Gainax

created by Corlock

(idea) by dragoon (4.4 y) (print) ? I like it! Sun May 21 2000 at 21:52:20

This is actually used as a verb by some.

To gainax: to bounce in a way pleasing to otaku and fanboys. There's really only one part of the body that can gainax properly.

(thing) by Wigs (6.8 d) (print) ? 1 C! I like it! Sat Oct 27 2001 at 1:26:44

Takami Akai, Hiroyuki Yamaga and Hideaki Anno were film students at the Osaka College of Art during the early eighties. Living together in the same cramped apartment they "had this dream", according to Yamaga and over the next couple of years they formed Daicon Film, produced the Daicon convention openings, and then formed Studio Gainax to produce Wings Of Honneamise. In the years that followed they produced such anime cult classics as Otaku no Video, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, the acclaimed Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kareshi Kanojo No Jijou, Ebichu, FLCL, Mahoromatic and Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai to name a few.

Particularly after the commercial success of Evangelion Gainax have been able to expand their creative genius even more than they did before, becuase as Yamaga puts it, the sponsors say "Oh, it's Gainax, we'll probably make some money on it". They are an Otaku studio, made up of anime fans, who make anime for fans. They haven't always had mainstream success, but they are one of the most respected studios in Japan and are highly respected by fans and other studios alike.

Name: Gainax Co., Ltd.
Founded: December 25, 1984
Capitalization: 20,000,000 Yen
Located at: Nakamachi Bldg., 2-5-22 Nakamachi, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-0006, JAPAN. Just five minutes walk from the North Exit of Mitaka Station, on the JR Chuo Line.
Contact: Voice: 0422-53-5568 (Reception; 81 422 53-5568 outside Japan--Japanese only) Fax: 0422-53-5565 (81 422-53-5565 outside Japan)
Number of Employees: Approx. 100 (which is quite a lot for an animation studio).

The above details are correct as of March 1, 1999. Below is an extended and heavily annotated timeline history of Gaianx based off the brief one portrayed on the Gainax homepage.

The History Of Gainax

1981 - August: DAICON 3, the 20th Annual Japan SF Convention. It is here that Gainax's origins lie. Diacon 3 is an "amateur" science fiction convention organized by college students in the Osaka area. The core members of the Diacon 3 convention committee built upon the experience they acquired while running the event and used it to open General Products, Japan's first specialty SF shop.

1982 - February: General Products opens for business.

1982 - August: Premiere of "Kaiketsu Nootenki" and "Aikoku Sentai Dainippon" (Patriot Taskforce Great Japan).

1983 - March: Kaettekita Ultraman (Return of Ultraman) completed and screened. This was directed by Hideaki Anno, who is a huge fan of Ultraman.

1984 - August: DAICON 4, the 22nd Annual Japan SF Convention took place.

1984 - September: Planning on The Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamise Project begins.

1984 - December: Gainax Co., Ltd was founded. The main reason the studio was founded was so that they could make The Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamise.

1985 - January: Design studio opened in Takadanobaba, Tokyo. Production begins on The Royal Space Force Pilot Film which is a four minute pilot for what was later released as Wings of Honneamise.

1985 - May: New studio opened in Takadanobaba, Tokyo. The Royal Space Force design work begins.

1986 - January: Studio moved to Kichijoji, Tokyo. Proper production on The Royal Space Force begins. As you can see it was a long process in actually getting the production of the final Wings of Honneamise under way.

1987 - March: The feature-length animated film The Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamise opens in Toho movie theaters. It was distributed by Toho Towa, presented by Bandai and had the 24 year old Yamaga Hiroyuki as its director. This film really legitimised the concept of feature films made using animation.

1988 - October: Vol. 1 (of 6) of the original video animation series Gunbuster, "Aim for the Top!" (Top o Nerae!) goes on sale. Presented by Bandai and Victor Music Industries.

1989 - August: Denno Gakuen 1, Gainax's first computer game goes on sale. It was prodcued almost eitirely by Akai Takami.

1990 - March: Nadia: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia/Nadia: The secret of Blue Water, a 39-episode animated TV series, premieres on NHK. Presented by NHK Enterprises, Sogovision, and Toho.

