# Bones (studio)

Bones Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社ボンズ, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Bonzu) is a Japanese animation studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, No. 6, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club, both the 2003 and 2009 adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist, Star Driver, Gosick, Soul Eater, Mob Psycho 100, Space Dandy, Noragami, Bungo Stray Dogs, and My Hero Academia. Its headquarters are located in Igusa, Suginami, Tokyo.

## History

Bones was founded by Sunrise staff members Masahiko Minami, Hiroshi Ōsaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto in October 1998. One of their first projects was collaborating with Sunrise on Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, a feature film based on the Cowboy Bebop anime series.
According to Minami, the studio's name was chosen as a reference to its staff count at the time (8), which he described as being "like bones" while citing the desire to "work hard and put on some flesh".
In 2007, the studio suffered the loss of co-founder Hiroshi Ōsaka, well known for his works as character designer on series such as Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Mobile Fighter G Gundam and The Mars Daybreak. Ōsaka had been battling with cancer, and died from the disease on September 24, 2007. He was 44 years old.
After the death of Ōsaka, two new additions have been made to the studio's board of directors: Makoto Watanabe and Takahiro Komori. Komori is well known as a character designer and animator who has been with the studio since its inception. His previous works as designer consist of Angelic Layer, Scrapped Princess, and Darker than Black.
In 2024, Bones spun-off its production division under a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary known as Bones Film.

## Studios

Like studio Sunrise, where some of its founders previously worked, Bones is divided into smaller studios which are focused on their own anime projects.
* Studio A: Led by producer Naoki Amano and mainly known for Gosick, Wolf's Rain, Angelic Layer, Hiwou War Chronicles, Noragami and Carole & Tuesday.
* Studio B: Mainly known for Eureka Seven, RahXephon, Space Dandy, and Mob Psycho 100.
* Studio C: Led by producer Yoshihiro Oyabu; It's known for Fullmetal Alchemist, Darker than Black: The Black Contractor, Soul Eater and Ouran High School Host Club. It's currently working exclusively on My Hero Academia.
* Studio D: Led by Mari Suzuki and mainly known for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and No. 6. Since 2015, it works on Bungo Stray Dogs.
* Studio E: The newest studio, led by Makoto Watanabe and mainly known for the Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution trilogy and Metallic Rouge.

