The news broke over the weekend that Gainax, the iconic anime studio behind beloved titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion, had filed for bankruptcy. For those of us following the industry, this wasn’t a surprise at all. Let’s delve into the rise and fall of Gainax, exploring how they lost their way as a company.
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How Did Gainax Go Bankrupt?
We learned over the weekend that Gainax filed a petition to enter bankruptcy on May 29. Ever since the main creative staff including Hideaki Anno and Hiroyuki Imaishi exited the company to form their own studios, Gainax had been a shell of its former self. Things got even worse when its former president got arrested for forcing a minor to let him take nude photographs of her in 2019. Yikes!
According to the official statement on the company’s website, the company’s previous management has been making very poor decisions since 2012. This included taking out loans to personally benefit the directors, trying to operate unprofitable restaurants and creating subsidiary companies around the country, presumably to obfuscate company funds. Although he exited the company in 2007, Hideaki Anno had been working with Gainax for several years, including paying off some of the debts of the former directors as he tried to save the company.
The bankruptcy means the loss of millions of yen to the company’s creditors and the total loss of equity by its remaining shareholders. Now Gainax will be liquidated to satisfy the outstanding debts the company ran up.
The History of Gainax
Gainax was a groundbreaking anime studio formed by a group of university students who wanted to create animation together. The company was formed by several future luminaries in the industry, including future Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and future Trigger founder Hiroyuki Imaishi.
The company’s first work was the gorgeous Wings of Honneamise, which featured amazing visuals and music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, though it bombed financially. Happily, Aim for the Top: Gunbuster was a smash hit, saving the studio’s fortunes. Nadia of the Mysterious Sea and Otaku no Video were popular with fans, but the studio failed to find true financial success, until 1995’s Neon Genesis Evangelion. Unfortunately, Gainax got busted for tax evasion as they tried to hide $10 million in profits, resulting in the prosecution of the then-president and accountant.
Why is Aim for the Top: Gunbuster the only anime you need? Read my blog post to find out!
The popularity of FLCL heralded the company’s “modern” phase, as the influence of Hiroyuki Imashi rose. This led to popular titles like Aim for the Top 2: Diebuster, Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking. But the company lost its magic when Imaishi left Gainax to form Trigger. The only anime from the post-Imaishi era I can remember was Houkago no Pleiades, a magical girl anime funded to promote the Subaru car company (which was great if you’re into cars).
What are the most famous anime studios that have gone bankrupt? I’ve got a blog post for you here!
What Happens Next?
Now that Gainax has officially entered bankruptcy, the court will roll up its sleeves and try to disentangle the giant mess that the company made for itself during its long decline. The good news is that it seems every effort will be made to place the rights to the company’s many beloved animated works with the creators who should own them. The rights to Gurren Lagann have already reverted to Studio Trigger. So maybe some good will come from the Gainax bankruptcy in the future!
Thanks for reading this blog post about the bankruptcy of the once-might Gainax anime studio. What’s your favorite anime work by the company? Tell us in the comments below!
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