Gainax의 흥망성쇠: 파산과 유산

신세기 에반게리온과 같은 히트 애니메이션을 제작하는 것으로 유명한 Gainax는 재정 관리 부실과 벤처 사업 실패로 2021년 파산 신청을 했습니다.

### Gainax: 신세기 에반게리온의 부상부터 파산까지
* 📉 신세기 에반게리온과 같은 히트작을 제작한 전설적인 애니메이션 스튜디오인 Gainax가 **2023년 5월 29일 파산 신청**을 하면서 **40년 역사의 막**을 내렸습니다.
* 🚀 1981년 다이콘 필름이라는 동인 동아리로 시작한 Gainax는 **애니메이션 제작을 위한 투자를 받기 위해 1984년에 정식으로 설립**되었습니다.
* 💰 반다이는 애니메이션 영화 '호네아미즈의 날개'를 제작하기 위해 **가이낙스에 4억 4천만 엔**이라는 거액을 투자했고, 결국 **제작과 마케팅에 약 8억 엔의 비용**이 들었습니다.
* 🧠 1995년 출시된 신세기 에반게리온은 메가 히트를 기록하며 Gainax의 손익분기점을 넘겼지만, **내부 경영 문제**로 인해 균열이 보이기 시작했습니다.
* 🏦 2012년 Gainax는 **식품 산업 및 기타 사업에 뛰어들었다가 실패**하면서 재무 상황이 지속적으로 악화되었습니다.
* 👮 2019년에는 **Gainax의 CEO가 미성년자와 관련된 음란 행위로 체포**되어 회사 운영이 더욱 위태로워졌습니다.
* 💸 Gainax는 막대한 부채, 경영진의 지적 재산 무단 사용 및 기타 심각한 문제로 인해 **2023년 6월 7일 약 35억 엔의 부채로 파산**을 신청하기로 결정했습니다.
* 🎌 Gainax의 권리와 상표는 스튜디오 카라가 인수했으며, **트리거는 계속해서 오리지널 작품을 제작**하고 **넷플릭스, 디즈니 플러스 등 다양한 플랫폼과 협업**하고 있습니다.

Today, we will discuss the recent issue of the bankruptcy of the animation legend Gainax. In June of this year, an article was posted that Gainax, the production company of the famous Neon Genesis Evangelion series, filed for bankruptcy on May 29. By applying for bankruptcy in May, the decision was made in June, and thus, the history of Gainax, which produced many hit works, will come to an end. Neon Genesis Evangelion was truly a legend of legends. How did Gainax, which created such a masterpiece, end up in this situation? We will examine step by step from the beginning of Gainax. First of all, what kind of place is Gainax and what are its representative works? Aim for the top, mysterious sea.

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Boy and the Girl, Freaky 1000 Breakthrough, Grand Lagann, Hanamaru Kindergarten, Panska Box, and many other famous works have been created by Gainax. Nadia, there is nothing to say, and Evangelion can simply be called the king of animation and games. The Boy and the Girl also had a lot of hits, and Grand Lagann, as well as Panska Box, were among the works that gained a lot of popularity from the late 2000s. But the problem is that these are all old works from the 1980s, 90s, 00s, and 10s. Since 2015, they have hardly made any animations. It is fair to say that they have not had any hit works, and the company has not been running properly. Why didn't the company run properly even though they produced so many hit works like this? First, let's take a look at Gainax's beginning together.

Gainax started in 1981 as a doujin circle called Daicon Film. They produced special works like animations, which included movies with special shooting techniques like Godzilla and Power Rangers. At that time, a group of college creators gathered to run a doujin circle and gained some recognition in the industry. In 1984, with the intention of creating a proper animation, Gainax was established. The purpose of Gainax's establishment was to receive investment to create animations. In order to receive investment, they needed a respectable company and a mission. That's why Gainax was created. They received a significant investment of 440 million yen from the indispensable company in Japan's subculture industry, Bandai.

If you think about it, we received an investment of 4.4 billion won. What did Bandai see to invest so much money? While working on the Daicon Film, those people were recognized as talented and skilled. Also, one of the founders of Gainax, Hiroyuki Yamaga, had a close relationship with Miyazaki Hayao. So, by utilizing such connections, we went to Bandai and asked for some investment. We promised to make a proper animation. At that time, Bandai was starting to wonder if they should jump into animation as well. In the midst of this dilemma, they ended up investing a large sum of money in Gainax. The animated film created through this investment was Wings of Honneamise, but initially, Bandai didn't plan to invest 4.4 billion. They were considering investing around 3 billion, but the budget ran out.

