Khara, Inc. (株式会社カラー, Kabushiki-gaisha Karā; stylized as 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 (スタジオカラー, Sutajio Karā) 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 August 1, when recruitment notices were posted on his website; Anno remains its president.^[3]

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.^[4]

^ "khara, Inc. - Company Information".
^ "株式会社カラー".
^ "庵野秀明：公式: Personal Biography". Archived from the original on 2010-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
^ "History". 株式会社カラー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-12-04.

History

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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."^[1]

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.^[2]^[3]

By 2014, the copyright for the Neon Genesis Evangelion series was transferred to Khara.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6] On June 7, 2024, Gainax announced that the company has filed for bankruptcy on May 29, making the Gainax trademark being transferred to Khara.^[7]^[8]^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11]

^ Hideaki Anno Releases Statement About New Evangelion Movies - Anime News Network
^ "Guest: Mahiro Maeda". Japan Expo. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
^ Wescott, Adam (7 November 2019). "Five Years Later, The Spirit of Japan Animator Expo Lives On". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
^ "庵野秀明監督が初めて語る経営者としての10年（下）". Diamond Online. 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
^ "Evangelion Studio Khara Sues Gainax for 100 Million Yen in Royalties". Anime News Network. December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
^ "Gainax Posts Apology After Khara's Lawsuit". Anime News Network. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 7, 2024). "Anime Studio Gainax Files for Bankruptcy". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
^ "Notice". Gainax (in Japanese). June 7, 2024. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
^ "Regarding the news from Gainax Co., Ltd". Khara (in Japanese). June 7, 2024. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
^ "P-PRO's copyright management office is Khara Co., Ltd". X/Twitter (in Japanese). August 21, 2024.
^ "Hideaki Anno, Khara Produce New Yamato Anime Film Project". Anime News Network. 2024-10-19. Retrieved 2024-10-20.

Intellectual properties owned by Studio Khara

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Original

The Dragon Dentist

Owned from P Productions^[1]

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

^ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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