Hiroshi Sasagawa (笹川 ひろし, Sasagawa Hiroshi; born July 9, 1936) is a Japanese animator and cartoonist known for…
Hiroshi Sasagawa (笹川 ひろし, Sasagawa Hiroshi; born July 9, 1936) is a Japanese animator and cartoonist known for directing several anime series including Time Bokan, Speed Racer, The Genie Family, Ninja Hattori-Kun, and Tekkaman: The Space Knight.
Japanese people database × places of origin
Famous Japanese People: Anime
Anime: 181 people
Isao Takahata (高畑 勲, Takahata Isao; October 29, 1935 – April 5, 2018) was a Japanese director, screenwriter and…
Isao Takahata (高畑 勲, Takahata Isao; October 29, 1935 – April 5, 2018) was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei Animation after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959. He worked as an assistant director, holding various positions over the years and eventually directing his own film, The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). Under Nippon Animation he directed the television series Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), and Anne of Green Gables (1979). He also collaborated with colleague Hayao Miyazaki on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Castle in the Sky (1986). Takahata, Miyazaki and others formed Studio Ghibli in 1985, where he would direct Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999). His last film as director was The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
🎓 University of Tokyo🏫 Okayama Asahi High School📅 Born October 29🎂 Born 1935📍 From Ise, Mie💼 Anime💼 Film Director
Yoshinobu Nishizaki (西崎 義展, Nishizaki Yoshinobu; 18 December 1934 – 7 November 2010) was a Japanese film producer best…
Yoshinobu Nishizaki (西崎 義展, Nishizaki Yoshinobu; 18 December 1934 – 7 November 2010) was a Japanese film producer best known as one of the two co-creators of the anime series Space Battleship Yamato. He was sometimes credited as Yoshinori Nishizaki. He was born in 1934 and graduated from the Nihon University Art Department. He also founded the studio Academy Productions which produced Space Battleship Yamato as well as the 1980 anime series; Space Emperor God Sigma for Toei Company.
Kimio Yabuki (矢吹 公郎, Yabuki Kimio; Born December 6, 1934) is a Japanese animator. Known in Japan for his work on many…
Kimio Yabuki (矢吹 公郎, Yabuki Kimio; Born December 6, 1934) is a Japanese animator. Known in Japan for his work on many early classic works by the Toei Animation studio, his best-known film in the West is Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer from 1985, produced by the French-American company DiC with animation work done in Japan. In 1969, he teamed up with a young Hayao Miyazaki in the production of an animated version of Puss in Boots. Yabuki was an employee of Toei Animation until going freelance in 1973, but did work on several Toei productions (including Dororon Enma-kun, Ikkyu-san, and The Kabocha Wine) afterward.
Kazuko Nakamura (中村和子, Nakamura Kazuko; April 1, 1933 – August 3, 2019) was a Chinese-born Japanese animator. Nakamura…
Kazuko Nakamura (中村和子, Nakamura Kazuko; April 1, 1933 – August 3, 2019) was a Chinese-born Japanese animator. Nakamura has worked on Princess Knight, A Thousand and One Nights and Cleopatra.
🎓 Joshibi University of Art and Design🏫 Ube High School📅 Born April 1🎂 Born 1933📍 From Yamaguchi Prefecture💼 Anime
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Tadao Nagahama (長浜 忠夫, Nagahama Tadao; September 26, 1932 – November 4, 1980 in Kagoshima) was a Japanese director of…
Tadao Nagahama (長浜 忠夫, Nagahama Tadao; September 26, 1932 – November 4, 1980 in Kagoshima) was a Japanese director of anime and puppet shows. He also wrote the lyrics for the anime's theme song under the name Akira Aoi (あおい あきら, Aoi Akira). Nagahama has produced hits in a wide variety of genres, including super robot, sports, and comedy. He is best known as the director of Sunrise and Toei's Robot Romance Trilogy, which added human drama to the Super Robot genre. He is also known as the director of several popular anime series that are still well known among Japanese viewers. His most famous work is the national hit, Star of the Giants, which contributed to the popularity of baseball in Japan.
