| Trigger, Inc. | |
| Native Name: | 株式会社トリガー |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Type: | Kabushiki gaisha |
| Founders: | Hiroyuki Imaishi Masahiko Ōtsuka |
| Hq Location City: | Tokyo |
| Hq Location Country: | Japan[1] |
| Predecessor: | Gainax |
| Industry: | Anime and production enterprise |
| Parent: | Ultra Super Pictures |
| Subsid: | Trigger Dōga-bu (2013) |
, also known as Studio Trigger, is a Japanese animation studio founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ōtsuka in 2011. It has produced anime works including Kill la Kill (2013), Little Witch Academia (short films, 2013 and 2015; TV series, 2017), Promare (2019), (2020), (2022), and Delicious in Dungeon (2024), as well as the animated continuations of Gridman The Hyper Agent, SSSS.Gridman (2018), SSSS.Dynazenon (2021), and Gridman Universe (2023)
Studio Trigger was founded by former Gainax employee Hiroyuki Imaishi, following his success with Gurren Lagann (2007). This led to the creation of Studio Trigger, with Gurren Laganns visual humor and style defining the studio's work, and Trigger being seen as a successor to Gainax.[2] [3]
Studio Trigger was established on August 22, 2011,[4] [5] by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ōtsuka[6] shortly after leaving Gainax.[7] The studio name and official website was revealed in October 2011.[8] Along with assisting production on various series, Trigger has released a short film, Little Witch Academia,[9] and has developed its first original anime television series, Kill la Kill, which aired from October 2013 to March 2014.[10] [11] On July 8, 2013, Trigger launched a Kickstarter project in order to fund a second episode of Little Witch Academia. The project was well received and achieved its goal of $150,000 in under five hours, and went on to raise a total of $625,518.[12]
Studio Trigger, along with studios Sanzigen and Ordet, joined joint holding company Ultra Super Pictures.
In 2018, Studio Trigger created a Patreon with the goal of acquiring necessary funding for projects and merchandise. As of May 2024, Studio Trigger's Patreon offers two support tiers for patrons (US$1/month and US$5/month), has over 5000 members, and raises over US$3,500 per month.[13]
In 2023, it was announced that the rights to Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt and Gurren Lagann, two of Imaishi's previous work at Gainax, had fully reverted to Imaishi and Studio Trigger; a follow-up to the former was also announced.[14]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Kill la Kill | Hiroyuki Imaishi | 24 | Original work. | [15] |
| 2014 | When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace | Masahiko Ōtsuka (chief) Masanori Takahashi | 12 | Based on a light novel by Kōta Nozomi. | [16] |
| 2016 | Space Patrol Luluco | Hiroyuki Imaishi | 13 | Original work. | [17] |
| Kiznaiver | Hiroshi Kobayashi | 12 | Original work. | [18] | |
| 2017 | Little Witch Academia | Yoh Yoshinari | 25 | Based on Trigger's short film of the same name. | [19] |
| 2018 | Darling in the Franxx | Atsushi Nishigori | 24 | Original work. Co-production with CloverWorks and A-1 Pictures. | [20] |
| SSSS.Gridman | Akira Amemiya | 12 | Based on the tokusatsu series Gridman the Hyper Agent by Tsuburaya Productions. | [21] | |
| 2020 | Yoh Yoshinari | 12 | Original work. | [22] | |
| 2021 | SSSS.Dynazenon | Akira Amemiya | 12 | Studio's 10th anniversary project. Related to SSSS.Gridman. | [23] |
| 2024–present | Delicious in Dungeon | Yoshihiro Miyajima | 24+ | Based on a manga by Ryōko Kui. | [24] [25] |
| 2025 | New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt | Hiroyuki Imaishi | Upcoming project based on the original series by predecessor studio Gainax. | [26] | |
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Little Witch Academia | Yoh Yoshinari | 30m | Original work. Produced for Anime Mirai 2013. | ||
| 2015 | Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade | 55m | Original work. Sequel to the first Little Witch Academia film. | [27] | ||
| 2019 | Promare | Hiroyuki Imaishi | 115m | Original work. CG animation produced by Sanzigen. | [28] | |
| 2023 | Gridman Universe | Akira Amemiya | 118m | Crossover between SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon. | [29] |
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2013 | Inferno Cop | Akira Amemiya | 13 | Original work. Released on YouTube. | [30] | |
| 2013 | Turning Girls | Masahiko Ōtsuka Ren Shimorenjaku | 7 | Original work. Released on YouTube. | [31] | |
| 2015 | Japan Animator Expo | Akira Amemiya (#9) Yasuhiro Yoshiura (#11, #29) Hiroyuki Imaishi (#14) | Four shorts: Electronic Superhuman Gridman: Boys Invent Great Hero (#9; based on Gridman the Hyper Agent),[32] Power Plant No. 33 (#11; co-produced with Studio Rikka),[33] Sex & Violence with Machspeed (#14),[34] and Bureau of Proto Society (#29; co-produced with Studio Rikka).[35] | |||
| Ninja Slayer From Animation | Akira Amemiya | 26 | Based on the novel series by Bradley Bond and Philip "Ninj@" Morzez. Released on Niconico. | [36] | ||
| 2021 | Hiroyuki Imaishi (#3) Masahiko Otsuka (#7) | Episodes #3 ("The Twins") and #7 ("The Elder"). Co-production with Lucasfilm, released on Disney+. | [37] [38] | |||
| 2022 | Hiroyuki Imaishi | 10 | Based on the video game Cyberpunk 2077 published by CD Projekt. Co-production with CD Projekt, released on Netflix. | [39] |