A tell-all account of Studio Gainax, the creators of the classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yasuhiro Takeda, a member of the Gainax company since its inception, talks about everything from the untold stories of Eva to the Gainax tax evasion scandal that plagued its production. Including a series of stunning revelations, this history of Gainax is a must-read for any serious anime fan.
"Yasuhiro Takeda reveals the secrets of a world-famous anime production studio in this tell-all account of the horrors and hopes that accompanied GAINAX's rise to fame. From beginners' luck to the edge of defeat, this journey through the life and mind of one witness sheds light on the production of _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ and what it takes to make a runaway anime hit."
[_Notenki Memoirs_ is a short autobiography by a founder of Gainax who became active as a fan and in the anime/manga industry in the late 1970s; it describes the student fan club scene around SF conventions, the creation of the famous Daicon video shorts, the founding of Gainax, its subsequent successes & travails (although with less emphasis on _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ than one might expect), terminating around 2001.
Much of the information Takeda discusses may have appeared in English-language sources before, but in obscure or missing sources and never pulled together, and it is a valuable source for non-Japanese-speakers interested in that time period.
Some of the stories Takeda tells have also been dramatized by Kazuhiko Shimamoto (who attended Osaka University of Arts at the same time) in his manga _Blue Blazes/_Aoi Honō_ (commentary/list of allusions: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/aoihonoo/special/blog/index.html ), which was adapted into a 2014 Japanese live-action TV show with cameos by anime/manga industry figures; Shimamoto wrote about several events which are described in _Notenki Memoirs_ .
See also https://www.gwern.net/docs/eva/2002-notenki-memoirs for an annotated HTML edition, which also includes clips from _Blue Blazes_. ]
Author(s): Yasuhiro Takeda
Publisher: Wani Books Co. & ADV Manga
Year: 2002/2005
Language: English
Pages: 200
Tags: anime, computer games, autobiography, August 2005, Studio Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Project Eva, TV Tokyo, Kinki University, DAICON 3, 40th Annual Japan Sci-Fi Convention, Sci-Fan Fan Group Association Committee, Osaka, science fiction fandom, science fiction conventions, Hideaki Anno, Takami Akai, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Ideon Festival, General Productions, Wonder Festival, The Wings of Honneamise, Aoki Uru, Aim For The Top!, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Olympia, Princess Maker,
- Preface
- The Complete Notenki Chronology
- *Osaka* - The whole future was sci-fi
- The end of my youth
- My fateful university acceptance
- Encounter with the sci-fi club
- Confederation of Kansai Student Sci-Fi Clubs
- First contact with a sci-fi event
- Kansai entertainers
- Holding the 4th annual Sci-Fi Show
- My first event
- The road to hosting the Japan Sci-Fi Convention
- Formal candidacy
- The DAICON 3 decision
- Meeting Anno, Yamaga and Akai
- The opening animation
- DAICON 3
- After the party
- Opening the General Products store
- Ideon Festival
- The Sci-Fi Convention revisited
- Establishing DAICON FILM
- _Kaiketsu Notenki_
- _Aikoku Sentai Dainippon_
- _Kaettekita Ultraman_
- DAICON 4
- The Osaka Philharmonic
- _Ken Hayakawa, Private Detective_
- Too many sweatshops
- The day
- Afterward
- Chairman of the Japan Sci-Fi Fan Group Association Committee
- Wonder Festival
- The founding of GAINAX
- _Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushu_
- _Oritsu Uchugun Honneamise no Tsubasa_
- General Products moves to Tokyo
- Glossary of Terms
- Shouting! Running! Laughing! Crying! Yasuhiro Takeda and the First Big Bash of the 21ist Century
- In-depth coverage on Yasuhiro Takeda, Chairman of the Planning Committee for the 40th Annual Japan Sci-Fi Convention—SF2001 & Japan Sci-Fi Fan Group Association Committee
- *Tokyo* - And then, moving to the capital
- GAINAX House
- Tokyo life
- Third Sci-Fi Convention
- Second period of lethargy
- Dragon Quest
- _Komatsu Sakyo Anime Gekijo
- Gamemaker GAINAX
- _Fushigi no Umi no Nadia_
- GAINAX, the anime production company
- _Olympia_ - the phantom project
- What followed for General Products
- PC game convention
- Marriage
- GAINAX USA
- The end of General Products
- Okada leaves the company
- The new GAINAX
- _Aoki Uru_
- Reset
- GAINA Matsuri
- _Evangelion_ Eve
- _Shinseiki Evangelion_
- Tax evasion and the birth of my daughter
- Moving ahead
- Glossary of Terms (2)
- Exclusive interview with Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai and Hideaki Anno - Trial in Absentia! Yasuhiro Takeda - The Truth is in Here!
- Glossary of Names
