For fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion, they will know the name Gainax. The company is one which creator Hideaki Anno co-founded years ago with the aid of several friends of his. After a long debate, it was decided Gainax should produce Evangelion, and the hit series helped raise the studio’s profile around the world. But in the years since, Anno and Gainax have since split, and Evangelion‘s creator has firmly denounced his former employer in a blistering new piece.
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As relayed by Crunchyroll, Anno opened up about his tenuous relationship with Gainax in a lengthy op-ed piece this week. The letter was posted to the website Diamond Online, and it was there Anno stressed Evangelion is no longer overseen by Gainax in any way and that he has no ties remaining with the embattled studio.
For those who do not know, this distancing comes not long after Gainax prompted a few unsavory headlines. Reports went live earlier this year confirming the studio’s president, Tomohiro Maki, had been arrested for sexually assaulting a teenager studying at Gainax’s voice acting academy. The news was shared around the world, and Anno noticed the Gainax controversy was often mention alongside Evangelion.
In his op-ed, Anno thanked the victims of Gainax’s president for stepping forward, and he said he was “disappointed” the studio he helped found has fallen to such a low point. He went on to make it clear that “there is no one involved in the production of Evangelion at Gainax today” and that Maki “was someone who joined Gainax only a few years ago and has never been involved in Evangelion.”
As far as Evangelion is concerned, the series is overseen by Studio Khara alone. Anno was forced to create his own studio after his relationship with Gainax devolved over hidden tax fees, wage discrepancies, creative control, and Moree. These days, the new Evangelion films are being done by Studio Khara’s employees and making a better profit than the original TV series ever did. And as Anno puts it, he’d like for the world Evangelion and Gainax to never be used in the same breath again.
What do you make of this new statement? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a psychological drama by way of giant monster versus mech anime. The franchise debuted as a television series in 1995-1996 with two films following in 1997. The series follows Shinji Ikari, who is recruited by his father to pilot the giant mech Evangelion in the fight against giant monsters known as Angels in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3. But Shinji is unwilling to bear this huge responsibility and is often conflicted about taking part in a war he was dragged into. This conflict of emotions leads to many introspective episodes that cover the range of religious, philosophical, and existential concepts.
