| khara, Inc. | |
| Native Name: | 株式会社カラー |
| Romanized Name: | Kabushiki-gaisha Karā |
| Type: | Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Founder: | Hideaki Anno |
| Predecessor: | Gainax |
| Location: | Suginami, Tokyo, Japan[1] |
| Key People: | Hideaki Anno (founder/president) |
| Industry: | Japanese animation |
| Divisions: | Studio Khara Digital-bu |
is a Japanese animation studio, located in Suginami, Tokyo, best known for its work on the Rebuild of Evangelion film tetralogy. is the primary animation production studio. It was founded by Hideaki Anno in May 2006, and was shown publicly on 1 August when recruitment notices were posted on his website; Anno remains its president.[2] The name khara comes from the Greek word χαρά, meaning joy.
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."[3]
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.[4] [5]
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.[6] 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.[7] On June 7, 2024, Gainax announced that the company has filed for bankruptcy on May 29, making the Gainax trademark and the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise rights being transferred to Khara.[8] [9] [10]