2004 in anime
# 2004 in anime

The events of 2004 in anime.

## Accolades

At the Mainichi Film Awards, The Place Promised in Our Early Days won the Animation Film Award and Mind Game won the Ōfuji Noburō Award. Internationally, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, the fourth consecutive year an anime was nominated for the award. Howl's Moving Castle was in competition for the Golden Lion at the 61st Venice International Film Festival.

## Releases

This list contains numerous notable entries of anime which debuted in 2004. It is not a complete list and represents popular works that debuted as TV, OVA and Movie releases. Web content, DVD specials, TV specials are not on this list.

### Films

A list of anime that debuted in theaters between January 1 and December 31, 2004.

| Release Date | Title | Studio | Director | Running Time (minutes) | Alternate Title | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| April 18 | Appleseed | Digital Frontier | Shinji Aramaki | 103 | Appurushīdo | |
| November 20 | The Place Promised in Our Early Days | CoMix Wave Inc. | Makoto Shinkai | 90 | Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place | Won the Animation Film Award at the Mainichi Film Awards |
| March 6 | Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence | Production I.G Studio Ghibli | Mamoru Oshii | 98 | Inosensu | Nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature |
| November 20 | Howl's Moving Castle | Studio Ghibli | Hayao Miyazaki | 119 | Hauru no Ugoku Shiro | Was in competition for the Golden Lion at the 61st Venice International Film Festival |
| December 23 | InuYasha The Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island | Sunrise | Toshiya Shinohara | 88 | Eiga Inuyasha: Guren no Hōraijima InuYasha the Movie: The Fire on Hōrai Island | |
| August 7 | Mind Game | Studio 4°C | Masaaki Yuasa | 103 | Maindo Gēmu | Won the Ōfuji Noburō Award |
| August 21 | Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow | Pierrot | Tensai Okamura | 82 | Gekijō-ban Naruto: Daikatsugeki! Yukihime Ninpōchō Dattebayo!! Theatrical Feature Naruto: Great Action Scene! Snow Princess' Book of Ninja Arts | |
| March 6 | One Piece: The Cursed Holy Sword | Toei Company | Kazuhisa Takenōchi | 95 | Wan Pīsu: Norowareta Seiken | |
| July 17 | Steamboy | Sunrise Bandai Visual | Katsuhiro Otomo | 126 | Suchīmubōi | |
| August 6 | Zatch Bell: Attack of Mechavulcan | Toei Company | Takuya Igarashi | 85 | Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Mechavulcan no Raishuu | |

### Television series

A list of anime television series that debuted between January 1 and December 31, 2004.

