What happened
Studio Khara turned 20 on May 17, 2026, and marked the anniversary with new original art: a celebratory illustration of Rei Ayanami holding a drink, drawn by board director Kazuya Tsurumaki. The reference is deliberate — 20 is the legal drinking age in Japan, and Rei being old enough to toast Khara's anniversary lands as the punchline of a long bit.
Context
Hideaki Anno founded Khara in 2006, originally as a small operation. He recalled the studio's beginnings publicly: "the president, one employee, and one advisor in a small office" before the studio expanded to own its own facility. Two decades on, Khara has become the production home for some of the most-discussed anime of the modern era:
- The four-film Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, culminating in 2021's Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
- Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, the Anno-produced rethink of the Universal Century that aired this year.
- The studio's growing reputation as a co-production partner — most recently with the new wave of mainline Yamato projects.
Board director Kazuya Tsurumaki, who drew the anniversary illustration, is one of Khara's longest-tenured creatives. He directed FLCL during the Gainax years and has been at Khara since the studio's founding.
Why it matters
Anno used the anniversary post to confirm two ongoing projects:
- An untitled Space Battleship Yamato film still in development at Khara.
- A new Evangelion project first teased in February 2026, still without a public title or release window.
That second confirmation is the one fans will be talking about. Thrice Upon a Time was framed as a definitive ending in 2021, and Anno has historically been cagey about whether Khara would return to the franchise. Five years on, the answer is clearly yes, even if the shape is still under wraps.
What to watch for
Khara typically announces production milestones around Anime Japan in March. The 2027 edition is the most likely window for a title-and-staff reveal on the new Evangelion project. Yamato news has historically dropped at Japan-side film festivals; expect a Q4 2026 push if the project is on schedule.