GoHands
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGoHands is a Japanese animation studio recognized for stylized anime productions that combine 2D character animation with elaborate 3D backgrounds, camera movement, effects, and postprocessing.
Last updated October 28, 2026
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Overview
GoHands is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, with a second studio in Suginami, Tokyo. The company was established in August 2008 by Ringo Kishimoto and other former members of Satelight's former Osaka Studio 2. Its name is associated with a wordplay on gohan, the Japanese word for cooked rice or food, expressing the aim of earning a living by making anime, together with a reference to the kanji used in the Japanese name of Osaka Castle. The studio first served as the lead producer of the television anime adaptation of Princess Lover!, which began airing in 2009. It subsequently worked across television series, theatrical films, and original video animation, including adaptations connected with Seitokai Yakuindomo, Mardock Scramble, Coppelion, and The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses. Its original properties include K, Hand Shakers, and Momentary Lily. The K franchise became one of the studio's most prominent original projects and helped establish its recognizable visual identity. GoHands is particularly associated with a house style that blends conventional two-dimensional character animation with computer-generated three-dimensional environments. Its productions frequently use sweeping or unusually mobile camera work, strong perspective shifts, particle effects, vivid compositing, and conspicuous digital postprocessing. These techniques have given the studio a distinctive presence within contemporary Japanese animation, although the resulting look has also attracted divided critical reactions and has sometimes been described as visually excessive or unconventional. The company has described or been reported as maintaining a highly self-contained production approach. It does not operate a prominent public-facing website or official social-media presence, and it has followed a practice of completing television episodes before broadcast begins. This model distinguishes GoHands from studios that rely heavily on public production diaries, regular promotional announcements, or broad subcontracting networks, although the extent of the practice may vary by project. GoHands faced a major production crisis over the planned Tokyo Babylon 2021 television series. Outfit designs were accused of reproducing elements associated with Volks dolls and the K-pop group Red Velvet. The production committee apologized, announced design changes, delayed the series, and later canceled the planned version after additional similarities emerged during an internal investigation. A replacement anime was to be produced by a different studio. The dispute was followed by a reported contractual lawsuit in which GoHands sought 450 million yen from King Records for production expenses it said had been agreed upon but not paid; the reported litigation also disclosed that the planned series had been structured for 21 episodes and that 13 episodes had been completed by November 2020. GoHands remains primarily an animation-production brand rather than a consumer-facing entertainment conglomerate. Its public identity is built around distinctive visual authorship, original anime projects, and adaptations produced for Japanese broadcasters, publishers, music companies, and production committees. On May 25, 2026, U-Next Holdings announced that it had acquired GoHands as a wholly owned subsidiary; the long-term organizational consequences of that transaction are not established in the supplied reference material.
History
GoHands was founded in Osaka in August 2008 by Ringo Kishimoto and other former employees of Satelight's former Osaka Studio 2. The founders came from an existing animation-production environment and established a new company whose identity centered on making anime as a sustainable livelihood. The name is linked to gohan, meaning food or cooked rice, and to a character associated with Osaka Castle in the Japanese spelling of the company name. The studio's first lead production was Princess Lover!, a television adaptation that began in July 2009. During the following decade, GoHands developed a catalog spanning adaptations and original works. Its productions included the Seitokai Yakuindomo anime, the Mardock Scramble film project, Coppelion, and original series such as K and Hand Shakers. The studio also worked on later adaptations including The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses and continued to participate in television, film, and original-video animation production. GoHands became identifiable through a highly stylized approach to anime production. Its visual method combines two-dimensional character work with three-dimensional environments, dynamic camera movement, layered particle effects, intense compositing, and strong digital processing. The approach can make ordinary settings appear unusually kinetic and highly designed. It has also produced sharply divided responses because the camera movement, color treatment, and effects are often more conspicuous than in conventional television anime. The company operates an Osaka head office and a second facility in Tokyo's Suginami Ward. GoHands has been associated with a production policy emphasizing internal control, including completing television episodes before their broadcast period begins. It also lacks the kind of prominent public website and social-media activity maintained by many entertainment companies, making its production identity more dependent on released works, credits, and production-committee announcements. The most serious disruption in the studio's history concerned Tokyo Babylon 2021, an announced adaptation of the CLAMP manga series. The project was revealed in October 2020 and presented publicly the following month, with a planned April 2021 premiere. On November 20, 2020, observers accused the production of using costume designs resembling work associated with Volks dolls and the K-pop group Red Velvet. The producer apologized in December and said the designs would be changed. The necessary revisions led to an indefinite delay, and an additional internal review identified further alleged similarities. On March 29, 2021, the committee canceled the existing television project and announced that a new production would be made by a different studio. The dispute continued in the form of reported litigation. In August 2021, GoHands was reported to have sued King Records for 450 million yen over expenses that the studio said King Records had agreed to pay. Reporting on the case also stated that the planned series had been designed for 21 episodes and that the first 13 were complete by November 2020. The controversy became a significant reputational event for the studio because it affected both the creative legitimacy and commercial completion of a highly publicized project. GoHands continued to be credited on later anime work, including The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses in 2023 and Momentary Lily in 2025. A further corporate development was reported on May 25, 2026, when U-Next Holdings announced the acquisition of GoHands as a wholly owned subsidiary. The supplied material does not establish the post-acquisition management structure, branding policy, or operational integration.
- 2026
U-Next Holdings announces acquisition
[1]U-Next Holdings announced that GoHands would become its wholly owned subsidiary.
- 2025
Momentary Lily
[1]Momentary Lily was listed among the studio's original anime productions.
