Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno joins the board of anime studio Production I.G
The acclaimed anime director Hideaki Anno has been appointed as a member of the board of directors for the animation studio Production I.G.
The announcement was made on Friday, the 18th of July, and was also confirmed by Studio Khara, the company Anno founded and currently serves as its president.
Anno is one of the most influential figures in the modern anime industry, having co-founded the legendary studio Gainax in the 1980s.
His most famous work is the seminal 1995 television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, a franchise that deconstructed the mecha genre and had a profound, lasting impact on global pop culture.
The series’ legacy is such that its 30th anniversary celebrations involve a 3-day festival in Yokohama and a giant statue in the city of Hamamatsu.
After leaving Gainax, he founded Studio Khara in 2006, where he directed the four-part Rebuild of Evangelion film series, which offered a new interpretation of his original work.
More recently, he has focused on live-action filmmaking, writing and co-directing Shin Godzilla, writing Shin Ultraman, and directing and writing Shin Kamen Rider, a series of films that reimagine Japan’s most famous pop culture icons.
Production I.G is itself a major and long-standing animation studio, founded in 1987.
The studio is responsible for producing a wide range of critically and commercially successful works, including the Ghost in the Shell films and series, Psycho-Pass, and the recent hit, Kaiju No. 8.
The appointment of the head of one major studio to the board of another is a significant development in the industry.
This move comes at a time of considerable corporate activity for Production I.G and its parent company, IG Port.
IG Port recently entered into a capital and business alliance with the character company Sanrio, and also merged its subsidiary studio, Signal.MD, into Production I.G.
Another new board member, Tomonori Tanaka of East Group Holdings Inc., was also announced alongside Anno.
Anno’s appointment to the board is scheduled to go into effect on the 21st of August.
Source: Official Website
This post may contain affiliate links, and Essential Japan may earn a commission if you purchase through them.
