Gainax – The Studio Behind Neo Genesis Evangelion is Sadly Shutting Down

If you are familiar with the world of anime, the name Gainax could ring a bell. If it doesn’t, then the anime Neo Genesis Evangelion will most certainly ring a bell. The legendary anime from 1995 took the Mecha anime to a whole new level with in-depth storytelling, powerful characters, great stakes, and not being afraid to push the limits of the genre.

The success of the Evangelion series is significant for more reasons than one in the world of anime. So the news of the demise of the company behind its development is sad. The end of Gainax, the studio responsible for bringing the heart-stopping anime to life, will be missed. However, the end is not certain. Bankruptcy could mean there is still hope for reform and revival. Only time will tell.

Money Troubles Signals End of Gainax

https://gty.im/2154030295

According to a statement by Gainax, found on the company website, the company had been burdened with severe financial difficulties that date back over a decade. Years of mismanagement, the statement says, with poor executive decisions taken over a period of time. With little rationalization in terms of income and spending and the questionable viability of certain ventures, such as the expansion into restaurant management, all of these led to an increasing debt burden on the company.

With costs piling up, Gainax had been working to rationalize expenses, which meant lower investment in potentially lucrative anime productions. These problems were further exacerbated by internal problems, among the most notable being the arrest of the president of Gainax in 2019.

These troubles followed the departure of Hideaki Anno, the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and his break with the company in 2007. In some respects, the loss of Hideaki Anno was the real beginning of the end for Gainax; since his departure, the sheer quality of output from the studio has seen a noticeable drop-off.

The End of Gainax? Not Quite

It is sad news for anime fans, especially those devoted to the studio’s work. Most notably Neon Genesis Evangelion and the numerous spin-offs and movies that it gave rise to. In case we forget another anime classic, one of the greatest of the 2000s is Gurren Lagann. However, given the tumultuous history of the Japanese studio, this outcome is not too much of a surprise. The output of the company in terms of top-class anime has not been the greatest after the success of Gurren Lagann, and nothing truly has reached the heights of Evangelion.

It is too early to tell what the outcome of this bankruptcy process is going to be. Whether the company will sort itself out and pull itself out of this mess is yet to be seen. However, one thing anime fans and fans of Gainax and its legacy in particular can take comfort from is that a part of Gainax lives on.

The animation studio Studio Trigger (Trigger Inc.), known for top-class anime such as Kill la Kill and the extremely popular video game-inspired Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, was actually formed by former Gainax employees who had previously left the company. And given the quality of the output they have produced, it seems that Gainax’s legacy, albeit under a different name, will live on.

For More Great Content

Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.

More Great Reads

Scroll to Top