Gainax

Gainax
Company type	Private
Industry	Anime production
Founded	1984
Founder	Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, Toshio Okada, Yasuhiro Takeda, Shinji Higuchi
Defunct	June 7, 2024
Fate	Bankruptcy
Headquarters	Koganei, Tokyo, Japan
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Hiroyuki Yamaga (President, final), Yasuhiro Kamimura (Representative Director from 2020)
Products	Anime series and films (e.g., Neon Genesis Evangelion, Royal Space Force, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, FLCL, Gurren Lagann)

was a Japanese anime production company distinguished for its original works such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, FLCL, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Gurren Lagann, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. These series earned both critical praise and commercial profitability. The Evangelion franchise reportedly generated revenues exceeding ¥150 billion (around 1.2 billion USD), with some estimates suggesting figures surpassing 2 billion. Co-founder Yasuhiro Takeda emphasized the strong sales performance of laserdiscs and DVDs. The company’s headquarters were located in Koganei, Tokyo, Tokyo.

While Gainax primarily concentrated on original narratives such as Nadia and Evangelion, it also adapted manga titles including Kare Kano, Medaka Box, and Mahoromatic. Their original productions are recognized for featuring provocative and unexpected narrative conclusions. The studio earned several Animage Anime Grand Prix awards for works like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1991), Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995, 1996), and The End of Evangelion (1997).

On May 29, 2024, Gainax submitted a bankruptcy petition to the Tokyo District Court; its operations officially terminated on June 7, 2024.

Origins

Initially established in the early 1980s under the name Daicon Film by university students Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, Toshio Okada, Yasuhiro Takeda, and Shinji Higuchi, the group’s inaugural project was an animated short created for the 20th Annual Japan National SF Convention (Daicon III) in 1981. This film depicted a young woman battling famous science fiction characters before being transported aboard a massive daikon radish-shaped spaceship. Although ambitious in concept, the animation quality was relatively unpolished.

The collective gained wider recognition through their 1983 Daicon IV short, which portrayed an adult woman dressed in a bunny costume fighting a broader array of sci-fi figures, accompanied by Electric Light Orchestra's "Twilight." However, due to licensing restrictions on the music, official distribution was limited, rendering original copies highly sought-after collectibles. This project established Daicon Film as a small yet talented studio with capital totaling ¥20 million (approximately US$200,000). In 1985, the company rebranded as Gainax, adopting a name derived from a Tottori Prefecture term meaning "giant," combined with an international-sounding suffix.

Gainax’s first commercial feature was Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise released in 1987. Despite receiving critical acclaim, it failed to achieve significant commercial success, resulting in the cancellation of sequel plans due to financial constraints. The 1988 OVA Gunbuster became Gainax's initial commercial hit, providing financial stability that supported subsequent projects such as Nadia and Otaku no Video. During this era, Gainax also generated income from garage kits and adult video games—some controversial and occasionally prohibited—which contributed to sustaining its operations.

Evangelion

In 1995, Gainax released Neon Genesis Evangelion, which became their most profitable and critically praised series. After its success, the studio underwent an audit by the National Tax Agency amid allegations of tax evasion linked to earnings from the Evangelion franchise. Investigations uncovered that Gainax had hidden ¥1.56 billion in revenue by channeling substantial animation fees to affiliated companies, then withdrawing 90% of those funds as cash to be stored in safe deposit boxes, while only 10% was retained as payment for those companies. This resulted in unpaid corporate taxes amounting to ¥560 million.

Gainax president Takeshi Sawamura and tax accountant Yoshikatsu Iwasaki were detained on July 13, 1999, and subsequently imprisoned for fraudulent accounting practices. Yasuhiro Takeda defended Sawamura’s conduct, explaining it as a reaction to Gainax’s fragile financial state and insufficient accounting capabilities:

Sawamura had the clearest understanding of our financial situation. When Evangelion generated substantial income, he viewed it as a rare opportunity to secure future funding. Given the uncertainty about how long Evangelion would remain successful, he was likely susceptible to temptation. This was not deliberate tax evasion but rather a result of inadequate expertise in managing large-scale revenues.

21st century

In 2004, marking its 20th anniversary, Gainax produced Diebuster, a sequel to Gunbuster. The studio later gained acclaim with the anime series Gurren Lagann (2007) and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010). In August 2011, Gainax faced a lawsuit from A.D. Vision after refusing to accept an option payment for perpetual live-action rights to Evangelion, which allegedly breached their contract and cost A.D. Vision a significant studio partnership. The lawsuit sought both live-action rights and coverage of legal expenses.