| First run start and end dates | Title | Episodes (not including any OVAs) | Studio | Director | Alternate Title |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| July 4, 2004 – May 15, 2005 | Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple | 39 | Oriental Light and Magic | Naohito Takahashi | Agasa Kurisutī no Meitantei Powaro to Māpuru |
| April 3, 2004 – October 9, 2004 | Aishiteruze Baby | 26 | TMS Entertainment | Masaharu Okuwaki | Aishiteruze Beibe★★ I Love You, Baby |
| October 30, 2004 – May 14, 2005 | Gakuen Alice | 26 | Group TAC | Takahiro Omori | Gakuen Arisu Alice Academy Alice School |
| October 7, 2004 – March 31, 2005 | Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad | 26 | Madhouse | Osamu Kobayashi | Bekku |
| October 11, 2004 – March 6, 2006 | Black Jack | 61 | Tezuka Productions | Satoshi Kuwahara | Burakku Jakku |
| October 5, 2004 – March 27, 2012 | Bleach | 366 | Pierrot | Noriyuki Abe | |
| April 7, 2004 – September 22, 2004 | Burst Angel | 24 | Gonzo | Koichi Ohata | Bakuretsu Tenshi |
| January 15, 2004 – July 3, 2004 | Daphne in the Brilliant Blue | 24 | J.C.Staff | Takashi Ikehata | Hikari to Mizu no Dafune Daphne of Light and Water |
| July 10, 2004 – September 26, 2004 | DearS | 13 | Daume | Iku Suzuki | Diāzu |
| October 4, 2004 – March 28, 2005 | Desert Punk | 24 | Gonzo | Takayuki Inagaki | Sunabōzu |
| January 20, 2004 – April 5, 2004 | Diamond Daydreams | 12 | Studio Deen | Bob Shirohata | |
| July 25, 2004 – October 17, 2004 | Elfen Lied | 13 | Arms Studio Guts | Mamoru Kanbe | Erufen Rīto |
| February 1, 2004 – January 30, 2005 | Futari wa Pretty Cure | 49 | Toei Company | Daisuke Nishio | Futari wa PuriKyua We Are Pretty Cure |
| July 7, 2004 – September 29, 2004 | Galaxy Angel X | 26 | Madhouse | Morio Asaka Yoshimitsu Ōhashi Shigehito Takayanagi | Gyarakushī Enjeru |
| April 13, 2004 – November 18, 2004 | Gantz | 26 | Gonzo | Ichiro Itano | |
| October 14, 2004 – January 13, 2005 | Grenadier: The Beautiful Warrior | 12 | Studio Live Group TAC | Hiroshi Kōjina | Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi |
| October 9, 2004 – October 1, 2005 | Gundam SEED Destiny | 50 | Sunrise | Mitsuo Fukuda | Kidō Senshi Gandamu Shīdo Desutinī |
| June 30, 2004 – September 22, 2004 | Hani Hani: Operation Sanctuary | 13 | Radix Ace Entertainment | Shōsei Jinno | Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni The Moon in the East, The Sun in the West |
| April 17, 2004 – February 18, 2006 | Initial D Fourth Stage | 24 | A.C.G.T | Tsuneo Tominaga | |
| October 1, 2004 – December 17, 2004 | Kannazuki no Miko | 12 | TNK | Tetsuya Yanagisawa | Priestesses of the Kannazuki |
| April 1, 2004 – June 17, 2004 | Koi Kaze | 13 | A.C.G.T | Takahiro Omori | Love Wind |
| October 1, 2004 – December 24, 2004 | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha | 13 | Seven Arcs | Akiyuki Shinbo | Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha |
| January 7, 2004 – March 31, 2004 | Maria Watches Over Us | 13 | Studio Deen | Yukihiro Matsushita | Maria-sama ga Miteru Marimite The Virgin Mary Is Watching |
| April 6, 2004 – September 21, 2004 | Melody of Oblivion | 24 | J.C.Staff | Hiroshi Nishikiori | Bōkyaku no Senritsu |
| April 4, 2004 – June 27, 2004 | Midori Days | 13 | Pierrot | Tsuneo Kobayashi | Midori no Hibi Green Days |
| April 7, 2004 – September 28, 2005 | Monster | 74 | Madhouse | Masayuki Kojima | |
| September 30, 2004 – March 31, 2005 | My-HiME | 26 | Sunrise | Masakazu Obara | Mai-HiME |
| February 3, 2004 – May 18, 2004 | Paranoia Agent | 13 | Madhouse | Satoshi Kon | Mōsō Dairinin |
| April 6, 2004 – September 28, 2004 | Ragnarok: The Animation | 26 | G&G Entertainment Gonzo | Seiji Kishi Kim Jung Ryool | |
| October 7, 2004 – December 23, 2004 | Rozen Maiden | 12 | Nomad | Kou Matsuo | Rōzen Meiden |
| June 12, 2004 – December 25, 2004 | Samurai 7 | 26 | Gonzo | Toshifumi Takizawa | |
| May 20, 2004 – March 19, 2005 | Samurai Champloo | 26 | Manglobe | Shinichirō Watanabe | Samurai Chanpurū |
| October 4, 2004 – December 21, 2004 | Samurai Gun | 13 | Studio Egg | Kazuhito Kikuchi | Samurai Gan |
| October 5, 2004 – March 29, 2005 | School Rumble | 26 | Studio Comet | Shinji Takamatsu | Sukūru Ranburu |
| April 3, 2004 – April 3, 2011 | Sgt. Frog | 358 | Sunrise | Junichi Sato (executive director) Yusuke Yamamoto (#1–103) Nobuhiro Kondo (#104–358) | Keroro Gunsō Sergeant Keroro |
| August 6, 2004 – June 20, 2005 | Space Symphony Maetel | 13 | Vega Entertainment | Shinichi Masaki | |
| January 9, 2004 – December 24, 2004 | Transformers: Energon | 51 | Actas Studio Galapagos | Yutaka Satō (1-5) Jun Kawagoe (1-13) Takashi Sano (6-51) | Toransufōmā Sūpārinku Transformer: Superlink Chō Robotto Seimeitai Toransufōmā Sūpārinku |
| April 1, 2004 – September 16, 2004 | Tenjho Tenge | 24 | Madhouse | Toshifumi Kawase | Tenjō Tenge Heaven and Earth |
| October 5, 2004 – March 29, 2005 | Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase | 25 | Shaft | Akiyuki Shinbo | Tsukuyomi |
| April 9, 2004 – March 4, 2005 | Tweeny Witches | 40 | Studio 4°C | Yoshiharu Ashino | Mahō Shōjo Tai Arusu Magical Girl Squad Arusu |
| October 2, 2004 – September 24, 2005 | Viewtiful Joe | 51 (Japanese) 26 (English) | Group TAC | Takaaki Ishiyama | Byūtifuru Jō |
| June 30, 2004 – September 22, 2004 | Wind: A Breath of Heart | 13 | Radix Ace Entertainment | Mitsuhiro Tougou | |
| October 12, 2004 – March 14, 2006 | Yakitate!! Japan | 69 | Sunrise | Yasunao Aoki | Freshly Baked!! Ja-pan |
| October 6, 2004 – March 26, 2008 | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX | 180 (Japanese) 155 (English) | Gallop | Hatsuki Tsuji | Yūgiō Dyueru Monsutāzu Jī Ekkusu Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX |
| February 24, 2004 – May 25, 2004 | Yugo the Negotiator | 13 | G&G Direction (#1–6) Artland (#7–13) | Seiji Kishi (#1–6) Shinya Hanai (# 7–13) | Yuugo |
| October 7, 2004 – March 31, 2005 | Zipang | 26 | Studio Deen | Kazuhiro Furuhashi | Jipangu |

### Original video animations

A list of original video animations that debuted between January 1 and December 31, 2004.

| First run start and end dates | Title | Episodes | Studio | Director | Alternate Title |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| November 25, 2004 – August 26, 2005 | Akane Maniax | 3 | Silver | Tetsuya Watanabe | Akane Maniax 〜Nagareboshi Densetsu Gouda〜 |
| November 26, 2004 – August 25, 2006 | Diebuster | 6 | Gainax | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Aim for the Top 2! Toppu o Nerae Tsū! Gunbuster 2 |
| April 9, 2004 – September 10, 2004 | Shin Getter Robo | 13 | Brain's Base | Jun Kawagoe | New Getter Robo Shin Gettā Robo |
| May 28, 2004 | Wind: A Breath of Heart | 3 | Venet | Tsuneo Tominaga | |