Masaki Tsuji (辻 真先, Tsuji Masaki; born March 23, 1932 in Nagoya) is a Japanese anime screenwriter, mystery writer…
Masaki Tsuji (辻 真先, Tsuji Masaki; born March 23, 1932 in Nagoya) is a Japanese anime screenwriter, mystery writer, manga author, travel critic, essayist, professor as well as mystery fiction novels writer. Tsuji was most active in the business from the 1960s through the 1980s, and worked as a script writer on many popular anime television series for Mushi Production, Toei Animation, and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. He is well known for his association with the animated adaptations of the works of Osamu Tezuka and Go Nagai. In April 2007, Tsuji headed Japan's first international anime research lab as part of Digital Hollywood University. On December 4, 2007, Tsuji was given a lifetime achievement award at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival. On September 24, 2008, Tsuji won a Special Award in the 13th Animation Kobe for his writing work.
Tadanari Okamoto (岡本 忠成, Okamoto Tadanari; January 11, 1932 – February 16, 1990) was a Japanese independent animator.…
Tadanari Okamoto (岡本 忠成, Okamoto Tadanari; January 11, 1932 – February 16, 1990) was a Japanese independent animator. From 1965 until his death he completed at least 37 short subject films in a wide variety of mediums, many of them winning award-winning, his honorific nicknamed "Sheldon Cohen and Hans Fischerkoesen of Japan".
Yasuo Ōtsuka (大塚康生, Ōtsuka Yasuo; July 11, 1931 – March 15, 2021) was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei…
Yasuo Ōtsuka (大塚康生, Ōtsuka Yasuo; July 11, 1931 – March 15, 2021) was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation, Nippon Animation, TMS Entertainment, and Studio Ghibli. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
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Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, born 手塚 治, Tezuka Osamu, (1928-11-03)3 November 1928 – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga…
Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫, born 手塚 治, Tezuka Osamu, (1928-11-03)3 November 1928 – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga" (マンガの父, Manga no Chichi), "the Godfather of Manga" (マンガの教父, Manga no Kyōfu) and "the God of Manga" (マンガの神様, Manga no Kami-sama). Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Though this phrase praises the quality of his early manga works for children and animations, it also blurs the significant influence of his later, more literary, gekiga works. Inspired by the early Chinese animated film Princess Iron Fan, Tezuka began what was known as the manga revolution in Japan with his New Treasure Island published in 1947. His output would spawn some of the most influential, successful and well-received manga series including the children's manga Astro Boy, Princess Knight and Kimba the White Lion, and the adult-oriented series Black Jack, Phoenix and Buddha, all of which won several awards. Tezuka died of stomach cancer in 1989. His death had an immediate impact on the Japanese public and other cartoonists. A museum was constructed in Takarazuka dedicated to his memory and life works, and Tezuka received many posthumous awards. Several animations were in production at the time of his death along with the final chapters of Phoenix, which were never released.
🎓 Nara Medical University🏫 Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School📅 Born November 3🎂 Born 1928📍 From Takarazuka, Hyōgo💼 Manga Artist💼 Anime💼 Physician・Doctor
Yōji Kuri (久里洋二, Kuri Yōji; April 9, 1928 – November 24, 2024) was a Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker. An…
Yōji Kuri (久里洋二, Kuri Yōji; April 9, 1928 – November 24, 2024) was a Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker. An influential figure in Japanese independent animation, he was the unofficial leader and most prolific of the "Animation Association of Three" (アニメーション三人の会, Animēshon Sannin no Kai) collective who kick-started the renaissance of modern-styled, independently made, adult-aimed animation in early 1960s Japan. He is known internationally for the very black comedy of his films, with the typically naïve style of his cartooning often belying the surreal, obscene and disturbing situations they depict (though he has worked in a variety of styles and mediums, including pixilation); this made them a favourite among the fervently counter-cultural audiences, which included such filmmakers as René Laloux, of the first few years of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and in a 1967 publication he was considered to be "the most significant" and "the only Japanese animator whose work is known in the West" (which is to disregard the Toei Animation features and Astro Boy series that were first seen in the West around the same time that Kuri's first several films were and mentioned in passing in the same publication, though these were not known as works of an individual and characteristic filmmaker and often had their Japanese origin played down). He is also known in Japan for his comics, a collection of which earned him the 1958 Bungeishunjū Manga Award. Though he was retired from filmmaking, he continued to illustrate and teach animation at Laputa Art Animation School (アート・アニメーションのちいさな学校, Āto Animēshon no Chiisana Gakkō). Kuri died on November 24, 2024, at the age of 96. His death was announced in the following month, on December 15.