It went over budget, and it went over budget, oh my. It ended up costing around 440 million yen, 4.4 billion yen. It's not just about production; we need to do marketing too. We need to invest about 300 million yen in marketing expenses. So, a total of approximately 800 million yen, 8 billion yen, went into it. Therefore, the work created, Royal Mujugun, is recognized for its completeness. But the issue was a bit vague commercially. So, what happened to this work? Even though 8 billion yen was invested, only 347 million yen, around 3.3 billion won, was earned. It's like a complete failure compared to the 8 billion yen. So, Royal Mujugun goes back as a failure, and Gaenax ends up in a pile of debt. We have to figure out a way to cover the costs somehow, right? Originally, Royal Mujugun was supposed to be created and disbanded, and Gaenax was just created to attract investments. But

Once I got into this pile of debt, there was no choice. So, I started subcontracting from that time on, receiving subcontracting after subcontracting, and that led to another subcontracting. By working tirelessly on subcontracted jobs, there was a piece of work that turned the fate of Gainax around. That work is none other than the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Neon Genesis Evangelion was not just a hit, but a mega-hit surpassing the concept of a hit; it was almost a social phenomenon. Before creating this, they also made something called Princess Maker. What kind of game is this? It's about raising your daughter diligently to marry a prince or become a queen. It's a game where you raise your daughter like this. How did they succeed? Gainax touched the hearts of otakus with the expression and charm of the characters, creating a trend. The characters were cute, with a hint of sexiness.

Furthermore, because the future of the female protagonist was limitless, there were some elements like that. So, it wasn't just popular among male fans, but it also resonated with women. It touched the hearts of young girls like, I want to marry a prince too. When targeting young girls and adult men, the maker hit the jackpot. I did make some money from this, but it was impossible to cover all the losses with this. Gainax really hit the jackpot with Neon Genesis Evangelion at that time. People who like animations a bit know about it. When the worldwide trend related to Evangelion started, finally, Gainax was able to break even. I thought Gainax might finally get out of the red, but from then on, Gainax's cracks began to show.

Having started, it was a huge success, but during this time, an incident occurred. The creator of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno, was sentenced. Why? For tax evasion of 580 million yen, he received a sentence of 1 year and 8 months in 1999. What exactly happened during this time? It was a case of accounting fraud. They had been engaging in fraudulent accounting from July 1996 to July 1997, which was exposed, leading to a trial. While the work was thriving and money was gradually increasing, it all went sour. In relation to the chairman's large-scale tax evasion case, at that time, Hideaki Anno, the key figure in Evangelion's success at Gainax, conducted an interview. He said, The great success of Evangelion at Gainax has rather become a poison. Gainax was a company where...

Since the time when wasteful management, ignoring business plans and costs, became commonplace, Anno, the director, knew everything. When I checked what was going on, around 2003, Gainax's management was completely leaning. In reality, money was continuously paid to those who hardly worked, rather than to those who actually worked, and a shock was inevitable when it was revealed that a much higher salary was paid to some employees with no performance than to those who had worked hard for the success of Evangelion. It looked like a huge success on the surface, but it was actually decaying. The success of Evangelion had practically turned into poison. Since the tax evasion case in 1999, the CEO has changed, and Hideaki Anno, the director, founded Studio Khara within Gainax. Studio Khara separated in 2006.

Evangelion's new movie was made, and with its release, all of the Evangelion's rights will be taken over by Kara. Essentially, now Anno, the director, and Evangelion and Gainax's relationship has ended. It should be seen as ended here. It has become a kind of separation. So, Anno, who made this hit work, and the people who followed him all left Studio Kara. From this point on, then, has Gainax collapsed? It hasn't really collapsed. There was still one step left. The second generation animators who remained worked hard and produced a few more hit works. In 2007, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, in 2010, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, these two works did quite well. But in the meantime, there were various big and small things happening, and while the company was already decaying internally, the people who made these works were also related to Gainax.

I came out again. So, in 2011, I founded an animation production company that triggered it, and as representative works, we made Kill la Kill, Cyberpunk Edgerunner, Dungeon Bab, and such, and we are doing very well in the animation industry now. It's going well, isn't it? However, from Gainax's perspective, since all the talented animators and key members who remained have left, management is deteriorating, and we can't even make proper animations. What happened after that? The details are in Gainax's statement related to this bankruptcy. Around 2012, suddenly, they say that they turned their hands to the food industry. There were incidents like this. They touched the food industry and failed. They established a CG company without a plan, and that also failed. And they expanded their operations.

What are you doing with a high-value unsecured loan for individuals? Furthermore, the executives who were investing in the company have almost privatized the company due to various incidents. Due to various incidents, the company's management has deteriorated, so the situation is like this: in 2011, everything was fine, but in 2012, we rashly ventured into the food business and failed. We also tried to expand by establishing a CG animation production company as a subsidiary, but it just ended in failure. In 2016, there was another lawsuit with Studio Kara. When it was related to a drug, they took all the rights to Evangelion. The commercialization continued under the name of Gainax, but in order for Gainax to commercialize this, they need the rights to Evangelion from Kara.