## Productions
### Bones
#### Anime television series

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Eps. | Studio | Note(s) |
| 2000–2001 | Hiwou War Chronicles | Tetsurō Amino | 26 | A | Original work. |
| 2001 | Angelic Layer: Battle Doll | Hiroshi Nishikiori | 26 | A | Based on a manga by CLAMP. |
| 2002 | RahXephon | Yutaka Izubuchi | 26 | B | Original work. |
| 2003 | Wolf's Rain | Tensai Okamura | 30 | A | Original work. |
| 2003 | Scrapped Princess | Sōichi Masui | 24 | B | Based on a light novel by Ichirō Sakaki. |
| 2003–2004 | Fullmetal Alchemist | Seiji Mizushima | 51 | C | Based on a manga by Hiromu Arakawa. Features a partially anime original storyline. |
| 2004 | Mars Daybreak | Kunihiro Mori | 26 | B | Original work. |
| 2004 | Kurau Phantom Memory | Yasuhiro Irie | 24 | A | Original work. |
| 2005–2006 | Eureka Seven | Tomoki Kyoda | 51 | B | Original work. |
| 2006 | Ouran High School Host Club | Takuya Igarashi | 26 | C | Based on a manga by Bisco Hatori. |
| 2006 | Jyu-Oh-Sei | Hiroshi Nishikiori | 11 | A | Based on a manga by Natsumi Itsuki. |
| 2006–2007 | Ghost Slayers Ayashi | Hiroshi Nishikiori Yoshikazu Miyao (assistant) | 25 | A | Original work. |
| 2007 | Darker than Black: The Black Contractor | Tensai Okamura | 25 | C | Original work. |
| 2007 | Skull Man | Takeshi Mori | 13 | B | Based on a manga by Shotaro Ishinomori. |
| 2008–2009 | Soul Eater | Takuya Igarashi | 51 | C | Based on a manga by Atsushi Ōkubo. |
| 2008 | Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom Thief | Nobuo Tomisawa | 22 | N/A | Based on a manga by Shinji Ohara (co-production with Telecom Animation Film). |
| 2009–2010 | Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | Yasuhiro Irie | 64 | D | Second adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga. |
| 2009 | Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 | Masaki Tachibana | 11 | N/A | Original work (co-production with Kinema Citrus). |
| 2009 | Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor | Tensai Okamura | 12 | C | Sequel to Darker Than Black. |
| 2010 | Heroman | Hitoshi Nanba | 26 | A | Original work in collaboration with Stan Lee. |
| 2010–2011 | Star Driver | Takuya Igarashi | 25 | C | Original work. |
| 2011 | Gosick | Hitoshi Nanba | 24 | A | Based on a light novel by Kazuki Sakuraba. |
| 2011 | No. 6 | Kenji Nagasaki | 11 | D | Based on the novels by Atsuko Asano. |
| 2011 | Un-Go | Seiji Mizushima | 12 | C | Based on the works of Ango Sakaguchi. |
| 2012 | Eureka Seven: AO | Tomoki Kyoda | 24 | A/B | Sequel to Eureka Seven. |
| 2012–2013 | Blast of Tempest | Masahiro Andō | 24 | D | Based on a manga by Kyō Shirodaira. |
| 2013 | Otona Joshi no Anime Time: Life's Best 10 | Miura You | 1 | B | Episode 3 of Otona Joshi no Anime Time television specials. |
| 2013–2014 | Tenkai Knights | Mitsuru Hongo | 52 | C | Original work. First run in United States, on Cartoon Network. |
| 2014 | Space Dandy | Shinichirō Watanabe (chief) Shingo Natsume | 13 | B | Original work. First run in United States, on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block. |
| 2014 | Noragami | Kotaro Tamura | 12 | A | Based on the manga by Adachitoka. |
| 2014 | Captain Earth | Takuya Igarashi | 24 | C | Original work. |
| 2014 | Soul Eater Not! | Masakazu Hashimoto | 12 | A | Based on a manga by Atsushi Ōkubo Spin-off to Soul Eater. |
| 2014 | Chaika - The Coffin Princess | Soichi Masui | 12 | D | Based on a light novel by Ichirō Sakaki. |
| 2014 | Space Dandy 2 | Shinichirō Watanabe (chief) Shingo Natsume | 13 | B | First run in United States, on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block. |
| 2014 | Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Avenging Battle | Soichi Masui | 10 | D | |
| 2015 | Blood Blockade Battlefront | Rie Matsumoto | 12 | A/C | Based on the manga by Yasuhiro Nightow |
| 2015 | Show by Rock!! | Takahiro Ikezoe | 12 | D | Based on a video game by Geechs and Sanrio. |
| 2015 | Snow White with the Red Hair | Masahiro Andō | 12 | B | Based on the manga by Sorata Akizuki. |
| 2015 | Noragami Aragoto | Kotaro Tamura | 13 | A | |
| 2015 | Concrete Revolutio | Seiji Mizushima | 13 | C | Original work. |
| 2016 | Snow White with the Red Hair 2 | Masahiro Andō | 12 | B | |
| 2016 | Concrete Revolutio: The Last Song | Seiji Mizushima | 11 | C | |
| 2016 | My Hero Academia | Kenji Nagasaki | 13 | A | Based on the manga by Kōhei Horikoshi. |
| 2016 | Bungo Stray Dogs | Takuya Igarashi | 12 | D | Based on the manga by Kafka Asagiri. |
| 2016 | Show by Rock!! Short!! | Takahiro Ikezoe | 12 | D | Short anime based on Show by Rock!!. |
| 2016 | Mob Psycho 100 | Yuzuru Tachikawa | 12 | B | Based on the manga by One. |
| 2016 | Show by Rock 2!! | Takahiro Ikezoe | 12 | D | |
| 2016 | Bungo Stray Dogs 2 | Takuya Igarashi | 12 | D | |
| 2017 | My Hero Academia 2 | Kenji Nagasaki | 25 | C | |
| 2017 | Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond | Shigehito Takayanagi | 12 | B | |
| 2018 | My Hero Academia 3 | Kenji Nagasaki | 25 | C | |
| 2018 | Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan | Shinji Higuchi (chief) Hiroshi Kobayashi | 12 | A | Original work. |
| 2019 | Mob Psycho 100 II | Yuzuru Tachikawa | 13 | B | |
| 2019 | Carole & Tuesday | Shinichirō Watanabe (chief) Motonobu Hori | 24 | A | Original work. |
| 2019 | Bungo Stray Dogs 3 | Takuya Igarashi | 12 | D | |
| 2019–2020 | My Hero Academia 4 | Kenji Nagasaki (chief) Masahiro Mukai | 25 | C | |
| 2021 | SK8 the Infinity | Hiroko Utsumi | 12 | D | Original work. |
| 2021 | Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! | Satonobu Kikuchi | 12 | N/A | Based on the spin-off manga of Bungo Stray Dogs by Kafka Asagiri. (co-production with Nomad) |
| 2021 | My Hero Academia 5 | Kenji Nagasaki (chief) Masahiro Mukai | 25 | C | |
| 2021 | Godzilla Singular Point | Atsushi Takahashi | 13 | A | Original work in the Godzilla franchise (co-production with Orange). |
| 2021–2022 | The Case Study of Vanitas | Tomoyuki Itamura | 24 | A | Based on the manga by Jun Mochizuki. |
| 2022–2023 | My Hero Academia 6 | Kenji Nagasaki (chief) Masahiro Mukai | 25 | C | |
| 2022 | Mob Psycho 100 III | Yuzuru Tachikawa (chief) Takahiro Hasui | 12 | B | |
| 2023 | Bungo Stray Dogs 4 | Takuya Igarashi | 13 | D | |
| 2023 | Bungo Stray Dogs 5 | Takuya Igarashi | 11 | D | |
| 2024 | Metallic Rouge | Motonobu Hori | 13 | E | Original work. |
| 2024 | My Hero Academia 7 | Kenji Nagasaki (chief) Naomi Nakayama | 21 | C | |
| 2024 | The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies | Akiyo Ohashi | 12 | D | Based on the manga by Cocoa Fujiwara. |