🏫 Takefu High School📅 Born April 9🎂 Born 1928📍 From Sabae, Fukui💼 Anime💼 Illustrator💼 Writer・Novelist💼 Painter
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Yasuji Mori (森康二, Mori Yasuji; January 28, 1925 – September 5, 1992) was an animator who worked with Toei Animation…
Yasuji Mori (森康二, Mori Yasuji; January 28, 1925 – September 5, 1992) was an animator who worked with Toei Animation, while it was still known as Toei Doga. He was also a famous illustrator of children's books. Mori was responsible for one of the major animation styles within Toei Animation. In The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon Mori was the first to be credited as animation director in Japan, although Akira Daikubara had the same post on The Tale of the White Serpent but was not credited as that. As a senior animator he formed many of the great animators of the next generation (including Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Yasuo Ōtsuka, and Yoichi Kotabe). He later left Toei Animation to work with Nippon Animation.
Kihachirō Kawamoto (川本 喜八郎, Kawamoto Kihachirō; January 11, 1925 – August 23, 2010) was a Japanese puppet designer…
Kihachirō Kawamoto (川本 喜八郎, Kawamoto Kihachirō; January 11, 1925 – August 23, 2010) was a Japanese puppet designer, independent film director, screenwriter, animator and the second president of the Japan Animation Association, succeeding founder Osamu Tezuka in 1989 and serving until his own death. He is best-remembered in Japan as designer of the puppets for the long-running NHK live action television series of the Puppet theater, the Three Kingdoms in the early 1980s and The Tale of the Heike in the 1990s but better-known internationally for his own animated short films, the majority of which are model animation but which also include the cutout animation Tabi and Shijin no Shōgai and mixed media, French-language Farce anthropo-cynique. Since beginning his career in his early twenties as a production design assistant under So Matsuyama in the art department of Toho in 1946, he met Tadasu Iizawa and left the film studio in 1950 to collaborate with him on illustrating children's literature with photographs of dolls in dioramas, many of which have been republished in English editions by such American publishers as Grosset & Dunlap and Western Publishing's Golden Books imprint, and trained in the art of stop motion filmmaking under Tadahito Mochinaga and, later, Jiří Trnka. He is also closely associated with Tadanari Okamoto, another independent filmmaker. They collaborated in booking private halls in which to show their films to the public as the "Puppet Animashow" in the 1970s. Okamoto's last film, The Restaurant of Many Orders (注文の多い料理店, Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten; 1991), was left incomplete following his death during its production. Kawamoto completed the film. The film was based on Kenji Miyazawa's short story "The Restaurant of Many Orders."
🎓 Yokohama National University🏫 Tokyo Kogei High School📅 Born January 11🎂 Born 1925📍 From Tokyo💼 Anime💼 Writer・Novelist
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Tadahito "Tad" Mochinaga (持永 只仁, Mochinaga Tadahito; March 3, 1919 – April 1, 1999) was a pioneer Japanese stop-motion…
Tadahito "Tad" Mochinaga (持永 只仁, Mochinaga Tadahito; March 3, 1919 – April 1, 1999) was a pioneer Japanese stop-motion animator. Having done many stop motion films in Japan, he is best known as the animator for Rankin/Bass' "Animagic" productions at his MOM Production Studio in Tokyo throughout the 1960s. He did this work in association with American director Arthur Rankin, Jr. who wrote and designed the productions before sending them to Japan for animation. In 1945, Mochinaga traveled to Xinjing in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo set up in occupied China, to work at the Manchukuo Film Association. He stayed in China after the war and from 1950, he spent three years in Shanghai working on such films as Thank You, Kitty. He is perhaps the only major artist of the era to have worked in both the Chinese and Japanese animation industries.
