About

Studio Trigger is a Japanese animation studio founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ohtsuka in August 2011. TRIGGER is best know for their work on Kill la Kill, Little Witch Academia, Space Patrol Luluco, Darling in the Franxx & Inferno Cop.

History

Trigger was established on August 22th, 2011 by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ohtsuka shortly after leaving Gainax.^[1] The studio name and official website was revealed in October 2011^[2] and joined Ultra Super Pictures alongside Sanzigen & Ordet.^[3]

On October 27th, 2011, Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai gave 38 million yen (US $480,000) to four studios (one of them being TRIGGER) to make a short film for Anime Mirai 2013.^[4] The short film Trigger produced turned into Little Witch Academia, and was released on March 2nd, 2013.^[5]

Meanwhile, on December 25th, 2012, TRIGGER made their first major anime debut with Inferno Cop. On February 7th, 2013, Trigger has announced their first original anime television series, Kill la Kill,^[6][7],which aired from October 2013 to March 2014.

Due to success of Little Witch Academia, TRIGGER announced the sequel alongside a Kickstarter campaign. It was launched on July 9, 2013 and met its $150,000 USD goal within five hours, finishing with a total of $625,518 USD.^[9] The sequel was released in July-October of 2015 under the title "Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade".

Since then, Studio Trigger has produced several TV animes, ONA & short films. Trigger has also assisted on shows, music, OVAs, PVs & video games, including IDOLM@STER, Black★Rock Shooter anime, Black Dynamite (TV) ^[10], Steven Universe ^[11] & Indivisible. ^[12]

On July 7th, 2018, Trigger launched a Patreon page.^[13] Currently, the earnings will be used for livestream drawing session, and the studio plans to do more events in the near future.

Mainline Works

Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill is a Japanese original anime series directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, written by Kazuki Nakashima and produced by Trigger. It follows vagrant schoolgirl Ryuko Matoi on her search for her father's killer, which brings her into violent conflict with Satsuki Kiryuin, the iron-willed student council president of Honnouji Academy, and her mother's fashion empire.

Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia is a Japanese original anime franchise created by Yoh Yoshinari and produced by Trigger. the story follows a girl named Atsuko "Akko" Kagari enrolls at Luna Nova Magical Academy to become a witch after being inspired by Shiny Chariot, but struggles due to her non-magical background. This all changes when she discovers the Shiny Rod, a powerful magic relic left behind by Chariot.

Space Patrol Luluco

Space Patrol Luluco is a 2016 Japanese original anime created by Hiroyuki Imaishi and produced by Trigger. When teenage girl Luluco's father, a member of the Space Patrol, becomes incapacitated, the Patrol drafts Luluco and partners her with an alien exchange student until she can pay off the cost of her father's restoration.

Inferno Cop

Inferno Cop is a 2012 Japanese Original Net Anime series directed by Akira Amemiya with Hiroyuki Imaishi serving as series production director and produced by Trigger and CoMix Wave. The series focuses on Inferno Cop, a police officer with a flaming head seeking revenge after his family was murdered by the shady Southern Cross organization. Inferno Cop dispenses ruthless justice on lawbreakers he can find in Jack Knife Edge *Town, usually blowing them up.

All episodes (with English Subtitles) can be watched here:

Kiznaiver

Kiznaiver is a 2016 original anime produced by Studio Trigger, Aniplex and Crunchyroll. it was written by Mari Okada and directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi. Kiznaiver follows a group of high school students who are chosen to be a part of an experimental program which creates bonds between people by forcing them to share each other's pain.

Darling in the Franxx

Darling in the Franxx is a 2018 Japanese original anime written by Atsushi Nishigori & Naotaka Hayashi, directed by Nishigori and is co-produced by Trigger and CloverWorks.

SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman is a 2018 Japanese anime adaptation of Gridman the Hyper Agent. Directed by Akira Amemiya, Written by Keiichi Hasegawais and is co-produced by Tsuburaya Productions & Trigger. it is set to air in October 2018.

Promare

Promare is a 2019 Japanese original anime film directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi & written by Kazuki Nakashima and will be co-produced by Studio Trigger, X-FLAG Studio and Sanzige. it was released in Japanese Theaters on May 24th, 2019

BNA: Brand New Animal

BNA: Brand New Animal is 2020 Japanese original anime directed by Yoh Yoshinari & written by Kazuki Nakashima.

Other Works

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Anime)

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace is a 2014 anime adaptation based on the light novel, and is directed by Masahiko Otsuka & Masanori Takahashi, written by Masahiko Otsuka, and produced by Trigger. The story focuses on Senkō High School's Literature Club, whose five members; Jurai, Tomoyo, Hatoko, Sayumi, and Chifuyu, have all somehow developed superpowers. The superpowers have now become a part of their everyday lives as they battle against others wielding similar powers.

Ninja Slayer From Animation

Ninja Slayer From Animation is a 2015 net anime adaptation of Ninja Slayer novel series and is directed by Akira Amamiya and written by Amamiya & Yu Sato. The story takes place in the cyberpunk metropolis of Neo-Saitama. After his wife and child are killed in a ninja turf war, salaryman Kenji Fujikido gets possessed by a mysterious ninja soul known as Naraku Ninja. As Naraku's craving for massacring the evil ninja overlaps with Fujikido's lust for revenge, together they bring Ninja Slayer – a terrifying ninja-killing grim reaper – into existence.

Turning Girls

Turning Girls is a 2013 original net anime produced entirely by the female staff at Trigger. The story is about girls who face a battle against the turning point of their lives.

All episodes (with English Subtitles) can be watched here:

Japan Animator Expo Short Films

Trigger has produced 4 short films for Japan Animator Expo, each titled Electronic Superhuman Gridman: boys invent great hero (Created by Akira Amemiya)^[14], Power Plant No. 33 (Directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura) ^[15], Sex&VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED (Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi) ^[16], Bureau of Proto Society (Directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura) ^[17], all short was released in 2015.

Online Relevance

Studio Trigger has a significant presence in the anime industry and community due to the Studio's Signature Art Styles, Story Structure, Production methods and various references/homage to western media, including some of the staff's previous work at Gainax.

As of July 19th, 2018, Trigger has an official Twitter Account with 81,675 followers,^[19] Facebook page with 16,854 likes,^[20] YouTube channel with 17,215 subscribers,^[20] Twitch channel with 193 Followers,^[21] Patreon page with 2,894 patrons^[13] and unofficial subreddit with 3,487 subscribers^[22].

Search Interest

External References