Studio Gainax, also known just as Gainax, is one of the better-known anime studios, having created such series as Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi no Umi no Nadia), Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and causing the creation of such terms as Gainaxing and the Gainax Ending.Gainax is known for impressive visuals, gripping storylines, confusing plot points, and running out of money before the series is finished. This last tendency has been a particular problem in the past; the last episodes of Gainax series tend to be lower in quality and take a lot of shortcuts. The last two episodes of Evangelion were produced when the studio had been cut off by the main sponsor, and mostly reused clips from previous episodes with different dialogue. Still shots are frequent as well. The final episode of Top o Nerae! (also known as Gunbuster) is due to the black and white presentation often thrown into this bin, a common misconception as the black and white animation was actually more expensive. Thankfully, they seemed to have learned their lesson by Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (see below).Click here◊ to see some of the many characters created by Gainax over its lifetime.As a small note, they have a good relationship with Production I.G, who did quite a lot of work on End of Evangelion and FLCL. The director of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, and one episode of FLCL also worked with Production I.G on Dead Leaves.
Studio Gainax has created the following:
Two original animated introductory films for Daicon III and Daicon IV, two iterations of a major science fiction convention in Japan. These were their first creations, before they had really formed the studio.
Aikoku Sentai Dai-Nippon, a parody of the Super Sentai series. The first of several tokusatsu parodies made by them in the '80s. At this point, they weren't called Gainax yet, but Daicon Film.
Kaiketsu Noutenki, a parody of Kaiketsu Zubat, made in 1982.
Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushu (The Revenge of Yamata no Orochi), a direct to videokaiju movie made when Gainax was still Daicon Film, featuring ancient astronauts and a giant cybernetic Yamata no Orochi. Special effects by Shinji Higuchi.
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, Gainax's first feature film. Like the Daicon shorts, the short pilot version of this was animated and shot on 8mm film in Hiroyuki Yamaga's garage.
Top wo Nerae! (Aim for the Top!), a.k.a. GunBuster
There is also a sequel - Top wo Nerae 2! (AKA DieBuster or GunBuster 2) which was released 16 years after the original.
Gainax also released variations of the game focused around Evangelion characters, such as The Rei Ayanami/Shinji Ikari Raising Project.
Otaku no Video, a mockumentary-style look at otaku in Japan interspersed with an animated story about the life of one budding Otaking (Otaku King), whose company is a parody of Gainax itself.
Otaking is a real person - Toshio Okada, one of the Gainax founders, who left the studio in The Nineties for academia and now is a moderately renowned anime scholar (and an epic troll to boot).
The OVA was rumored to have started life as something to cheer up the staff after the High Octane Nightmare Fuel and angst storm that was The End of Evangelion.
Allegedly created when the crew headed to a spa for a get together and got drunk while telling stories to each other. They found the ideas hilarious and used that for the show.
Green Lantern: First Flight (Production Assistance, Key & Assistance Animation alongside Studio Jungle Gym, Anime Spot and Mizo Planning (In South Korea, Key and In-Between animation, Key animation by Park Sung Hoo, a freelanced South Korean animator that was stationed at Mizo Planning during its production); Led by TMS Entertainment)
Playing Against Type: out of all the Japanese animation studios available to adapt the Hanamaru Kindergarten manga into a TV show, the choice of Gainax comes as something of a surprise.
Then again, does Gainax even have a type? even considering their mostpopularcreations, it's very hard to find an overarching theme.
Blurring the line between Deconstruction and Reconstruction, somewhat thoughtful explorations of human nature, and tons and tons of big breasted women running, really tons of sexual humor in general.
◊ to see some of the many characters created by Gainax over its lifetime.As a small note, they have a good relationship with Production I.G, who did quite a lot of work on End of Evangelion and FLCL. The director of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, and one episode of FLCL also worked with Production I.G on Dead Leaves.
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