| 1981 |
August |
DAICON 3, the 20th Annual Japan SF Convention
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| Click on the colored text to access a glossary of key terms. |
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Gainax's origins lie with Daicon 3, an "amateur" science-fiction convention organized by college students in the Osaka area.
Maybe you've seen the famous opening animation produced for the event.
The core members of the convention committee built on experience they acquired in the course of running the event to open General Products, Japan's first SF specialty shop.
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| 1982 |
February |
General Products opens for business |
| August |
| Premiere of Kaiketsu Nootenki and Aikoku Sentai Dainippon (Patriot Taskforce Great Japan) |
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| 1983 |
March |
| Kaettekita Ultraman (Return of Ultraman) completed and screened |
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| Wow, it's director Anno Hideaki! |
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| August |
DAICON 4, the 22nd Annual Japan SF Convention |
| September |
Planning on the Royal Space Force Project begins |
| 1984 |
December |
Gainax Co., Ltd founded |
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| Gainax was founded in order to make The Royal Space Force. |
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| 1985 |
January |
Design studio opened in Takadanobaba, Tokyo |
| Production begins on Royal Space Force Pilot Film |
| May |
New studio opened in Takadanobaba, Tokyo |
| Royal Space Force design work begins |
| 1986 |
January |
Studio moved to Kichijoji, Tokyo |
| Production on Royal Space Force begins |
| 1987 |
March |
 The feature-length animated film
The Royal Space Force--Wings of Honneamise opens in Toho movie theaters. Distributed by Toho Towa, Presented by Bandai
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| With 24-year old Yamaga Hiroyuki as its director, and music by Sakamoto Ryuichi, this is the film that legitimized the concept of feature films made in animation. A must-see. |
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| 1988 |
October |
 Vol. 1 (of 6) of the original video animation series Top o Nerae! goes on sale
Presented by Bandai and Victor Music Industries |
| 1989 |
August |
Denno Gakuen 1, Gainax's first computer game, goes on sale, running on PC88, PC98, and MSX
| Akai Takami produced it almost entirely by himself. |
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| During this period, General Products was sponsoring the semi-annual Wonder Festival garage kit markets, which helped expand the field considerably. |
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| 1990 |
March |
 Nadia of the Seas of Wonder/The Secret of Blue Water, a 39-episode animated TV series, premieres on NHK. Presented by NHK Enterprises, Sogovision, and Toho. |
| Have you seen the legendary "Island" story arc? |
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| August |
 The Silent Mobius computer game goes on sale, running on PC98, X68000, and FM-TOWNS. |
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| In order to conquer the anime and entertainment software fields, General Products got out of the business of merchandising, withdrew from Wonder Festival, and merged with Gainax in order to focus its efforts on project planning and development. |
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| 1991 |
February |
 The computer game Super Battleskin Panic goes on sale, running on PC98 and MSX. |
| May |
 The original Princess Maker goes on sale, running on PC98 and the IBM PC.
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| Here it is, the apex of child-rearing simulation games! |
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| 1992 |
March |
 The Nadia of the Seas of Wonder/The Secret of Blue Water computer game goes on sale, running on PC98, X68000, and FM-TOWNS. |
 The original video animation series Otaku no Video 1982 and More Otaku no Video 1985 goes on sale. |
| These two OVAs capture otaku history by caricaturizing the history of Gainax itself. |
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| 1993 |
May |
 Princess Maker 2 goes on sale, running on PC98 and DOS/V. |
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| All the package art and other design work was done entirely with desktop publishing. This was when Gainax started making substantial use of Macintoshes and SGI Indigo machines for computer graphics work as well. |
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| 1994 |
March |
The first Gainamatsuri (Gainax Festival) takes place one weekend in Mikami, Gunma Prefecture |
| December |
 Gainax's first CD-ROM art collection, Sadamoto Yoshiyuki (a Mac OS-Windows hybrid), goes on sale |
 Princess Maker and Other Stuff, the first Akai Takami CD-ROM (a Mac OS-Windows hybrid), goes on sale |
| 1995 |
July |
The Second Gainamatsuri (Gainax Festival) takes place at Itako, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Octobmer |
 The animated TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion premieres on the TV Tokyo Network, lasting 26 episodes |
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| This is the amazing series that became a social phenomenon in Japan. Surely all of you reading this are familiar with it? |
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| 1996 |
February |
 Neon Genesis Evangelion Collector's Disc Vol. 1 (a Mac OS-Windows hybrid) goes on sale |
| May |
 The Top o Nerae! CD-ROM Encyclopedia Concentrate (a Mac OS-Windows hybrid) goes on sale |
| 1997 |
March |
 Neon Genesis Evangelion The Movie Death & Rebirth opens in theaters |
| April |
 The Windows version of the Neon Genesis Evangelion--Girlfriend of Steel computer game goes on sale |
| July |
 Neon Genesis Evangelion DVD Vol. 1 (of seven) goes on sale |
 The End of Evangelion premieres in theaters |
| November |
The Royal Space Force--Wings of Honneamise, the Sound Renewal Version, is screened at the 1997 Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival, and at the Tachikawa CineCity 2, one of the few THX-certified theaters in Japan
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| Gainax Night at the 1997 Sapporo Film Festival |
| 1998 |
January |
 Anno Hideaki's live-action directorial debut, Love & Pop opens in theaters |
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| Work on this film began immediately after Evangelion was finished. The pace was a killer. |
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| March |
The combined Evangelion movies, DEATH(TRUE) and The End of Evangelion, opens in theaters |
 The PlayStation version of Neon Genesis Evangelion--Eva and Good Friends goes on sale |
| 7ŒŽ |
 The Aoki Uru Frozen Designs Collection (a Mac OS-Windows hybrid) goes on sale |
| 10ŒŽ |
 The animated TV series Kareshi Kanojo no Jijoopremieres on the TV Tokyo Network, lasting 26 episodes |
| 1999 |
February |
 The Windows version of Shinji and Good Friends--Is That Solitaire? goes on sale |