Ryūichi Yokoyama (Yokoyama Ryūichi (横山 隆一); May 17, 1909 – November 8, 2001) was a Japanese mangaka and animation…
Ryūichi Yokoyama (Yokoyama Ryūichi (横山 隆一); May 17, 1909 – November 8, 2001) was a Japanese mangaka and animation director. He has created very successful yonkoma comic strips since the 1930s.
Noburō Ōfuji (大藤 信郎, Ōfuji Noburō; June 1, 1900 – July 28, 1961) was a Japanese film director and animator. One of the…
Noburō Ōfuji (大藤 信郎, Ōfuji Noburō; June 1, 1900 – July 28, 1961) was a Japanese film director and animator. One of the most notable auteurs of anime (one of the industry's most prestigious awards, the Mainichi Film Awards' Ōfuji Noburō Award, is named after him), he worked primarily with cutout and silhouette animation. He also made a number of films in traditional animation, using then-expensive, imported cels, while his earliest work known to have survived is a live-action/animated film. He trained under Jun'ichi Kōuchi before starting his own company. He is known for his employment of washi, especially the coloured and patterned Edo chiyogami, which gives his films a distinctively Japanese appearance. He was one of the first Japanese animators to earn international recognition for his work.
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Kenzō Masaoka (政岡 憲三, Masaoka Kenzō; October 5, 1898 – November 23, 1988) was a Japanese animator and voice actor.…
Kenzō Masaoka (政岡 憲三, Masaoka Kenzō; October 5, 1898 – November 23, 1988) was a Japanese animator and voice actor. Masaoka was the first to use cel animation and recorded sound in anime. He worked at a number of companies as an animator and actor, and was one of the founders of what became Toei Animation. His work as a special effects artist earned him the title "Japanese Méliès." He also did work under the pseudonym Donbei Masaoka (正岡 どんべい, Masaoka Donbei). Famous animators who worked under him include Mitsuyo Seo and Yasuji Mori.
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Naoko Yamada () (山田 尚子, Yamada Naoko) is a Japanese animator and director. Working at Kyoto Animation until 2020, she…
Naoko Yamada () (山田 尚子, Yamada Naoko) is a Japanese animator and director. Working at Kyoto Animation until 2020, she has directed the anime series K-On! (2009–2010) and Tamako Market (2013), and the anime films A Silent Voice (2016), Liz and the Blue Bird (2018) and The Colors Within (2024). In 2021, she directed the original net animation (ONA) The Heike Story under Science Saru. The series premiered on Japanese television in January 2022. Yamada has won multiple awards for her work, and has received widespread renown for her stylistic choices in anime. She was also one of the youngest directors at Kyoto Animation, getting her first directing opportunity around 4 years after finishing university and starting work for the studio.
Shinichiro Kimura (木村 真一郎, Kimura Shin'ichirō; born October 4) is a Japanese anime storyboard artist and director from…
Shinichiro Kimura (木村 真一郎, Kimura Shin'ichirō; born October 4) is a Japanese anime storyboard artist and director from Hiroshima Prefecture. His nickname is Kimushin (キムシン), a shortened version of his name.
Shingo Adachi (Japanese: 足立 慎吾, Hepburn: Adachi Shingo) is a Japanese animator, character designer, and director. He is…
Shingo Adachi (Japanese: 足立 慎吾, Hepburn: Adachi Shingo) is a Japanese animator, character designer, and director. He is best known for his work on Sword Art Online, the anime series based on the light novel of the same name.
