Ask John: Why Does Gainax Anime Have Better Than Average Animation Quality?

Question:
Why does Gainax, above other animating companies, take so much time into finely and smoothly animating their anime? For instance, Evangelion (especially the End of Evangelion movie), Furi Kuri, and Nadia. Is it just tradition, or are they trying to make a name for themselves, or are they just paid a whole lot of money to do it?

Answer:
I think it’s important for a responsible anime fan to maintain a bit of perspective. Especially with the overwhelming popularity of Evangelion, it’s easy to place Gainax on a pedestal without really taking their entire body of work into account. The Gainax Studios Japanese homepage lists 17 anime works, two of which have not been released yet. Gainax’s anime productions, as per their official site, are: Daicon Films, Wings of Honneamise, Gunbuster, Secret of Blue Water, Otaku no Video, Evangelion, Kare Kano, Anime Ai no Awa Awa Hour, FLCL, Puchi Puri Yushi, Abenobashi Maho Shotengai, Mahoromatic, Kono Miniku mo Utsukushii Sekai, Boukyaku no Sentitsu, Re: Cutie Honey, and Neppuu Kairiku Bushilord and Gunbuster 2 (both of which have not been released yet). A close examination of this catalog reveals a resume of outstanding titles, but not an exceptional majority of anime featuring noteworthy animation quality.

It would be wrong to say that Gainax isn’t a studio concerned with animation quality. The Daicon IV opening animation from 1983, created before Gainax had officially adopted the studio name “Gainax,” is evidence that even before the studio turned professional, its members were committed to producing the most painstakingly detailed and animated animation they could. The sheer amount of art packed into the short Daicon IV opening animation, and its fluid animation quality are amazing even by today’s standards.

Gainax followed up that work with their (first) masterpiece, Wings of Honneamise. Once again, this 1987 film remains one of the world’s landmarks in brilliant animation. The film’s excellent animation quality is enhanced by its staggering attention to detail and fully realized environment and world setting. From there on, though, the quality of Gainax animation may be debatable.

The 1988 Gunbuster OAV series did have impressive animation quality, but that’s not what the series is most famous for. The original Gunbuster anime is revered far more for its story, and for Noriko’s infamous bouncing breasts. Most of the 1990 Secret of Blue Water TV series had very impressive animation quality, by the TV standards of the time. Considered today, the Nadia TV animation is good, but not really amazing. The same applies to the 1991 Otaku no Video OAV series, which had respectable, but not brilliant animation quality.

The 1995 Evangelion TV series was seemingly produced on a shoestring budget, and often reflects that fact in the poor technical editing of the original animation (which virtually demanded a later digital re-master) and much of the show’s very limited animation. The Evangelion TV series did feature brilliant action choreography and fluid animation during its action scenes, but this was a compromise with dramatic sequences that featured little or no animation throughout the series. The later Evangelion movies displayed impressive animation, but brilliant animation quality isn’t unusual at all in theatrical films, which have (relatively) massive budgets.

As we consider more recent productions, we find that Kare Kano, Anime Ai no Awa Awa Hour, Abenobashi Maho Shotengai, Mahoromatic, Kono Miniku mo Utsukushii Sekai, and the Gainax co-productions Puchi Puri Yushi and Boukyaku no Sentitsu: Melody of Oblivion all have only average quality animation. Since 2000, the only Gainax productions that have featured exceptional, outstanding animation quality are FLCL and Re: Cutey Honey, both short OAV series that can afford to spend more production funds on animation quality because of their short series length. It’s easier to indulge when it’s only for a limited period.

Gainax originated from a gathering of animators that shared an interest in producing top quality animation, so it’s no surprise that Gainax has produced a number of shows with amazing animation quality. But Gainax anime is not universally known for its fluid, detailed animation because not all of Gainax’s productions do have outstanding animation. Generally Gainax is more recognized for their singular smash hit titles, and their general reliability to produce quality entertainment- not necessarily quality animation. Gainax does place some priority on animation quality, but I’d suggest that fans be careful not to let a few of Gainax’s higher profile works characterize everything the studio has produced. Furthermore, it’s important to consider that it’s easier for a studio like Gainax to focus on animation quality when output is minimal. Consider that Gonzo Studios has produced more anime series in the past 3 years than Gainax has produced in the studio’s entire 17 year professional history.