In 2012, Gainax announced its first venture into live-action television with the series EA's Rock, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. At the 2013 Tokyo Anime Fair, Gainax unveiled plans for the film Blue Uru, directed and scripted by Hiroyuki Yamaga with character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. In March 2015, Gainax inaugurated a new branch and museum named Fukushima Gainax located in Miharu, Fukushima.

In 2016, Studio Khara filed a lawsuit against Gainax seeking ¥100 million in unpaid royalties related to projects involving founder Hideaki Anno. The claim included delayed payments and unsettled debt from a loan Khara extended in August 2014. The Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of Khara in 2017, ordering full repayment; Gainax chose not to appeal. President Hiroyuki Yamaga publicly apologized and announced organizational reforms. However, by December 2019, Anno noted that no one from Gainax had personally apologized or provided clarification regarding the matter.

In August 2018, Kinoshita Group Holdings acquired Fukushima Gainax, rebranding it as Gaina and relocating operations to Koganei, Tokyo. In December 2019, Tomohiro Maki, representative director since 2015 and head of Gainax International—a talent development firm—was arrested on allegations of quasi-forcible indecency involving an aspiring voice actress.

In February 2020, Yasuhiro Kamimura from Groundworks assumed the role of Gainax’s new representative director. The newly formed board included Yuko Takaishi (Kadokawa Anime), Atsushi Moriyama (King Records), and Yoshiki Usa (Studio Trigger). In December 2020, Tomohiro Maki received a prison sentence of two and a half years for indecent conduct.

Bankruptcy

On June 7, 2024, Gainax revealed that it had filed for bankruptcy on May 29 and halted all business activities. The company attributed this outcome to financial mismanagement and a significant debt burden surpassing ¥380 million as recorded in 2020. The rights to the Gainax brand were acquired by Khara, which is facilitating the transfer of Gainax's remaining intellectual properties to new proprietors.

TV series

Title	Year(s)	Director(s)	Broadcast network(s)	(Co-)animated by
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water	1990–1991	Hideaki Anno	NHK	Group TAC
Neon Genesis Evangelion	1995–1996	Hideaki Anno	TV Tokyo	Tatsunoko
Kare Kano	1998–1999	Hideaki Anno Hiroki Sato (episodes 16–26)	TV Tokyo	J.C.Staff
Modern Love's Silliness	1999	Issei Kume	DirecTV	Group TAC
Oruchuban Ebichu	1999	Makoto Moriwaki	DirecTV, tvk	Group TAC
Mahoromatic	2001–2003, 2009	Hiroyuki Yamaga Shouji Saeki (Specials)	BS-i	Shaft
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi	2002	Hiroyuki Yamaga	Kids Station, Sun TV, KBS, tvk, TV Saitama	Madhouse
Petite Princess Yucie	2002–2003	Masahiko Otsuka	NHK	AIC
This Ugly yet Beautiful World	2004	Shouji Saeki	BS-i	Shaft
He Is My Master	2005	Shouji Saeki	BS-i	Shaft
Gurren Lagann	2007	Hiroyuki Imaishi	TV Tokyo
Corpse Princess	2008–2009	Masahiko Murata	AT-X	Feel
Hanamaru Kindergarten	2010	Seiji Mizushima	TV Tokyo
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt	2010	Hiroyuki Imaishi	BS Nittele
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian	2011	Yutaka Uemura	TV Tokyo		-	Medaka Box / Medaka Box Abnormal	2012	Shouji Saeki	TV Tokyo, TV Aichi, TV Osaka	-	Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C³	2013	Masayoshi Kawajiri	TBS, Sun TV, CBC, BS-TBS	-	Magica Wars	2014	Ayano Ohnoki	Tokyo MX, BS11	-	Wish Upon the Pleiades	2015	Shouji Saeki	ABC, Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, BS Fuji, AT-X	-

