of them has personality quirks that conflict with one another's as they try to traverse through high-school turbulent adolescence and all.
4 Planetes
- Release Year: 2003
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 1 (26 episodes total)
Most sci-fi anime tend to be grand or even outlandish plots of war and mech carnage. That's why Planetes is a breath of fresh air – it defies the typical sci-fi anime convention. Because Planetes is first and foremost a drama and romance anime set in space.
It takes place in 2075 where space travel is about as common as airline flights. Ai Tanabe, the protagonist, is thus given what she thought was a great opportunity: cleaning up space debris for a corporation. She soon discovers that her job is actually undignified but still perseveres as she climbs her way up the chain of respect.
3 Gintama
- Release Year: 2006
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 4 (368 episodes total)
Gintama has come a long way as one of Sunrise's most favored and most persistent series. It's quite a handful since it's a mix of several anime genres that work but it mostly deals in comedy these days as its ridiculous plot dictates. There's no shortage of Gintama regardless, with more than 300 episodes and other media forms.
The whole anime is about a defiant swordsman and his comrades as they try to live the samurai culture despite a prohibition set by their alien invaders and overlords. Gintoki, the swordsman, thus becomes a handyman and fixer trying out different odd jobs and dragging his friends along.
2 Cowboy Bebop
- Release Year: 1998
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 1 (26 episodes total)
Cowboy Bebop likely cemented Sunrise's pedigree as an animation studio even further as it's one of the best examples of their "Sunrise smooth" term. For many, Cowboy Bebop is the perfect entry anime as it defies most conventions and takes on a more western flavor.
This sci-fi epic follows the exploits of a starving gang of bounty hunters as their ragtag group of misfits try to scrape by from job to job each episode. Along the way, they offer some cool character dynamics as well as plenty of jazz music, mature comedy, and closeted pasts.
1 Code Geass
- Release Year: 2006
- ​​​​​​​Number of Seasons: 2 (50 episodes total)
Back in the time when Death Note was all the rage, Sunrise had to come up with its own anime about a frighteningly intelligent young man with his newfound powers. They chose that route and then spliced it with a war and mecha anime. The result was Code Geass, an anime that defined a generation.
Code Geass chronicles the struggles of Lelouch Lamperouge, a rogue British nobleman who decided to take up arms against his imperialist empire and lead the oppressed people of Japan to victory. It was all made possible using his sharp wits and hypnosis. For those who want to watch several anime genres at once while exercising their brains, then this masterpiece from Sunrise won't disappoint.