If Nadia hadn't been GAINAX, maybe I'd believe them. For Wise not to be at least familliar with GAINAX is ridiculous. I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of all animators working today, even in the US, have been influenced by something they put out. I think it'd be even harder to find anyone in the animation business under 30 who didn't get into it because of anime, and for the last decade or so, its either been either GAINAX or Studio Ghibli that's been drawing people in.
Sorry for the typo.