Shaft (stylized as SHAFT | Japanese: 株式会社シャフト | Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Shafuto | also known as Studio Shaft | Japanese: 株式会社シャフトアニメーションスタジオ | Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Shafuto Animēshon Sutajio) is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo, and founded in 1975. Since 2004, the studio's productions have been broadly influenced by director Akiyuki Shinbo, whose visual style and avant-garde cinematography are featured in works including Hidamari Sketch (2007), Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (2007), the Monogatari series (2009–2019), Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011), Nisekoi (2014), and March Comes In like a Lion (2016).