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Chie Uratani (浦谷 千恵, Uratani Chie) is a Japanese anime director and an illustrator.
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Obetomo (おべとも, Obetomo) - born Tomoko Okabe (岡部智子, Okabe Tomoko) in Tokyo in April 1979 - is a Japanese illustrator and…
Obetomo (おべとも, Obetomo) - born Tomoko Okabe (岡部智子, Okabe Tomoko) in Tokyo in April 1979 - is a Japanese illustrator and animator. She is a graduate from the Tokyo Zokei University. The pen name "Obetomo" is her nickname from her college years. Her most famous work is the children's cartoon Obetomo Gakuen (おべとも学園), broadcast on the national NHK network from 2008 to 2013. In addition to her own original animations and designs, Okabe has designed characters and created illustrations for magazines, textbooks, and companies. Okabe shares original animations on her YouTube channel.
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Noriyuki Abe (阿部 記之 (formerly 阿部 紀之), Abe Noriyuki) is a Japanese anime storyboard artist, sound director, and…
Noriyuki Abe (阿部 記之 (formerly 阿部 紀之), Abe Noriyuki) is a Japanese anime storyboard artist, sound director, and director. He worked at Studio Pierrot on anime series, such as Yu Yu Hakusho, Ninku, Flame of Recca, Great Teacher Onizuka, Bleach, and Boruto. He won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award in 1993 and 1994.
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Shinichirō Watanabe (渡辺 信一郎, Watanabe Shin'ichirō; born May 24, 1965) is a Japanese anime television and film director…
Shinichirō Watanabe (渡辺 信一郎, Watanabe Shin'ichirō; born May 24, 1965) is a Japanese anime television and film director, best known for directing the critically acclaimed and commercially successful anime series Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Terror in Resonance, and Carole & Tuesday. Watanabe's work is characterized by evocative uses of music, mature themes, and the incorporation of multiple film genres.
Takehiko Itō (伊東 岳彦, Itō Takehiko) is a Japanese manga artist best known for his work on the manga Outlaw Star from his…
Takehiko Itō (伊東 岳彦, Itō Takehiko) is a Japanese manga artist best known for his work on the manga Outlaw Star from his affiliated Morning Star Studio. He was also the primary creative mind behind other works of fiction set in the Toward Stars universe including the Uchuu Eiyuu Monogatari manga and Angel Links anime series.
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Yasuomi Umetsu (梅津 泰臣, Umetsu Yasuomi; born December 19, 1960) is a Japanese animator, director, writer, and storyboard…
Yasuomi Umetsu (梅津 泰臣, Umetsu Yasuomi; born December 19, 1960) is a Japanese animator, director, writer, and storyboard artist.
📍 From 山市💼 Anime
Tatsuya Ishihara (Japanese: 石原 立也, Hepburn: Ishihara Tatsuya; born July 31, 1966) is a Japanese animator, television…
Tatsuya Ishihara (Japanese: 石原 立也, Hepburn: Ishihara Tatsuya; born July 31, 1966) is a Japanese animator, television and film director. Working for Kyoto Animation since 1988, he has directed The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad, Nichijou, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions and Sound! Euphonium.
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Masato Jinbo (神保 昌登, Jinbo Masato) is a Japanese anime director and screenwriter. Since 2014, he has directed multiple…
Masato Jinbo (神保 昌登, Jinbo Masato) is a Japanese anime director and screenwriter. Since 2014, he has directed multiple series, including the adaptations of Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya and Chaos;Child.
Seiji Kishi (岸 誠二, Kishi Seiji) is a Japanese animation director.
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Mamiko Ikeda (池田 眞美子, Ikeda Mamiko) is a Japanese scriptwriter for anime. She has worked on such series as Emma – A…
Mamiko Ikeda (池田 眞美子, Ikeda Mamiko) is a Japanese scriptwriter for anime. She has worked on such series as Emma – A Victorian Romance, Maid Sama! and numerous others.
Takuya Satō (佐藤 卓哉, Satō Takuya) is a Japanese anime screenwriter and director.