10 best anime by Studio Trigger

Founded in 2011 by former Gainax staff, including animator Hiroyuki Imaishi and producer Masahiko Otsuka, Studio Trigger has taken the anime world by storm over the past decade. Famed for dynamic action, bold visuals, and outrageous comedy, Trigger swiftly became a fan-favorite studio.

They have explored a wide range of genres, from school slice of life to sci-fi dystopias, constantly pushing the boundaries of animation. Their youthful spirit and fearless experimentation with both style and substance make Trigger a studio to keep following in the coming years.

Listed below are the 10 best anime by Studio Trigger so far, showcasing why they have already established themselves as an influential force in the animation industry.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinion.

10 must-watch anime by Studio Trigger

1) Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill centers around the hot-blooded Ryuko Matoi, who enrolls in Honnouji Academy seeking vengeance for her father's murder. She comes into conflict with the iron-fisted student-council president Satsuki Kiryuin and her super-powered Elite Four.

To fight them, Ryuko dons a special uniform called a Kamui, granting her extraordinary strength. What follows is an escalating over-the-top battle rife with secret organizations and explosive fight scenes as Ryuko unravels the truth behind her father's killer.

This anime by Studio Trigger bombards viewers with exhilarating action, copious fanservice, and sly humor. The series takes the concept of uniforms granting students superhuman power to absurd extremes. It also features mysterious familial ties and commentary on social-class divides.

2) Promare

It is set in an alternate world where some humans have developed pyrokinetic powers and are dubbed the Burnish. They are hunted by a militarized task force called the Freeze Force, while a special firefighting unit called Burning Rescue races to save lives and put out the infernos the Burnish unintentionally start.

When Burning Rescue member Galo Thymos first arrests—and later ends up saving—Burnish leader Lio Fotia, it sparks a team-up to save the planet from impending destruction. True to Trigger fashion, Promare starts out as a bombastic action movie complete with explosive firefights and over-designed mecha suits.

It then evolves into a grander tale dealing with prejudice and environmentalism while sharing thematic energy with Gurren Lagann. The vibrant visuals and soundtrack are stunning, further cementing Promare as a must-watch theatrical anime by Studio Trigger.

3) Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia (Image via Trigger)

Little Witch Academia started out as a fun short film about a group of young girls studying at a school for witches. The popular short later got funded through Kickstarter to produce a second short film, and eventually became a 25-episode TV series.

It tells the story of Akko Kagari and her friends Sucy and Lotte as they embark on all sorts of magical misadventures while attending the famous witch academy. Little Witch Academia captures all the magic and whimsy of the Harry Potter franchise with a fantasy-adventure anime flair rich in slice-of-life moments.

Akko is an instantly lovable protagonist—her plucky can-do attitude and passion for magic are positively infectious. Combined with the top-notch animation and uplifting messages about believing in yourself and persevering no matter what, Little Witch Academia is a must-watch series for fans of anime by Studio Trigger.

4) Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Image via Trigger and CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners impressed as Studio Trigger's first anime adaptation of CD Projekt Red’s video-game property. The dark sci-fi series is set in the technology- and body-modification-obsessed Night City from the Cyberpunk 2077 game.

It follows a street kid named David who turns into a mercenary edgerunner after tragedy strips everything away. Edgerunners perfectly captured the gritty, high-tech, dystopian future of the Cyberpunk games with detailed violence and an engrossing story.

The animation and action set-pieces were lauded as some of impressive anime by Studio Trigger. While featuring all their stylistic hallmarks, Edgerunners proved that Trigger could ground their work in darker, more mature themes like transhumanism.

5) Inferno Cop

A midnight police detective known as Inferno Cop hunts down the notorious Southern Cross gang in a town called Jack Knife Edge Town. With his flaming superpowers and massive gun, Inferno Cop brutally dispenses justice while spouting one-liners.

That's the entire series. Consisting of 13 short episodes totaling a little over 41 minutes, Inferno Cop is essentially a parody short released by Studio Trigger online. The animation consists of static images reminiscent of '80s American action cartoons.

The nonsensical plot is merely an excuse to depict increasingly absurd and gory fight scenes. Basically, Inferno Cop makes no sense but that's entirely the point—it's essentially Trigger taking the piss out of action-anime tropes while creating their own surreal style of deadpan comedy.

6) Space Patrol Luluco

Luluco is a middle-school girl whose normal life is disrupted when her dad is accidentally frozen by illegal alien contraband he confiscated, and she's forced to join the Space Patrol in his place.

