On the 7th, anime production company Gainax reported on their official website that they had filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court on May 29, and the filing was accepted.

The announcement, titled "Notice" and signed by President Yasuhiro Kamimura, stated, "On May 29, our company, Gainax Co., Ltd., filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court, and it has been accepted."

The announcement detailed the company's history: "Since our founding in 1984, we have been involved in animation production and game software production and sales. We were fortunate to have several hit works, such as 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' (the copyright of which is now owned by Khara, Inc.), but from around 2012, due to overly optimistic restaurant management, the unplanned establishment of a CG company, high unsecured loans to executives, and failed investment projects, the management and executives ran the company as if it were their own, leading to a deterioration of our financial state."

It continued, "Due to the significant debt incurred by these executives, we faced severe situations such as being expelled from committees for unpaid royalties and facing loan lawsuits. Many related companies bearing the Gainax name were established by these executives and their associates, leading to a large number of resignations and the loss of our animation production capabilities. These companies declared their independence from us and abandoned their management responsibilities. In 2018, with the approval of the then management, shares were transferred from the long-serving president since 1992 to an individual with no expertise in video production. Furthermore, in 2019, shortly after this person became president, they were arrested for sexual offenses against a minor. With significant debts, we completely lost our operational capabilities."

"To address the chaos caused by the previous president's scandal, we restructured the management in February 2020 with the support of Khara, Inc., who are also creditors, and made efforts to grasp the actual situation by reviewing the various documents left behind. As a result, we discovered significant borrowings from financial institutions, defaults on debts to various companies in the animation industry, and the unauthorized sale and transfer of intellectual property and project materials to the companies and individuals of the aforementioned executives. We began efforts to normalize these issues."

"Despite the cooperation of Khara and the new board of directors, confirming the rights of major works and ensuring proper management and operation of intellectual property and materials, the significant debts accumulated under the previous regime could not be resolved. This led to a lawsuit filed by a debt collection company in May of this year, making it difficult to continue operations, hence the decision to file for bankruptcy."

To creditors and fans, Gainax expressed their apologies: "We deeply regret that we were unable to fully achieve our goals and had to choose bankruptcy. We apologize to all creditors and cooperating companies, as well as to our fans." They also expressed gratitude: "We would like to thank the new board of directors who cooperated without compensation and the various companies, authors, and creators who prioritized the organization and transfer of intellectual property, including Khara. Lastly, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our fans for their 40 years of support."

Source : ORICON NEWS