Because it exists, the usage fee should be paid to Kara, but initially, even though they wanted to manage each house, due to the continuous worsening of the financial situation, they started with installment payments, then there were delays, and eventually they couldn't pay. Kara borrowed a large sum of money, 1 billion yen, from Gaianx. Unable to repay this, they ended up in a lawsuit. In this lawsuit, the court ruled that Kara should hand over the house to Gaianx to cover the approximately 1 billion yen borrowed in Tokyo District Court. Gaianx is expected not to appeal. Whether they paid it back or not, amidst this, there is another aspect. They lost here, failed. The business failed. In 2019, the CEO will once again get involved in such issues.

Being arrested as a minor, the representative at the time was Makki Tomohiro Shojo's Setsuko for obscene acts. The incident of taking inappropriate photos of a teenage girl aspiring to be a voice actor named Senako Osida was reported in Korea as well. An executive of a Japanese animation production company was arrested for taking inappropriate photos of a teenage voice actor aspirant, Sena Hye-mi, and receiving inappropriate responses. Representative Makki denied the charges, saying, She is a voice actor aspirant who signed an exclusive contract with our company. Isn't it natural for entertainers, including idols, to take photos? So, we did it with mutual consent, and I just took the photos after receiving a request. I am innocent. However, he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for the charges. Additionally, Makki, who was involved in animation production, was...

It was wrong from here. It was wrong from the moment Makki took over as the representative. The statement related to Gainax's bankruptcy is summarized in this person's position. Shares were transferred to an individual without any production insight. So, in 2018, Makki became the representative. However, shortly after taking office, this person was arrested for a crime involving a minor. Already struggling due to debts, having the country abandon the representative completely compromised the operational ability. Such a statement created chaos for Gainax. However, to make matters worse, Gainax, which had already severed ties with Evangelion back in 2006, experienced a surge when Evangelion's work was with Gainax. As a result, interest in Evangelion skyrocketed, and at that time, Studio Kara also issued a statement. Gainax.

Evangelion or Anno Hideaki's company had no connection at all, but why did the CEO get arrested, leading to reports seemingly related to our work? It's unfair, and it's a situation that can't be overlooked. In order to handle the chaos caused by the tragedy of the former CEO, what choice did Gainax make? As a creditor, they asked the stock company Kara for help. Let's completely change the management team and thoroughly analyze what has been happening at Gainax. I checked various data, and it turned out that the situation was more serious than expected. There were massive debts even during the financial boom, debts related to the animation industry, and unauthorized use of intellectual property and animation-related materials by executives without permission.

I sold it. Oh, really, it's a disaster. Since it couldn't be salvaged anymore, eventually, bankruptcy was filed, and bankruptcy was decided on June 7th this year. Many things happened in Gainax, so looking at the financial situation, there is about one creditor with a debt of about 380 million yen, totaling around 3.5 billion yen. Therefore, Gainax, which had a history of 40 years, collapsed, and the rights that Gainax had, such as trademark rights, moved away from Gainax and a production company was established. It went to Studio Cara and Trigger, but Gainax lost the trademark rights, which Cara took over. Cara also posted a notice related to bankruptcy, so let's take a look at the translated version together. Regarding the announcement of Gainax Co., Ltd., I saw the Gainax announcement, and we will explain more about our situation.

If you're there, I'll delete the additional comments now. Originally, our Kara representative, Lee Sang-in, was the director of Gainax. I knew about the financial difficulties and debts since then. So, hey, don't do that. That's not right. That's why I made suggestions for management improvement, but they weren't accepted for a long time. Even in that situation, Kara provided loans for Gainax's honor, but the situation of Gainax didn't change. After that, we did our best. After CEO Lee was arrested, we joined forces with Kadokawa, King Records, Trigger, and Kara to take over the management as directors in each company. However, oh, it was an uncontrollable situation. We couldn't do anything. We considered many options, but it was impossible. Now, the trademark rights and titles of Gainax are acquired by Studio Kara.

And Gainax has expressed a stance that they won't allow the use of their trademarks by their subsidiaries with names. Now Gainax feels deeply sorry to their fans, partners, and collaborators for the situation. They sincerely appreciate the 40 years of support from their fans. Finally, as Gainax closes its curtains, it feels like Neon Genesis Evangelion represents the beginning and end of Gainax. Perhaps after tasting great success, they found themselves in a situation where the underside was rotting. They couldn't help it. They wish Studio Khara and Trigger, who will follow, the best in their future endeavors. Nowadays, Studio Khara is actively involved in animation production. In the second quarter, the production of the new work Monster 8 is being handled by Production I.G Studio.

