{"id":71978,"date":"2026-09-04T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=71978"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:21:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:21:31","slug":"neon-genesis-evangelion-studio-gainax-once-rejected-offer-to-make-an-anime-adaptation-of-akira-according-to-former-vice-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/neon-genesis-evangelion-studio-gainax-once-rejected-offer-to-make-an-anime-adaptation-of-akira-according-to-former-vice-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Neon Genesis Evangelion studio Gainax once rejected offer to make an anime adaptation of Akira, according to former vice president"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japanese media outlet GameBiz<\/a> recently published an interview with Hiroaki Inoue, an anime producer and a prominent figure in Japan\u2019s science-fiction scene. A former vice-president of Gainax and current representative director of production company Oniro, Inoue is known for producing many classic anime, including Satoshi Kon\u2019s Perfect Blue and Katsuhiro Otomo\u2019s Memories anthology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the interview, Inoue talked at length about his days working in the anime industry, from kicking off his career at Tezuka Productions, to the early days of Gainax and its climb to success. Aside from other industry tidbits, Inoue also mentioned that, at one point, Gainax was presented with the chance to make an animated adaptation of Akira, though it never ended up coming to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gainax was created by a group of university students, and its beginnings were rather shaky, especially because most of its members had no prior experience making anime. Inoue\u2019s role upon joining the team was pretty much that of a \u201cteacher,\u201d he explained. Being the one with the most experience in the industry, he acted as a bridge between the otaku world and the corporate world, oversaw financial reports, and even managed to score \u201can unprecedented contract\u201d with Bandai in the group\u2019s early days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Akira\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his work at Gainax, he also managed to form various relationships with other people in the industry. Inoue specifically mentions his encounter with Akira author Katsuhiro Otomo, who at one point personally came to visit Gainax with a rather interesting offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActually, there were ongoing talks about Gainax working on an adaptation of Akira. It was a proposal Okada (Toshio) and Yamaga (Hiroyuki) cheekily rejected. This is just my guess, but I think they rejected it because they figured that Yamaga would lose his position if Otomo got involved,\u201d Inoue said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The animated adaptation of Akira was later picked up by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and released in 1988, earning the status of an anime cult classic. With Akira being such an influential film, it would be difficult to imagine what the anime landscape would have looked like without its cultural impact. But on the other hand, it would be quite interesting to see what an Akira anime would look like helmed by Hideaki Anno, Yamaga, and other Gainax veterans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno doesn\u2019t believe creating for the global market is the way to go. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but the audience will have to be the one to adapt\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anime producer Hiroaki Inoue shares some interesting tidbits about his time working at studio Gainax. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":71980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-09-04T13:30:09+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mup34ah4q22i","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mup34ah4q22i\",\"cid\":\"bafyreihkfwotpz3ljz3e7apcm5q2dqutukk5ff7opqsiwieog5ch4ylypy\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreiblxtymtwqp5ycjfczeaukcsnrl7sdphpp7ksn5xjrkgmlszhqtiy\",\"rev\":\"3mup34ah7ns2i\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17,66],"class_list":["post-71978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news","tag-non-gaming-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"yoast_head":"\nNeon Genesis Evangelion studio Gainax once rejected offer to make an anime adaptation of Akira, according to former vice president - 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