- 2023
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
[1]GoHands produced the anime adaptation of The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses.
- 2021
Tokyo Babylon 2021 canceled
[1]The production committee canceled the planned television series after further similarities were found and announced a replacement project by another studio.
- 2020
Tokyo Babylon 2021 controversy begins
[1]The announced adaptation faced accusations of copied costume designs, followed by an apology and planned revisions.
- 2017
Hand Shakers released
[1]The studio released the original television anime Hand Shakers, further showcasing its digitally elaborate visual style.
- 2012
K establishes a major original franchise
[1]GoHands produced K, an original anime project that became one of the studio's best-known properties.
- 2010
Adaptation work expands
[1]The studio was involved with anime projects including Seitokai Yakuindomo and Mardock Scramble.
- 2009
First lead television production
[1]GoHands led the production of the television anime adaptation of Princess Lover!, which began airing in July.
- 2008
GoHands founded in Osaka
[1]Ringo Kishimoto and former employees of Satelight's Osaka Studio 2 established GoHands in August.
Products and positioning
A Japanese anime production studio positioned around distinctive, digitally composited visual direction, substantial in-house production control, and a mix of original franchises and adaptations.
Original anime television series · 2012
K
K is an original anime property produced by GoHands and released in 2012. It is one of the studio's most prominent original projects and a key example of its signature visual approach, combining stylized character animation with digitally constructed environments, fluid camera movement, effects-heavy compositing, and an elaborate color design.
Original anime television series · 2017
Hand Shakers
Hand Shakers is an original television anime released in 2017. The project continued GoHands' interest in visually dense action staging and computer-generated spaces, using elaborate movement, effects, and postproduction to distinguish its presentation from more restrained television animation.
Anime television adaptation · 2009
Princess Lover!
Princess Lover! was GoHands' first production as a lead producer. The television adaptation began airing in July 2009 and marked the studio's early transition from a newly formed company into a credited anime production studio.
Anime film adaptation · 2010
Mardock Scramble
Mardock Scramble is an anime film project associated with GoHands. It represents the studio's work beyond television series and its involvement in adapting established Japanese science-fiction material for the theatrical anime market.
Anime television adaptation · 2013
Coppelion
Coppelion is a television anime adaptation produced by GoHands and released in 2013. It is among the studio's notable adaptation projects and demonstrates its use of digitally processed environments and stylized compositing in a serialized television format.
Anime television adaptation · 2010
Seitokai Yakuindomo
Seitokai Yakuindomo is an anime adaptation included among GoHands' early television projects. The property broadened the studio's portfolio beyond original action-oriented works and showed its role in adapting existing manga for television.
Anime television adaptation · 2023
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses is a 2023 anime adaptation produced by GoHands. It is a later example of the studio applying its characteristic camera movement, digital environments, and compositing techniques to a school romantic-comedy setting.
Original anime television series · 2025
Momentary Lily
Momentary Lily is listed among GoHands' original anime productions and was released in 2025. The project extends the studio's original-property work beyond K and Hand Shakers.
Controversies
2021
Cancellation of Tokyo Babylon 2021
The production committee canceled the GoHands version of the series after further alleged similarities were identified and announced that a new anime would be produced by another studio.
2020
Tokyo Babylon 2021 plagiarism controversy
The planned Tokyo Babylon 2021 adaptation was accused of using costume designs resembling work associated with Volks dolls and Red Velvet. The producer apologized, announced design changes, and later faced additional findings during an internal investigation.
2020
GoHands sues King Records over alleged unpaid anime production costs
In a dispute reported in December 2020, the animation studio GoHands sued the company King Records. According to the reported allegations, GoHands sought the remaining payments owed under their production contract and compensation for additional episodes. GoHands alleged that King Records canceled the contract and refused to pay the remaining installments. The report did not specify the outcome of the lawsuit or further details of the dispute.
Brand decisions
2026
Acquisition by U-Next HoldingsM&ABackground
U-Next Holdings announced a transaction involving GoHands.
Action taken
U-Next Holdings announced that GoHands had become its wholly owned subsidiary.
Aftermath
The supplied material does not establish the acquisition price, integration arrangements, or changes to GoHands' management and operations.
2021
Committee abandons the GoHands version of Tokyo Babylon 2021StrategyBackground
An internal investigation reportedly found additional cases of alleged plagiarism after the initial design dispute.
Action taken
The committee canceled the planned television production and stated that a new anime would be made by a different studio.
Aftermath
The original project did not enter broadcast, while GoHands later became involved in litigation concerning production expenses.
2021
GoHands pursues payment dispute with King RecordsOtherBackground
Following the cancellation of Tokyo Babylon 2021, GoHands alleged that King Records had failed to pay production expenses it had agreed to cover.
Action taken
GoHands reportedly filed a lawsuit seeking 450 million yen.
Aftermath
Reporting on the lawsuit disclosed that the planned series was intended to run for 21 episodes and that 13 episodes had reportedly been completed by November 2020. The supplied material does not state the final legal outcome.
Reported damages sought. ¥450 million claimed (Reported in 2021)
2020
Production committee orders costume redesignsOtherBackground
Tokyo Babylon 2021 faced accusations that some character outfits reproduced recognizable elements from external designs.
Action taken
The producer apologized and announced that the disputed designs would be changed.
Aftermath
The required revisions caused the planned April 2021 broadcast to be postponed.
Recent events
GoHands sues King Records over alleged unpaid anime production costs[2]
GoHands sued King Records, seeking the remaining payments under their production contract and compensation for additional episodes. GoHands alleges that King Records canceled the contract and refused to pay the remaining installments.
Sources3 sources
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