Formed by a small group of university students in the early 1980s, Studio Gainax is now one of the most adventurous and widely esteemed anime companies on the scene. Although the company's immense popularity is a factor that of itself could justify a study of its members and their diverse creations, the studio is even more intriguing for its unique approach to animation. Formal experimentation, genre-straddling, self-reflexivity, unpredictable plot twists, a gourmet palate for stylishness, proverbially controversial endings, and a singularly iconoclastic world view are some of the hallmarks of Gainax's output.