Kara was in charge of the monster design and works. It seems like the essence is not outstanding, but this monster fits well. They collaborated with Production I.G before, even worked on Evangelion together. It's interesting to see them meet again, and it seems like they get along well. The quality is well presented, so I'm enjoying watching it these days. Anyway, Kara is actively working as a production partner like this. The production company Trigger is working on Cyberpunk Edgerunner for Netflix in 2022, and also on Dungeon Bap, which is also a Netflix exclusive in 2024. They are also responsible for some original animations on Netflix and Disney Plus. Trigger has been fond of creating original works from the past and is actively continuing their activities. Trigger seems to be more active than Kara.

It feels like they are working harder on animation production, and when they were explaining the works of Gainax earlier, they mentioned that the work Fens did moved over to Kara. Fens and most of the first season production team have moved to Trigger, and it is said that they are working on a new project there. It's news that has come after 12 years, and the broadcast schedule is undecided. So, the conclusion for today is that success can be achieved in a moment, and you can fall anytime.

일본 애니메이션 계의 "레전드", 가이낙스가 파산할 수밖에 없었던 이유

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아카캉

가이낙스의 파산: 전설적인 애니메이션 스튜디오의 몰락

신세기 에반게리온으로 유명한 스튜디오인 가이낙스가 지난 5월 파산 신청을 하면서 수많은 히트작을 제작했던 이 회사의 한 시대가 막을 내렸습니다.

전설적인 작품으로 유명한 이 스튜디오는 2010년대 이후 새로운 히트작의 부재와 재정적 불안정에 직면하면서 성공을 유지하기 위해 고군분투했습니다.

1981년 다이콘 필름이라는 동인 동아리로 시작한 Gainax의 여정은 1984년 설립자들의 재능과 기술, 인맥을 바탕으로 반다이의 대규모 투자를 받아 설립되었으며, 이후 상징적인 애니메이션 영화인 '호네미즈의 날개'를 제작하게 됩니다.

게낙스의 재무 롤러코스터와 신세기 에반게리온의 성공 사례

가이낙스는 로열 무주군 제작에 80억 엔을 투자했지만 수익이 3억 4,700만 엔에 불과해 재정적으로 크게 실패했습니다.

하지만 메가 히트작인 신세기 에반게리온이 남녀 관객 모두에게 큰 반향을 일으키면서 스튜디오의 운명은 반전되었고, 결국 회사는 재정적으로 안정을 되찾게 되었습니다.

하지만 에반게리온의 제작자인 안노 히데아키가 탈세 스캔들에 연루되면서 Gainax의 성공은 오래가지 못했고, 회사는 더욱 혼란에 빠졌습니다.

게낙스와 스튜디오 카라의 흥망성쇠

감독인 안노는 Gainax의 잘못된 경영과 불공정한 급여를 목격하고 스튜디오 카라를 분리하게 됩니다.

2세대 애니메이터들의 초기 성공에도 불구하고 Gainax의 경영은 악화되었고, 식품 및 CG 애니메이션 산업에 대한 투자도 실패로 이어졌습니다.

또한 스튜디오 카라로부터 에반게리온에 대한 판권을 확보하지 못한 채 소송에 휘말리며 상업화에 어려움을 겪었습니다.

Gainax의 법적 문제와 비즈니스 실패

카라는 가이낙스에 10억 엔의 대출금을 갚지 못해 도쿄에 있는 주택을 넘기라는 법원 명령을 받았습니다.

CEO인 쇼조 마키 토모히로가 10대 성우의 부적절한 사진을 찍은 혐의로 체포되면서 가이낙스는 파산에 이르렀습니다.

에반게리온과의 관계를 단절했지만 애니메이션의 성공 이후 다시금 관심이 높아지면서 회사는 더욱 혼란스러워졌습니다.

게낙스의 몰락과 스튜디오 카라의 부상

Gainax는 막대한 부채, 지적 재산의 무단 사용, 파산으로 인해 비극적인 몰락에 직면했습니다.

스튜디오 카라는 회사의 재정적 어려움을 관리하기 위한 이전 노력에도 불구하고 회사가 파산한 후 Gainax의 상표권과 타이틀을 인수했습니다.

결국 경영 개선 노력의 실패와 CEO의 체포로 인해 Gainax는 파산하고 그 권리가 Studio Cara로 이전되었습니다.

상표 및 자회사와 스튜디오 카라 및 트리거의 승계에 대한 Gainax의 입장

Gainax는 자회사의 상표 사용을 거부하며 유감을 표명하고 있습니다.

스튜디오 카라는 애니메이션 제작에 적극적으로 참여하고 있으며, 프로덕션 I.

G와 신작 '몬스터 8'을 공동 제작하고 있습니다.

한편, 트리거는 넷플릭스와 디즈니 플러스를 위한 여러 프로젝트를 진행 중이며, 다수의 오리지널 애니메이션과 전직 가이낙스 멤버들과 함께 새로운 프로젝트를 준비 중입니다.