Along with the handsome transfer student Alpha Omega Nova, Luluco finds herself going on intergalactic missions while trying to juggle her school life. It is classic Studio Trigger zaniness mixed with all their favorite anime tropes. There's rom-com, school drama, mecha battles, space adventure, and everything in between.

The short series takes the audience on a crazy ride through different animation genres, parodying everything from Saturday-morning cartoons to shōjo manga. Trigger gleefully flips clichés while saluting anime history, pairing expressive gags with frenetic space battles that keep viewers laughing throughout.

7) BNA: Brand New Animal

BNA: Brand New Animal (Image via Trigger)

BNA follows Michiru, a girl transformed mysteriously into a tanuki beastman, finding her way in the special city of Anima populated by human-like animals.

She joins forces with wolf-beastman vigilante Shirou to investigate her transformation and Anima's secrets while meeting colorful characters. Brand New Animal fills its world with creative lore and social commentary through Michiru and Shirou's humorous adventures.

The bright stylization of Anima City contrasts with the mysterious mutant enemies. Overall, BNA captures Trigger's flair for weird high-concept premises with relatable characters by using the literal beastmen as a metaphor for minority struggles.

8) Kiznaiver

Kiznaiver focuses on Katsuhira, an apathetic high-schooler who cannot feel pain or emotions. He gets forced into the Kizuna System, which connects people through shared pain. This links Katsuhira with classmates representing different teenage archetypes as they are made to open up their internal struggles.

While containing explosive moments, Kiznaiver mainly explores deeper psychological issues like the connections binding society. The focus on damaged characters facing trauma spotlights Trigger's narratological strength beneath the flashy animation.

This anime by Studio Trigger questions whether mutual understanding emerges from shared suffering or simply isolates people further.

9) SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman (Image via Trigger and Tsuburaya Productions)

Yuta Hibiki wakes up one day with amnesia in the seemingly ordinary suburban city of Tsutsujidai. He meets up with his classmate Rikka Takarada and her friends around an old computer nicknamed “Junk” in the second-hand store run by Rikka's mother.

When giant monsters and kaiju start mysteriously appearing in Tsutsujidai to attack citizens, Yuta is able to transform into the giant hero known as Gridman and fight them off. It draws inspiration from 1990s Japanese tokusatsu shows to create a series packed with kaiju-monster action coupled with relatable high-school drama.

The vibrant battles as Gridman takes on increasingly bizarre monsters are the definite highlights. Mystery and intrigue are layered on top of the teen friendship story to keep viewers hooked. Trigger adds plenty of references and homages to classic kaiju and mecha anime for long-time fans.

10) Ninja Slayer From Animation

Ninja Slayer From Animation (Image via Trigger)

It started out as a series of parody ninja novels written in Japanese, presented with a fictional backstory claiming they were English novels translated into Japanese. Studio Trigger adapted the series into an experimental anime that combines '70s ninja-exploitation films with modern trippy animation.

It follows the dark salaryman Fujikido Kenji, who becomes possessed by Naraku Ninja—a single, powerful, vengeful ninja soul—after the murder of his family. Kenji transforms into the raging Ninja Slayer bent on revenge against the ninja crime syndicate Soukaiya while dueling his arch-nemesis, the fearsome Darkninja.

Blending retro hand-drawn art, CGI graphics, and live-action sequences, Ninja Slayer seems purposefully disjointed and nonsensical. A riotous black comedy that both lampoons and honors ninja anime—perfect for fans of anime by Studio Trigger.

Conclusion

Over the past decade, Studio Trigger has crafted its own unique animation identity through its entertaining stories, instantly memorable characters, dynamic action, and experimental visual styles.

They've explored a wide gamut from school slice-of-life shows to supernatural adventures, sci-fi dystopias, and ninja-exploitation tributes. It will be exciting to see what crazy new worlds and animation techniques Studio Trigger tries out in the future.

But for now, fans can enjoy revisiting these 10 best anime by Studio Trigger, showcasing why Trigger has already become such an influential animation studio. Their youthful spirit, flair for comedy, and fearlessness when pushing boundaries make them a studio to watch out for now and in the future.

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About the author

I am an expert article writer and data analyst with two years of experience in the field. In my free time, I enjoy watching a lot of anime, movies, and web series. Currently, my favorite anime is Naruto.

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Edited by Tiasha