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Khara (studio)

Japanese animation studio

Summary

Japanese animation studio

Field	Value
name	khara, Inc.
native_name	株式会社カラー
native_name_lang	ja
romanized_name	Kabushiki-gaisha Karā
logo	Khara Logo.png
type	Kabushiki-gaisha
foundation
founder	Hideaki Anno
predecessor	Gainax
location	Shoan
location_city	Suginami, Tokyo
location_country	Japan
key_people	Hideaki Anno (president and CEO)
industry	Japanese animation
divisions	Studio Khara Digital-bu
homepage

Khara, Inc. is a Japanese independent animation studio, located in Suginami, Tokyo, best known for its work on the Rebuild of Evangelion film tetralogy. Studio Khara is the primary animation production studio and also handles character licensing. It was founded by Hideaki Anno on May 17, 2006, and was shown publicly on 1 August when recruitment notices were posted on his website; Anno remains its president.

The name khara comes from the Greek word χαρά, meaning joy. The company's logo is this word handwritten in Greek letters by Anno's wife, Moyoco.

History

Anno left Gainax and transitioned to Khara; as part of his public statements on the Rebuild films, he wrote:

"For this purpose, we are not returning to our roots at Gainax. I have set up a production company and studio, and it is in this new setting that we will start again. Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future. Thankfully, we have gathered staff from the old series, new staff, and many other fantastic staff to work on this series. We realize that we are creating something that will be better than the last series."

Key contributors brought back to work on the new project include director Kazuya Tsurumaki, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, storyboard artist Shinji Higuchi, composer Shirō Sagisu, and animator Mahiro Maeda.

By 2014, the copyright for the Neon Genesis Evangelion series was transferred to Khara.

In 2016, Khara sued Gainax for ¥100 million in unpaid royalties from an agreement that Khara would earn royalties from income received on works and properties that founder Hideaki Anno had worked on. The suit alleged that Gainax delayed on paying royalties and incurred a large debt with Khara, which had loaned ¥100 million in August 2014, but had yet to receive payment on the loan. On June 7, 2024, Gainax announced that the company has filed for bankruptcy on May 29, making the Gainax trademark being transferred to Khara.

On August 21, 2024, Khara announced that they had successfully acquired the intellectual property of all P Productions' tokusatsu works, after the company ceased producing tokusatsu series following Lion-Maru G.

On October 6, 2024, Khara announced that they would begin production on a new Space Battleship Yamato film in 2025. All that is currently known is that it will be unconnected to prior remakes done by other companies.

Works

Television

The Dragon Dentist (2017)
The Diary of Ochibi-san (2023–2024)
Kaiju No. 8 (2024, kaiju designs)
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (2025) (co-produced with Sunrise)

OVA/ONAs

Japan Animator Expo (2014–2015)
Patlabor Reboot (2016)
Gravity Rush: The Animation ~ Overture ~ (2016)
VOY@GER (2021) (co-produced with CloverWorks)
Sugar Sugar Rune: Les Deux Sorcières (2025)

Animated films

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017) (co-produced with Studio Ponoc)
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)
Untitled Space Battleship Yamato movie (TBA)

Live-action films

Kantoku Shikkaku (2011)
Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo (2012, co-produced with Studio Ghibli)
Shin Godzilla (2016, co-produced with Toho Pictures) [uncredited]
Shin Ultraman (2022, co-produced with Tsuburaya Productions and Toho Pictures)
Shin Kamen Rider (2023, co-produced with Toei Company) [uncredited]

Video games

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (2017)
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019)

Intellectual properties owned by Studio Khara

; Original

The Dragon Dentist

; Owned from P Productions

Bouken Rockbat
Denjin Zaborger
Lion-Maru trilogy
- Fuun Lion-Maru
- Kaiketsu Lion-Maru
- Lion-Maru G
Gokemidoro
The Monster Prince
Spectreman
Tetsujin Tiger Seven

; Other

Neon Genesis Evangelion (owned from Gainax)
- Rebuild of Evangelion

References

"khara, Inc. - Company Information".
"庵野秀明：公式: Personal Biography".
"History".
[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-20/hideaki-anno-releases-statement-about-new-evangelion-movies Hideaki Anno Releases Statement About New Evangelion Movies - Anime News Network]
(24 June 2016). "Guest: Mahiro Maeda".
(7 November 2019). "Five Years Later, The Spirit of Japan Animator Expo Lives On".
(2016-11-16). "庵野秀明監督が初めて語る経営者としての10年（下）". Diamond Online.
(December 2, 2016). "Evangelion Studio Khara Sues Gainax for 100 Million Yen in Royalties". Anime News Network.
(December 7, 2016). "Gainax Posts Apology After Khara's Lawsuit". Anime News Network.
Hodgkins, Crystalyn. (June 7, 2024). "Anime Studio Gainax Files for Bankruptcy".
(June 7, 2024). "Notice".
(June 7, 2024). "Regarding the news from Gainax Co., Ltd.".
(2024-10-19). "Hideaki Anno, Khara Produce New Yamato Anime Film Project".
(20 December 2016). "Gravity Rush's anime captures the game's signature style".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

khara japanese-animation-studios japanese-companies-established-in-2006 mass-media-companies-established-in-2006 animation-studios-in-tokyo hideaki-anno tokusatsu suginami

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