Khara (studio)

Name	khara, Inc.
Native Name	株式会社カラー
Native Name Lang	ja
Romanized Name	Kabushiki-gaisha Karā
Logo
Type	Kabushiki-gaisha
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	https://www.khara.co.jp/

is a Japanese independent animation studio, located in Suginami, Tokyo, best known for its work on the Rebuild of Evangelion film tetralogy. 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

Intellectual properties owned by Studio Khara

Original: The Dragon Dentist

Owned from P Productions: Bouken Rockbat; Denjin Zaborger; Lion-Maru trilogy; Gokemidoro; The Monster Prince; Spectreman; Tetsujin Tiger Seven

Other: Neon Genesis Evangelion (owned from Gainax)

References

External links

Category:Khara
Category:Japanese animation studios
Category:Japanese companies established in 2006
Category:Mass media companies established in 2006
Category:Animation studios in Tokyo
Category:Hideaki Anno
Category:Tokusatsu
Category:Suginami

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