#### Anime films

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Dur. | Studio | Note(s) |
| 2000 | Escaflowne | Kazuki Akane | 98m | A | |
| 2001 | Cowboy Bebop: The Movie | Shinichirō Watanabe | 115m | A | |
| 2003 | RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio | Tomoki Kyoda | 115m | B | |
| 2005 | Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa | Seiji Mizushima | 105m | C | |
| 2007 | Sword of the Stranger | Masahiro Andō | 102m | B | |
| 2009 | Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows | Tomoki Kyoda (chief) Hiroshi Haraguchi | 115m | N/A | Co-production with Kinema Citrus. |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: The Ephemeral Petals | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2011 | Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos | Kazuya Murata | 111m | D | |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: Dancing Orchid in Chaos | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: The Complicity of Dreams | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: The Roaring Anxiety | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: The Return of the Invincible | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2011 | Un-Go: Chapter of Inga | Seiji Mizushima | 48m | C | |
| 2011 | Towa no Quon: Eternal Quon | Umanosuke Iida Takeshi Mori (assistant) | 48m | B | |
| 2013 | Star Driver: The Movie | Takuya Igarashi | 150m | C | |
| 2017 | Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution 1 | Tomoki Kyoda (chief) Hisatoshi Shimizu | 93m | E | |
| 2018 | Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple | Takuya Igarashi | 90m | D | |
| 2018 | My Hero Academia: Two Heroes | Kenji Nagasaki | 96m | C | |
| 2018 | Anemone - Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution | Tomoki Kyoda | 94m | E | |
| 2019 | My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising | Kenji Nagasaki | 104m | C | |
| 2020 | Josee, the Tiger and the Fish | Kotaro Tamura | 98m | D | |
| 2021 | My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission | Kenji Nagasaki | 104m | C | |
| 2021 | Eureka - Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution | Tomoki Kyoda | 116m | E | |
| 2024 | My Hero Academia: You're Next | Tensai Okamura | 110m | B | |

