Author: Jennifer Asensio Published
Studio Gainax, the Tokyo animation studio behind popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelionhas been dissolved. The company filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 due to a long struggle with financial problems.
Gainax Studios executives have been accused of tax evasion related to royalties from the Neon Genesis Evangelion series as Studio Kara’s flagship anime gains success. This was just the first of many scandals to rock the studio, eventually leading to its bankruptcy and dissolution in December 2025.
Hideaki Anno, Creator Neon Genesis Evangelion, Founder of Studio Khara, one of the original co-founders of Studio Gainax, and the largest creditor of Studio Gainax. In a statement he released through the company, he announced the dissolution and a “truly disappointing end” brought on by previous management.
How Studio Gainax went wrong
Trouble began as early as 1999, when the company’s then-president was arrested for tax fraud. Over the next two decades, Studio Gainax was criticized for various violations against creators, including selling properties without permission and failing to pay royalties and loans.
In 2017, Anno won a lawsuit requiring Studio Khara to pay Studio Gainax 100 million yen in royalties and loans. In 2019, Studio Gainax president Tomohiro Maki was arrested for indecent behavior, which damaged the studio’s image and public perception. He was accused of “semi-forced” molestation of an aspiring voice actor and was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in 2020.
If all this wasn’t bad enough, the company’s executives didn’t invest the profits of their success wisely. Instead, they put money into businesses that will ultimately cause losses, further weakening the company’s financial position. Gainax Marche in Kobe, Japan, is one such business: a fruit, tomato and juice bar focusing on organic produce and local goods. This is an attempt to diversify the company’s product portfolio by leveraging high-quality products such as high-sugar fruit tomatoes, juices and other locally sourced products.
The rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion and other anime return to their creators
Amid all these scandals and disasters, there is a silver lining. Thanks to the efforts of Studio Khara and other partners, copyrights and production materials for major works (e.g. Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCLand Tianyuan Luoyan) has been safely returned to its rightful owner and creator before final closure. They might go the Warner Bros. route. If it weren’t for the efforts of Anno and his colleagues, the Batgirl movie wouldn’t have been released.
Fortunately, 42 years of anime history has been saved by its creators, even though the studio responsible for all of them no longer exists. Studio Gainax tells a story about greed, corruption and chaos that could easily be the plot of its own drama series. Maybe one day we’ll see animation.
