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Iconic anime studio Gainax Studios has legally dissolved after 42 years in the show business industry. The studios are known for producing classics like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, and FLCL.
In a December 11 post on Studio Khara’s website, the creator of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno, announced the closure of Gainax Studios. The post said:
“As announced in the Official Gazette on December 10, 2025, the animation production studio Gainax Inc. has completed its bankruptcy reorganization and ceased to exist as a corporation, bringing an end to its nearly 42-year history. As someone who has been with the company for over 20 years since its founding and has been involved as a shareholder until today, this is a truly disappointing end, but I am accepting it with a sense of urgency.”
Founded in 1984, the studio was known for its distinct style of anime. However, it saw a surge in popularity in 1995, after the release of Hideaki Ano’s Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the next few years, through the early 2000s, Gainax delivered a few other hits, including Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
However, they suffered losses in the 2010s and eventually filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. In a statement explaining their bankruptcy, Gainax explained that they have been facing losses since 2012 with major debts to multiple stakeholders.
In his post, Ano criticized the studio’s handling of things, claiming it withheld royalties from Khara. These royalty issues led to them facing a lawsuit, culminating in them having to pay Ano 100 million Yen.
Gainax Studios’ complicated relationship with Evangelion creator Hideaki Ano explored
In his post announcing Gainax’s closure, the creator of Evangelion, Hideaki Ano, criticized the studios and their history of allegedly withholding royalties from creators. He expressed his frustration towards the company and wrote:
“First of all, we would like to express our gratitude and respect to all the related companies who worked with us for nearly six years, free of charge, to rebuild and subsequently reorganize Gainax following the arrest of then-CEO Maki Tomohiro in 2019.”
In 2019, Gainax was purchased by Studio Khara and Studio Trigger after their previous CEO, Maki Tomohiro, was arrested due to alleged “indecent acts”. Studio Khara and Trigger became the successors of the original studios. The post continued:
“Thanks to your cooperation, we were able to properly process the rights for each work, transfer the rights, and transfer all production results and other materials, and safely return them to the respective rights holders and creators. Once again, we are grateful. Thank you very much.”
Hideaki Ano elaborated that he found the former management “disappointing” due to their behaviour. He mentioned that he filed a civil lawsuit against them, which was eventually settled in January 2023.
“The problem was that the transfer of rights and materials had been carried out without due process under the former management. As a result, we filed a civil lawsuit against the management at the time, and on January 20, 2023, a settlement was reached in which the plaintiff’s claims were accepted and the defendant apologized,” Ano wrote.
Further, the company then shifted to a new management structure, but was further dishonest about their repayments, per Ano. He mentioned that he saw “the dishonesty” of the company “regarding repayments” despite giving “emergency financing to the company.” Ano specifically mentioned representatives Yoshinobu Asao, Hiroyuki Yamaga, and Yasuhiro Takeda, who were his “friends since college.”
“I have come to realize once again that our relationship with them will likely never return to what it was before, and I am truly sorry. The reason we agreed to the previous settlement as a company is because we did not want to waste any more of our time dealing with them,” he mentioned.
Finally, Hideaki Ano concluded his letter by thanking the last representative director of the studios, President Yasuhiro Kamimura, for returning all rights of the anime to its respective creators.
Despite its unfortunate closure, the legendary studio will continue to remain an integral part of the history of anime. Studio Trigger remains an apt successor of the studios, and continues to create some of the best anime today. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Delicious in Dungeon are two notable works by Studio Trigger, founded by previous employees of Gainax.
Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar
