(formerly GDH K.K.) is a Japanese anime studio owned by ADK that was established on February 22, 2000. Gonzo is a member of The Association of Japanese Animations. The company's predecessor Gonzo Inc. was established on February 11, 1992, by former Gainax staff members, but was later absorbed into its parent company, GDH K.K. on April 1, 2009, and it would assume the Gonzo trade name for itself.
Gonzo has not released a major animation project since 2020, with Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle being the studio's latest major work.
History
September 1992: Gonzo Inc. established by former Gainax members. May 1996: Digimation K.K. established. May 1999: Gonzo Inc. changed its company name to Gonzo K.K. February 2000: GDH established. May 2000: Creators.com K.K. established. April 2002: Gonzo K.K. and Digimation K.K. merge; the combined company is renamed Gonzo Digimation K.K. November 2003: Future Vision Music K.K. established. July 2004: Gonzo Digimation K.K. changed its company name to GONZO K.K.; Creators.com K.K. changed its name to G-creators K.K.; Gonzo Digimation Holding changed its company name to GDH K.K. July 2005: Gonzino K.K. established. September 2005: Warp Gate Online K.K. becomes subsidiary. December 2005: GDH Capital K.K. established and Warp Gate Online K.K. changed its company name to Gonzo Rosso Online K.K. February 2006: GK Entertainment established. April 2009: GDH K.K. merged with its subsidiary, Gonzo K.K., and changed its name to Gonzo K.K. June 2019: Gonzo transfers some of the properties to Studio Kai. November 2019: Okinawa Gonzo was dissolved. March 2020: It was revealed that the company planned to execute a reverse stock split. If approved, it would reduce the number of issued shares from 38,800 down to 24, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary of ADK in the process. After making Gonzo into an wholly owned subsidiary of ADK, it will transfer all of its shares in the company to Shinichiro Ishikawa.
Financial issues
The studio had a financial problem in their closing account in the 2008–2009 term and stated its deficit was estimated over US$30 million. The Tokyo Stock Exchange announced that on July 30, 2009, Gonzo would be delisted from the exchange. This delisting is the conclusion of a notification made to investors in March 2008 that the studio's financial liabilities exceeded its total financial assets. Since Gonzo was unable to reverse this, paperwork for delisting was filed at the end of June.
The studio is still able to operate, and its parent company GDH has absorbed it in an effort to consolidate management. The combined company now simply refers to itself as Gonzo. By April 2009, the merger was complete.
As part of the restructuring, GDH also sold the Gonzo Rosso game development subsidiary, GDH Capital financing subsidiary, and remaining shares of Tablier Communications initially acquired in March 2006. Gonzo Rosso K.K. was sold to Chushou service kikou kabushikigaisha (division of Incubator Bank of Japan, Limited) on March 31, 2009.
Since this deficit, Gonzo has started to post better earnings due to the release of titles such as Rosario + Vampire to western online streaming services such as Netflix. The marketing of these products to western audiences has returned Gonzo to financial stability, and Gonzo posted higher than expected profit margins in the April–September 2012 period.
Works
TV series
OVAs
1998–2000 – Blue Submarine No. 6
1999–2000 – Melty Lancer: The Animation
2002–2003 – Gate Keepers 21
2002–2005 – Yukikaze (anime) 2004 – Kaleido Star Aratanaru Tsubasa Extra Stage 2007 – Bakuretsu Tenshi -Infinity, Strike Witches, Red Garden: Dead Girls 2018–2021 – Hori-san to Miyamura-kun (#4–5)
ONAs
October 2001 – Zaion: I Wish You Were Here
July 2018 – Calamity of a Zombie Girl, with Stingray
December 2018 – Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō, production by Toei Animation
June 2019 – 7 Seeds
August 2019 - Hero of Robots
Films
January 2006 – Gin-iro no Kami no Agito Also known as Origin: Spirits of the Past July 2006 – Brave Story January 2009 – Afro Samurai: Resurrection (with Paramount Network Originals) November 2013 – Bayonetta: Bloody Fate February 2016 – Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing: Over the Wishes November 2017 – Full Metal Panic 1: Boy Meets Girl January 2018 – Full Metal Panic 2: One Night Stand January 2018 – Full Metal Panic 3: Into the Blue