Hideaki Anno Joining Production I.G Is No Surprise If You Know Anime History
In an interesting bit of news, Hideaki Anno will join the board of directors for Production I.G this August, but this also has some interesting history behind it.
Firstly, there are recent anime productions like FLCL. That was co-produced by Gainax and Production I.G. Moreover, FLCL's director was Kazuya Tsurumaki, who co-wrote the recent Gundam GQuuuuuuX alongside Anno.
Secondly, Production I.G was a spin-off from Tatsunoko Productions, specifically around the time of Zillion, which is a fun mecha anime from 1987 that's definitely worth a watch.
Tatsunoko Production also co-produced the original Macross TV series and movie Do You Remember Love?, both of which Anno worked on the animation.
In short, Anno goes a long way back with Production I.G, before it was even founded, so his addition to the company's board of directors makes a lot of sense.
Some have also incorrectly assumed that since Gainax went bankrupt last year, Anno is moving into Production I.G to snap up more anime rights.
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This is very unlikely, as Khara got a good chunk of the anime rights from Gainax, with Trigger nabbing some of the others. So both companies clearly got what they wanted, and there doesn't appear to be any animosity over rights.
As for what Anno's presence will bring to Production I.G, most likely it will be more projects and other similar anime-related work.
Production I.G is a great studio, so I only see this addition of Anno to the company's board of directors as something massively positive for all concerned.
So, it will also be interesting to see what new anime production comes out of this new appointment.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
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