Yonago Gainax

Yonago Gainax (米子ガイナックス) is a Japanese content production company headquartered in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture. It was established on 12 May 2014 by Takami Akai, an illustrator, anime producer and game creator who was one of the founding members of the anime studio Gainax. Although its name references Gainax, Yonago Gainax has had no capital relationship with Gainax since its founding; it is an independent company created after Gainax's Yonago operations were withdrawn and Akai took them over himself. The company's business covers the production and sale of copyrighted works including video productions and computer games, the planning and operation of events, and the management of a rental hall. Its stated strengths are anime, games and tokusatsu (special effects), and it accepts orders for custom-made anime, including corporate commercials and organizational image videos. Its representative works include the tokusatsu series Negiman, the long-running Princess Maker game series, the original short anime series Gainatamager, and the adventure game Heroine Ninpocho Himekage Ichi. Yonago Gainax is closely tied to regional promotion in the San'in area. It produces promotional anime for Tottori Prefecture, including works related to the forest environment conservation tax and the Alkelon Report series introducing local specialties, and it organizes the pop-culture event Yonago Eiga Jihen (Yonago Film Incident), whose secretariat is based within the company. Founder Takami Akai has been active in local cultural and tourism initiatives, and in 2020 the city of Yonago awarded him the Yonago City Cultural Encouragement Award. The company also operated Gainax Theater, a mini-theater and multipurpose event space in the Aeon Yonago Ekimae store, from February 2014 until its closure on 28 February 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic made operations difficult. Yonago Gainax remains active, continuing production and event activities and participating in events such as the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair.

The origins of Yonago Gainax lie in Gainax's activities in Yonago City, the hometown of producer Takami Akai. In 2011, Gainax established Yonago Film in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, as a base for activities there. On 16 September 2011, the first episode of Yonago Film's tokusatsu work Negiman was released online, and from 23 September the same year the film and pop-culture festival Yonago Eiga Jihen began. On 1 February 2014, Gainax Theater was opened on the third floor of the Aeon Yonago Ekimae store. On 12 May 2014, Takami Akai left Gainax and established Yonago Gainax Co., Ltd. According to Akai himself, Gainax's Yonago business had been withdrawn due to losses, and he founded the new company to take it over. From the beginning there was no capital relationship with Gainax. The company took over the production and operation of the works and events that had been handled by Yonago Film. In 2015, Yonago Gainax released Ramen no Megami. In 2019, it began distributing the short anime Gainatamager, and in 2022 it released the adventure game Heroine Ninpocho Himekage Ichi. In 2024, production of the visual novel Nihon Chinbotsu desu yo was announced, with release planned for fiscal 2026. Alongside these releases, the company faced difficulties in theater operation. In 2020, Gainax Theater was temporarily closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Operating conditions remained severe even after the state of emergency was lifted, and the theater closed on 28 February 2021. Yonago Gainax has maintained close ties with local government and regional promotion. On 17 November 2015, Tottori Prefecture held a seminar at Gainax Theater on using manga and anime to attract tourists. The prefecture subsequently commissioned Yonago Gainax to produce promotional anime for the forest environment conservation tax and the Alkelon Report series introducing Tottori specialties. In May 2024, Akai attended the kickoff event of the digital content human resource development project Tottori Creators Village, promoted jointly by Tottori Prefecture and Kodansha, and gave a message of support; in October the same year, the prefecture had the project participate in the 13th Yonago Eiga Jihen, where Akai appeared in a talk session with Kodansha officials and prefectural staff. In 2020, Yonago City awarded Akai the Yonago City Cultural Encouragement Award, citing the continued holding of Yonago Eiga Jihen and character design for local teams as activities contributing to the city's revitalization. Regarding the Gainax name, when Gainax went bankrupt in 2024 it stated that it had no relationship with Yonago Gainax, Gainax Niigata, GAINAX WEST and other entities, and that the Gainax trademark had been transferred to Khara (represented by Hideaki Anno), so use of the Gainax trademark without a license from Khara could constitute unauthorized use. Akai stated that the name Yonago Gainax had been chosen with the approval of Gainax's management at the time, and that when asked again about the company name after the management changed, he replied that he would return it whenever requested, but nothing further happened. Hideaki Anno, representative of Khara, which holds the Gainax trademark, has expressed support for Yonago Eiga Jihen, in which Yonago Gainax is involved.

• First episode of Yonago Film's tokusatsu work Negiman released online

• Film and pop-culture festival Yonago Eiga Jihen begins

• Gainax Theater opens on the third floor of Aeon Yonago Ekimae store

• Takami Akai leaves Gainax and establishes Yonago Gainax Co., Ltd.

• Ramen no Megami released

• Tottori Prefecture holds a tourism seminar at Gainax Theater

• Short anime Gainatamager begins distribution

• Yonago City awards Takami Akai the Yonago City Cultural Encouragement Award

• Gainax Theater temporarily closes to prevent the spread of COVID-19

• Gainax Theater closes

• Adventure game Heroine Ninpocho Himekage Ichi released

• Production of visual novel Nihon Chinbotsu desu yo announced, planned for release in fiscal 2026

• Akai attends kickoff event of Tottori Creators Village, a project by Tottori Prefecture and Kodansha

• Tottori Prefecture has Tottori Creators Village participate in the 13th Yonago Eiga Jihen

A regional content company in Yonago, Tottori, producing anime, games and tokusatsu and contributing to local revitalization and the San'in content industry.

• Negiman (ネギマン)

  A tokusatsu series about a mysterious 40-meter-tall superhero appearing in Yonago City, with episodes released up to the fourth by 2014.

• Princess Maker (プリンセスメーカー)

  A pioneering and definitive girl-raising simulation game series, starting with the 1991 PC game version and still playable on smartphone and Steam.

• Gainatamager (ガイナタマガー)

  An original short anime series for all ages set on Neo Terra, a planet where an AI has reconstructed the destroyed Earth civilization a thousand years in the future.

• Heroine Ninpocho Himekage Ichi (ヒロイン忍法帖 姫影・壱)

  An adventure game released in 2022.

• Ramen no Megami (ラーメンの女神)

  Released in July 2015, sales ended on 15 July 2017.

• Nihon Chinbotsu desu yo (日本沈没ですよ)

  Production announced in 2024, planned for release in fiscal 2026.

1. 1米子ガイナックス公式ウェブサイトyonago-gainax.co.jp
2. 2COMPANY/米子ガイナックス公式ウェブサイトyonago-gainax.co.jp
3. 3Yonago Gainax - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4米子ガイナックス - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org