1990 - August: The Silent Mobius computer game goes on sale. In order to conquer the anime and entertainment software fields, General Products got out of the business of merchandising, withdrew from Wonder Festival, and merged with Gainax in order to focus its efforts on project planning and development.

1991 - February: The computer game Super Battleskin Panic goes on sale.

1991 - May: The original Princess Maker goes on sale. This was probably the best "child-rearing" simulation game ever!

1992 - March: The Nadia: Fushigi no Umi no Nadia/Nadia: The secret of Blue Water computer game goes on sale. The original video animation series "Otaku no Video 1982" and "More Otaku no Video 1985" goes on sale. These two OVAs capture otaku history by telling the story of Gainax itself.

1993 - May: Princess Maker 2 goes on sale. All the package art and other design work was done entirely with desktop publishing. This was when Gainax started making substantial use of Macintoshes and SGI Indigo machines for computer graphics work as well.

1994 - March: The first Gainamatsuri (Gainax Festival) takes place one weekend in Mikami, Gunma Prefecture.

1994 - December: Gainax's first CD-ROM art collection, done mostly by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, goes on sale. Princess Maker and Other Stuff, the first Akai Takami CD-ROM also goes on sale

1995 - July: The Second Gainamatsuri (Gainax Festival) takes place at Itako, Ibaraki Prefecture.

1995 - October: The animated TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion premieres on the TV Tokyo Network, lasting 26 episodes. I can't say enough about Evangelion. It is the best show I have ever seen, period. As anime goes it it terrific, as life goes, it is the best.

1996 - February: Neon Genesis Evangelion Collector's Disc Vol. 1 goes on sale.

1996 - May: The Gunbuster, "Aim for the Top!" - Top o Nerae! CD-ROM Encyclopaedia Concentrate goes on sale.

1997 - March: Neon Genesis Evangelion The Movie, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth opens in theatres.

1997 - April: The Windows version of the Neon Genesis Evangelion - Girlfriend of Steel computer game goes on sale.

1997 - July: Neon Genesis Evangelion DVD Vol. 1 (of seven) goes on sale. The End of Evangelion premieres in theatres.

1997 - November: The Royal Space Force - Wings of Honneamise, the Sound Renewal Version, is screened at the 1997 Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival, and at the Tachikawa CineCity 2, one of the few THX-certified theatres in Japan. Gainax Night took place at the 1997 Sapporo Film Festival.

1998 - January: Hideaki Anno's live-action directorial debut, Love & Pop opens in theatres. Work on this film began immediately after Evangelion was finished. If you can get your hands on this beauty I recommend it. Anno is just as good directing a live action film as anime.

1998 - March: The combined Evangelion movies, Evangelion: Death (True)� and The End of Evangelion, opens in theatres as Revival of Evangelion. The PlayStation version of "Neon Genesis Evangelion - Eva and Good Friends" goes on sale.

1998 - July: The Aoki Uru Frozen Designs Collection goes on sale.

1998 - October: The animated TV series Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou premieres on the TV Tokyo Network, lasting 26 episodes. The title of this anime translates roughly to His and Her Circumstances, and was directed by Hideaki Anno.

1999 - February: The Windows version of Shinji and Good Friends - Is That Solitaire? goes on sale.

2000 - April: Furi Kuri/FLCL OVA 1 (of 6) was released. Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki this has got to be one of the best looking anime I've ever seen. It's crazy in the typical Gainax style too.

2001 - Current: Abenobashi Mah� Sh�tenga (Abenobashi Magical Shopping District) is being produced for Japanese TV. It is about two girls who are transported to the parallel universe which has a magical shopping district. More great mad Gainax stuff.

I'll updated this as time goes by and Gainax releases more masterpieces.

printable version
chaos

FLCL	Gunbuster	Kareshi Kanojo No Jijou	Why I don't like my fellow Asian youth
The Ethics of Fansubbing	Eva no otaku	Redone Evangelion Episodes	Anno Hideaki
Otaku No Video	Wings Of Honneamise	Princess Maker 2	otaku
Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai	great anime filmmakers	Studio Ghibli	Iris
Evangelion	Princess Maker	The End of Evangelion	Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
Animeigo	Neon Genesis Evangelion	Silent Mobius	Gainax Festival

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