Studio Gainax, the iconic anime studio behind hits such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and Gurren Lagann, has officially closed after 42 years in business. Though fans and creators alike may grieve the loss of such an iconic part of history, the company’s recent history makes Gainax’s legacy much more complex than many would assume.
According to a post on Studio Khara’s website by Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, Gainax is gone for good. Anno had strong words about the company and its closure, specifically criticizing Gainax’s holding of rights long after the studio ceased meaningfully creating anime.
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.
Why Evangelion Creator Hideaki Anno Has Such Mixed Feelings About Studio Gainax’s Closure
Studio Gainax was founded in 1984 and gained a reputation for its uniquely captivating anime series. Though the studio had been gaining steam for years, it earned international acclaim with the release of 1995’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, which was created by Hideaki Anno.
Evangelion is one of the few anime to earn high praise from Hayao Miyazaki, and proved to be an absolute juggernaut despite its controversial ending.
Unfortunately, despite a few big hits in the 2000s, including Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, the studio fell on hard times in the mid-2010s. As Anno mentions in his post about Gainax’s closure, the studio withheld royalties from the acclaimed creator’s new studio, Khara.
This led to a lawsuit that eventually resulted in Gainax having to pay Anno and Khara 100 million Yen (roughly $600,000).
According to Anno’s post, this led Gainax management to vilify Anno and to try any strategy they could to avoid paying him the royalties. This was emotionally difficult for Anno, as he writes, “I have gone beyond anger to sadness.”
Gainax officially declared bankruptcy in 2024 and has only just now completed disbanding, ending the studio’s complex history.
Gainax’s Influence is So Much More Than Just Evangelion
Though many fans will, understandably, focus on the Evangelion franchise, the studio’s history and effect on anime is bigger than that. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Delicious in Dungeon studio Trigger was largely founded by Gainax Alumni.
Trigger has created some of the best modern anime, so their impact on the current anime industry is huge.
Studio Gainax was a true font of talent, and it is sad to see it go. Still, Gainax’s legacy lives on with the incredible work of Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno and other alumni who cut their teeth working on anime that fans are still talking about two decades later.
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Megumi Ogata
Shinji Ikari
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Megumi Hayashibara
Rei Ayanami