#### Original net animation

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Eps. | Studio | Note(s) |
| 2008–2009 | Xam'd: Lost Memories | Masayuki Miyaji | 26 | B | PlayStation Network; Original work |
| 2018 | A.I.C.O. -Incarnation- | Kazuya Murata | 12 | A | Netflix; Original work |
| 2021 | Super Crooks | Motonobu Hori | 13 | B | Netflix; Based on the comic book series by Mark Millar |
| 2024 | Time Patrol Bon | Masahiro Andō | 24 | A | Netflix; Based on the manga series by Fujiko F. Fujio |

#### Original video animation

* RahXephon Interlude: Her and Herself/Thatness and Thereness (August 7, 2003)
* Wolf's Rain (January 23, 2004 – February 25, 2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection (March 29, 2006)
* Ghost Slayers Ayashi: Ayashi Diving Comedy (August 22, 2007 – October 24, 2007)
* Darker than Black: Beneath the Fully Bloomed Cherry Blossoms (March 26, 2008)
* Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (August 26, 2009 – August 25, 2010)
* Prototype (part of Halo Legends) (2010)
* Darker than Black: Gaiden (January 27, 2010 – July 21, 2010)
* Eureka Seven Ao: The Flowers of Jungfrau (September 20, 2012)
* Noragami (February 17, 2014 - July 17, 2014)
* Hitsugi no Chaika (March 10, 2015)
* Noragami Aragoto (November 17, 2015 - March 17, 2016)
* Snow White with the Red Hair (January 5, 2016)
* Blood Blockade Battlefront (June 3, 2016)
* Eureka Seven Ao:Final (January 2017)
* Bungo Stray Dogs (August 31, 2017)
* Mob Psycho 100 Reigen -The Miraculous Unknown Psychic- (March 18, 2018)
* My Hero Academia - All Might: Rising (February 13, 2019)
* Mob Psycho 100: The Spirits and Such Consultation Office's First Company Outing ~A Healing Trip that Warms the Heart~ (September 25, 2019)

#### Video games

* Robot Alchemic Drive (Enix, November 4, 2002)
* Rahxephon Blu Sky Fantasia (Bandai, August 7, 2003)
* Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (Square Enix, December 25, 2003)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo (Bandai, March 25, 2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Sonata of Memories (Bandai, July 22, 2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir (Square Enix, September 22, 2004)
* Fullmetal Alchemist 3: The Girl Who Succeed God (Square Enix, July 21, 2005)
* Eureka Seven vol. 1: The New Wave (Bandai, October 27, 2005)
* Eureka Seven vol. 2: The New Vision (Bandai, May 11, 2006)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn (Square Enix, August 13, 2009)
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk (Square Enix, December 10, 2009)
* Liberation Maiden (Part of Guild01; Level-5, May 31, 2012)
* Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Capcom/Level-5, November 29, 2012)
* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (Capcom, July 25, 2013)
* Persona 4: Dancing All Night (Atlus, June 25, 2015)

#### Music videos

* Lotte music video「Baby I love you daze」 - Shinsekai by Bump of Chicken, Directed by Rie Matsumoto (December 11, 2018)
* Pokémon Special Music Video「GOTCHA！」- Acacia by BUMP OF CHICKEN, Directed by Rie Matsumoto (Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc., September 29, 2020)

### Bones Film

In 2024, Bones spun-off its production division under a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary known as Bones Film. All animation production capacities had been transferred to this company.

#### Anime television series

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Eps. | Studio | Note(s) |
| 2025 | My Hero Academia: Vigilantes | Kenichi Suzuki | TBA | B | Based on the spin-off manga of My Hero Academia by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court. |
| 2025 | Gachiakuta | Fumihiko Suganuma | TBA | A | Based on the manga by Kei Urana and Hideyoshi Andou. |
| 2025 | My Hero Academia 8 | Kenji Nagasaki (chief) Naomi Nakayama | TBA | C | |
| TBA | SK8 the Infinity 2 | Hiroko Utsumi | TBA | D | |

#### Original video animation

* SK8 the Infinity Extra Part (March 19, 2025)