Founded in 2011, Studio Trigger
(トリガー) is a studio founded by Hiroyuki Imaishi, other Ex-Gainax staff members who had worked on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, and Ex-Studio 4°C staff members who were stationed between Telecom, Gainax, and KyoAni at the time of its founding. Trigger is a studio that is getting a lot of praise in the animation industry because of its production methods.
Their second in-house anime production, Kill la Kill, was announced in the June 2013 issue of Newtype Magazine, with Gurren Lagann's director and lead character designer on board. The same year, they created the short Little Witch Academia for Japan’s Young Animator Training Project, which they later adapted into a full series in 2017. Another original project, Kiznaiver, was announced in October 2015 and premiered on April 9, 2016. On February 7, 2016, they announced another original project, Space Patrol Luluco; both aired as a part of the Spring 2016 Anime season.
In July 7 2018, Trigger launched their own Patreon.
Works produced by Trigger:
- Battlesaurs: A minute long short (done up as an intro) based on the same characters featured in Toy Story That Time Forgot.note
- Inferno Cop: First (major) production.
- Little Witch Academia: Part of Anime Mirai 2013, replacing Telecom Animation Film'snote slot for the year. Also provided In-Between Animation and Production Cooperation for 2014 entries Harmonienote and Kuro no Su - Chronusnote .
- Adapted by the studio into a television series.
- Turning Girls - a web animation created entirely by the non-animator female staff at Trigger, up to and including the janitor, about four late-20s single girlfriends, all on the cusp of 30.
- Kill la Kill: First television production and their Breakthrough Hit.
- Ninja Slayer: Based on the books by Honda Yu and Sugi Leika.
- When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace: Based on the light novel of the same name.
- Shorts for Japan Animator Expo:
- Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero: An animated short based on the 90s live-action series.
- Power Plant No. 33
- SEX and VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED, directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi.
- Bureau of Proto Society.
- Space Patrol Luluco: 5-year Milestone Celebration.
- Kiznaiver: Second television production.
- DARLING in the FRANXX: Co-production with A-1 Pictures
- SSSS.GRIDMAN: Third television production. (Co-production with Tsuburaya Productions;IP holder of the original Gridman series.)
- Promare: First film production.
Works Trigger assisted with:
- 18if: In-Between Animation
- Aikatsu!: Key Animation for episode 159 through Hiroyuki Imaishi
- Akame ga Kill!: In-Between Animation
- Atom: The Beginning: In-Between Animation
- Black Dynamite: 2nd Season Opening
- Black★Rock Shooter: Animation Production Cooperation
- Dance with Devils: In-Between Animation
- The Devil Is a Part-Timer!: Key Animation
- Flip Flappers: In-Between Animation
- FLCL Progressive & Alternative: 2nd Key & In-Between Animation
- Hackadoll: Key Animation
- Haikyuu!!: 2nd Key & In-Between Animation
- The Idolmaster: Animation Production Cooperation
- Indivisible: Animated intro
- Kiratto Pri☆Chan: In-Between Animation for the first opening animation
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: 2nd Key Animation for the 2012 series; In-Between Animation for Stardust Crusaders
- Made In Abyss: In-Between Animation
- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic: Production Assistance
- Mob Psycho 100: In-Between Animation
- Monster Strike: Production Assistance for episode 4
- Mutafukaz: In-Between Animation
- My Hero Academia: 2nd key & In-Between Animation
- Nerdland: Animation for the "Video XV" sequence, through Hiroyuki Imaishi
- OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes: Intro animation storyboards, through Hiroyuki Imaishi with Digital eMation.
- Owari no Seraph: Background Art for "Vampire Reign"; In-Between Animation for "Battle in Nagoya"
- Persona 5: In-Between Animation for cutscenes.
- Pokémon XY: 2nd Key Animation
- Pokemon XY & Z: In-Between Animation
- Pokémon: The Power of Us: Production Coordination
- Project X Zone: Opening, first thing done by Trigger
- Punch Line: 2nd Key Animation
- Recovery of an MMO Junkie: Key, 2nd Key & In-Between Animation
- Rinne no Lagrange: Kamogawa Days: Key Animation
- Space Dandy: In-Between Animation for Season 2
- Steven Universe: Layout and Key Animation for "Mindful Education", Through Takafumi Hori note
- Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider: In-Between Animation
- Sword Art Online: Animation Production Cooperation for episode 17
- Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online: In-Between Animation
- Tokyo Ravens: In-Between Animation
- Transformers: Indirectly. Several animators, including Imaishi, would contribute to the "More than Just a Geek Spark" artbook released in 2016.
- Valvrave the Liberator: 2nd Key Animation
Tropes associated with Studio Trigger:
- Animation Bump:
- Kill la Kill has several higher quality moments in spite of its many Off-Model and Limited Animation moments.
- Kiznaiver and Little Witch Academia can be considered this for the studio as a whole.
- Arms and Armor Theme Naming: The Trigger Girls are all named after gun parts: the orange-haired one is named "Trigger", the blue-haired one "Muzzle", and the blonde one "Spring".
- Author Appeal: Limited Animation and Off-Model are always featured in their series, as well as shout-outs to their favorite Western properties.
- The Cameo: Characters from Tigger and Gainax properties will appear in the background or forefront from time to time in each other's shows. For instance, Akko appears at very the end of Space Patrol Luluco and as a background student in SSSS.GRIDMAN.
- Creator Thumbprint: Their works prominently feature four-pointed stars: the stars on Goku Uniforms in Kill la Kill, the seven stars of the Shiny Rod in Little Witch Academia, the scars in Kiznaiver, and much, much more.
- Fanservice: Kill la Kill is this to a T. Trigger in general isn't shy to invoke it.
- Limited Animation:
- Invoked as all of their series exhibit this, with Ninja Slayer, Inferno Cop and Space Patrol Luluco being the most blatant cases. It's not a bad thing though.
- Kiznaiver
beautifully averts this, as generally does Little Witch Academia.
- Mascot: The Trigger Girls. While the prospect of an anime starring them started out as an April Fools' Day joke, it's eventually revealed that the middle one, AKA Miss Trigger, is actually Luluco.
- Motif: a large, 4-pointed star is seen regularly in Trigger animations. Most prominently in Kill la Kill, Little Witch Academia, and Space Patrol Luluco.
- Off-Model: Invoked as all of their series feature this. It's not a bad thing though.
- The ’Verse: Space Patrol Luluco ends up sharing one with at least four other Trigger works and is the origin story of the studio's mascot. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, despite not being a Trigger property, is also part of this universe.