Films

Title	Year(s)	Director(s)	Co-production companies	Notes
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise	1987	Hiroyuki Yamaga
Nadia: The Movie	1991	Sho Aono	Sei Young	-	Evangelion: Death and Rebirth	1997	Hideaki Anno Masayuki Kazuya Tsurumaki	Tatsunoko (Death) Production I.G (Rebirth)	-	The End of Evangelion	1997	Hideaki Anno Kazuya Tsurumaki	Production I.G	-	Revival of Evangelion	1999	Hideaki Anno	Production I.G	-	Cutie Honey	2004	Hideaki Anno	Opening animation
Gunbuster vs. Diebuster	2006	Hideaki Anno Kazuya Tsurumaki
Gekijōban Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Two-part movie series)	2008–2009	Hiroyuki Imaishi
Zero Century (Three-part movie series)	Cancelled	Hiroyuki Yamaga	Production Good Book	A film trilogy inspired by Leiji Matsumoto's creations Gainax Kyoto

OVAs and ONAs

Title	Year	Director	Co-production
Appleseed	1988	Kazuyoshi Katayama
Mahjong Hishō-den: Naki no Ryū	1988–1990	Satoshi Dezaki	Magic Bus
Gunbuster	1988–1989	Hideaki Anno
Beat Shot	1989	Takashi Akimoto
Circuit no Ohkami 2 Modena no Tsurugi	1990	Yoshihide Kuriyama
Honō no Tenkōsei	1991	Katsuhiko Nishijima
Mahjong Hishō-den - Naki no Ryū: Hiryū no Shō	1991	Satoshi Dezaki	Magic Bus
Money Wars	1991	Yusaku Saotome
Otaku no Video	1991	Takeshi Mori
FLCL	2000	Kazuya Tsurumaki	Production I.G
'Anime Tenchou'	'2002'	'Hiroyuki Imaishi'
'Re: Cutie Honey'	'2004'	'Hideaki Anno'	'Toei Animation'
'Diebuster'	'2004'	'Kazuya Tsurumaki'
'Wish Upon the Pleiades'	'2011'	'Shouji Saeki'

Daicon tokusatsu fan films

"Patriotic Squadron Dai-Nippon" (愛国戦隊大日本, "Aikoku Sentai Dai-Nippon") "Swift Hero Noutenki" (快傑のーてんき, "Kaiketsu Nōtenki") "Return of Ultraman" (帰ってきたウルトラマン, "Kaettekita Urutoraman") "Kaiketsu Noutenki 2 – Pure Love in Minato City" (快傑の-てんき2 純愛港町篇, "Kaiketsu Nōtenki 2 – Junai Minato-cho Hen") "Kaiketsu Noutenki in USA" (快傑の-てんき in USA) "The Eight-Headed Giant Serpent Strikes Back" (八岐之大蛇の逆襲, "Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū") "Roleplaying Noutenki in Seoul" (ロールプレイングの-てんき in ソウル)

Title	Year	Synopsis
'1982'	'A parody of Super Sentai series and the Russo-Japanese War, depicting a team opposing the Red Bear Empire’s scheme to brainwash Japanese youth.'
'1982'	'A spoof of Shotaro Ishinomori’s Kaiketsu Zubat.'
'1983'	'A parody featuring Hideaki Anno portraying New Ultraman/Ultraman Jack.'
'1984'	'A comedic take where the protagonist battles a robotic duplicate.'
'1984'	'Parody showing the hero touring San Francisco.'
'1985'	'This 72-minute spoof of daikaiju movies is the most heavily promoted Daicon tokusatsu short.'
'1988'	'A role-playing parody presenting the hero sightseeing in San Francisco.'

Other works

Gainax has contributed to various projects beyond animation, including involvement with K.O. Beast, directed by Hiroshi Negishi. The studio also participated in producing a 1987 promotional video for Boøwy’s track "Marionette" and launched the "Gainax Girls" fashion doll line based on Momoko in 2006. In collaboration with Game Arts, Gainax developed the video game Alisia Dragoon in 1992. The company authored Melody of Oblivion for J.C.Staff in 2004 and created multiple computer games, such as an Evangelion-themed strip mahjong title and the acclaimed Princess Maker series, which was later adapted into the anime Puchi Puri Yūshi. Additionally, Gainax partnered with Saudi Arabian media firm ARiNAT to produce "Desert Knight" (Sabaku no Kishi), a three-minute anime trailer unveiled at Abu Dhabi’s "ANI:ME" festival. The studio also developed the Mahoromatic Digital Maiden PC game series starting in 1998, which paved the way for Konami to release the relatively obscure PS2-exclusive Mahoromatic within Japan.

References

Notes

External links

Gainax Co., Ltd. (archived as of May 31, 2024)