Throughout anime history, there has been one studio that has made some of the wildest, most cerebral series ever to grace the screen. Opening its doors in 1984, the production house in question helped usher in a new era of anime thanks to some of its biggest projects. Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Gunbuster, and Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt are just a few examples of the ground-breaking series that the anime studio has made. In recent years, the company has shared unfortunate news when it comes to its operations, and it seems that the inevitable has happened as Studio Gainax has officially closed.
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Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelion and one of the most well-known members of the original Gainax, shared a statement confirming the shuttering of Gainax. The official release reads, “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.”
The statement continues, “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. 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.”
What Does This Mean For NERV?
Luckily, the closing of Gainax doesn’t mean that Shinji Ikari and the agents of NERV are done forever. Last year, Studio Khara took control of many of Gainax’s properties following the latter’s bankruptcy announcement. The official statement from 2024 read,
“On May 29th, Gainax Co., Ltd. filed for bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court, and we are pleased to announce that the petition has been accepted. With the cooperation of Khara and the directors of the new system, we have been working with the cooperating companies to confirm the rights of the works, protect the rights of the writers and creators, and properly manage and operate the intellectual property and materials that were being scattered so that the main works can be operated in the future through each production committee, etc. However, in addition to the situation where many of the former management remain shareholders, we have not been able to resolve the large amount of debt that had accumulated under the previous system.”
As of the writing of this article, Neon Genesis Evangelion hasn’t confirmed any new projects that are in the works. While Anno himself has hinted that something might be in the works to see once again the Eva pilots grace the screen, details regarding the potential comeback remain a mystery.
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