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Hideaki Anno has issued a detailed public statement confirming that Gainax, the animation studio best known for Neon Genesis Evangelion, has officially dissolved following the completion of its bankruptcy liquidation.
The announcement, released on Studio Khara’s official website on Dec. 11, marks the end of the company’s nearly 42-year history and includes pointed criticism directed at members of Gainax’s former management.
Anno described the closure as deeply regrettable, noting his personal involvement with the company from its earliest days and his continued role as a shareholder for more than two decades.
“…this outcome is truly regrettable, but I accept it quietly.” he said.
Anno also used the statement to express gratitude to industry partners who assisted in attempting to rebuild and later liquidate Gainax after the 2019 arrest of then-president Tomohiro Maki. He said these groups worked for nearly six years without compensation, and helped “properly return the rights, production materials, and various documents associated with each work to the rightful rights holders and creators through correct legal procedures.”
However, the statement also disclosed previously unrevealed issues involving former management.
He stated that improper rights transfers and unauthorized movement of production materials had occurred under the management. Khara filed a civil lawsuit in response, and a settlement was reached on Jan 20, 2023, with the court recognizing Khara’s claims and the defendants offering an apology.
Anno said that further investigation revealed details that he described as deeply saddening. According to his account, internal messages from former executives, including ex Fukushima Gainax president Yoshinori Asao and long-time associates Hiroyuki Yamaga and Yasuhiro Takeda, showed repeated instances of deception toward Khara.
These allegedly included attempting to evade repayment of emergency loans provided by Khara, instructing staff to claim that Yamaga was hospitalized to avoid communication, and lack of respect toward their own works and staff in matters of corporate governance and preservation of production materials..
“Discovering these details left me feeling not anger, but deep sadness,” he stated, adding, “I was forced to accept that we could likely never return to the relationships we once had, and I am truly disappointed. The reason we agreed to the settlement was that we no longer wished to expend any more of our company’s time on these individuals.“
Anno expressed particular gratitude toward Gainax’s last president, Yasuhiro Kamimura, who had publicly detailed the company’s decline when the bankruptcy was filed.
Kamimura had cited years of risky business decisions beginning around 2012, such as poorly planned restaurant ventures, the reckless establishment of CG studio, unsecured loans to executives, and losses from failed investments, as factors that worsened the studio’s financial state.
Anno credited Kamimura with managing creditor negotiations, preventing the loss of remaining rights and materials, and overseeing the studio through its final phase, and closed the statement by thanking Kamimura for his work and for supporting the studio until its end.
Source: Oricon
