Madhouse Inc. (stylized as MADHOUSE; Japanese: 株式会社マッドハウス, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Maddohausu) is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators, including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Madhouse has created and helped to produce many well-known shows, OVAs and films, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! (produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha) in 1973, and including Wicked City, Ninja Scroll, Perfect Blue, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Trigun, Di Gi Charat, Black Lagoon, Death Note, Paprika, Wolf Children, Parasyte: The Maxim and the first season of One-Punch Man. Unlike other studios founded at this time such as AIC and J.C.Staff, their strength was and is primarily in TV shows and theatrical features. Expanding from the initial Mushi Pro staff, Madhouse recruited important directors such as Morio Asaka, Masayuki Kojima, and Satoshi Kon during the 1990s. Their staff roster expanded in the 2000s to include Mamoru Hosoda, Takeshi Koike, and Mitsuo Iso, as well as many younger television directors. The studio was also responsible for the first Beyblade anime series as well as the Dragon Drive anime and the 2011 anime adaptation of Hunter × Hunter. The studio often collaborates with known manga artists, including Naoki Urasawa and Clamp. Madhouse produced adaptations of Urasawa's Yawara!, Master Keaton and Monster, with Masayuki Kojima helming the later two. The company has animated a number of CLAMP's titles, including Tokyo Babylon, two versions of X (a theatrical movie and a TV series), Cardcaptor Sakura and its sequel Clear Card, and Chobits.
In the hyper-policed, sterile metropolis of Vector City, a totalitarian regime known as the Vector United Authority (VUA) rules with an iron fist. Led by the charismatic but corrupt Director Gordon Vane, the "rotten adults" of the city are systematically siphoning the city's underground Ley Line energy, draining the vibrant culture, memories, and very souls out of historic neighborhoods and transforming them into lifeless, grey corporate blocks. Zack Ridge, a normal 16-year-old high school kid just trying to survive his classes and get home to his loving parents. Zack's life is completely shattered when Director Vane personally frames him for a brutal assault he didn't commit, using the VUA's absolute media gaslighting networks to broadcast his face citywide as a dangerous delinquent. On the run from the hyper-aggressive Paranormal Police and automated H.O.U.N.D. Drones, Zack is rescued by Professor Sprocket Locke, an old-school, eccentric mechanic who runs a neighborhood parcel shop called Sprocket Express as a secret front for an underground rebellion. Recognizing the fire and defiance in the kid, Sprocket clamps a blocky, industrial prototype onto Zack's arm: The Spectral Gauntlet. Powered by Zack's internal fury, the gauntlet taps into the city's supernatural currents, supercharging his Vector-Drive Inline Skates with physics-defying speed and kinetic energy. Joined by his best friends, Felix "Flea" Greene and Haruka "Haru" Sakamori, they officially form The Ground-Line Riot. Operating right under the noses of the corrupt adults, the crew takes on high-stakes, high-velocity delivery runs for Sprocket Express to smuggle vital data and rebel tech. By mastering supersonic rail-grinds, wall-rides off skyscrapers, and momentum-fueled kinetic strikes, these rebellious kids are determined to shatter the VUA's monochrome illusions, restore the vibrant color to their streets, and put an end to Director Vane's oppressive machine once and for all!
