Yoko Taro (横尾 太郎, Yokoo Tarō; born June 6, 1970) is a Japanese director and scenario writer for video games. Starting…
Yoko Taro (横尾 太郎, Yokoo Tarō; born June 6, 1970) is a Japanese director and scenario writer for video games. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series Drakengard, and its spin-offs, Nier and Nier: Automata. Yoko was born in Nagoya, Aichi, and studied at the Kobe Design University in the 1990s. While he did not initially intend to pursue a career in video games, after working at Namco and Sony, he joined Cavia and became the director and scenario writer for the first Drakengard game. He has since worked extensively on every game in the series (except Drakengard 2), and on mobile titles after becoming a freelancer following Cavia's absorption into AQ Interactive. Furthermore, Yoko Taro has been assigned as the writer of the upcoming Neon Genesis Evangelion series teased in 2026. Critics have noted Yoko's unconventional game design and writing style. One of the main aspects of his work is exploring the darker aspects of humanity, such as why they are motivated to kill each other, although he typically does not share a common opinion on his story's dark natures. His writing technique, described as "backwards scriptwriting", involves outlining the ending of the story first and building the narrative backward from that point. Due to his disdain for being photographed, he generally wears a mask when giving interviews or presenting games.
Famous Alumni of Kobe Design University
Kobe Design University: 4 people
Keiichi Okabe (岡部 啓一, Okabe Keiichi; born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese composer and arranger, best known for composing…
Keiichi Okabe (岡部 啓一, Okabe Keiichi; born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese composer and arranger, best known for composing music for the Tekken and Drakengard series. He started his career at Namco in 1994, where he primarily composed for arcade games. Outside of video games, he has composed for anime series such as Working!! and Yuki Yuna is a Hero, along with arranging tracks for J-pop artists. He established the music production studio Monaca in 2004, which composes for various types of media.
Kiyohiko Azuma (あずまきよひこ, Azuma Kiyohiko; born May 27, 1968) is a Japanese manga artist. From 1999 to 2002, he authored…
Kiyohiko Azuma (あずまきよひこ, Azuma Kiyohiko; born May 27, 1968) is a Japanese manga artist. From 1999 to 2002, he authored the yonkoma comedy manga series Azumanga Daioh, which was later adapted as an anime series by J.C.Staff. In 2003, he began Yotsuba&!, a slice-of-life manga series about the adventures of a five-year-old girl; it is serialized in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh. Both the manga and anime of Azumanga Daioh have been praised for their humor driven by eccentric characters, with Azuma acclaimed as a "master of the four-panel form" for both his art style and comic timing. Yotsuba&! has received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences due to Azuma's artistic talent, writing, and the creation and development of the titular character, with the manga earning multiple awards and nominations.
Kuniko Tanioka (谷岡 郁子, Tanioka Kuniko; born 1954) is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member…
Kuniko Tanioka (谷岡 郁子, Tanioka Kuniko; born 1954) is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Osaka Prefecture, she graduated from the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada and gained a bachelor's degree in developmental biology. She was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007. She is president of Shigakkan University.