Studio khara Sues Gainax for 100 Million Yen in Royalties
By The Eva Monkey on Thursday, December 1st, 2016
According to a recent filing at the Tokyo District Court’s Tachikawa Branch, Studio khara has sued Studio Gainax for 100 million yen (approximately $878,619) in royalties owed to them. Specifically, Gainax has an agreement to pay royalties to khara for revenue earned from the works of Hideaki Anno, such as Gunbuster, Nadia, and Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances).
This is particularly interesting because of the history that binds the two companies together. Gainax was founded by Hideaki Anno, current Gainax president Hiroyuki Yamaga, and a slew of other recognizable names, such as Evangelion character designer and mangaka Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. In 2007, when Yamaga wanted to produce Gurren Lagann and Anno wanted to produce Rebuild of Evangelion, Yamaga urged Anno to spin off his own studio to produce Evangelion. Since then, while Gainax has dwindled as a result, it seems as if the two companies have maintained a positive relationship, so it’s somewhat sad to hear that buisness has led to litigation. Hopefully this doesn’t mean the further decline of Gainax, a studio many people remember fondly.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun via Anime News Network