Gainax (pronounced “guy-nax”) is a Japanese anime studio most famous for the television series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Gainax is best known for its experimental anime and controversial endings. Throughout its history, Gainax has been plagued by budgetary problems and poor management, and in the wake of Evangelion’s success, Gainax evaded taxes and its President, Takeshi Sawamura, was sentenced to jail for accounting fraud.
Although until Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gainax typically worked on stories created in-house, the studio has increasingly adapted existing manga like Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou and Mahoromatic into anime shows. Gainax could be said to produce two types of anime today: commercial works like Mahoromatic and He is My Master versus more experimental works that follow the company’s traditions, such as FLCL and Gunbuster 2. In addition to anime production, Gainax relies heavily on merchandising its famous properties. Even though the show ended in 1996, Evangelion video games, t-shirts, and accessories are still being produced today.
