Yumiko Takeshima (竹島 由美子, Takeshima Yumiko; born 1970) is a Japanese designer and former Principal dancer with…Yumiko Takeshima (竹島 由美子, Takeshima Yumiko; born 1970) is a Japanese designer and former Principal dancer with Semperoper Ballett, Universal Ballet, the Alberta Ballet Company, Feld Ballet, and the Dutch National Ballet. Born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Takeshima began dancing at the age of four in Sapporo. At the age of thirteen, she studied at the San Francisco Ballet School in the United States. Takeshima continued to dance throughout the 90s and early 2000s and started designing dancewear and costumes for ballet companies from all over the world. Takeshima founded the dancewear company YUMIKO and the YumiGirl Network in 2002. Her dancewear was used in Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 award-winning film Black Swan. She was the 2003 and 2005 recipient of the 'Best Female Dancer Award' by Dance Europe Magazine and won a gold medal at the 1996 Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition in Kyiv.
Hiroaki Gōda (合田 浩章) (born March 24, 1965), is an anime director, screenwriter, animator, and character designer. His…Hiroaki Gōda (合田 浩章) (born March 24, 1965), is an anime director, screenwriter, animator, and character designer. His most notable contributions as a screenwriter and director include the numerous Oh My Goddess! anime adaptations.
Akira Yasuda (安田 朗, Yasuda Akira) (born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and…Akira Yasuda (安田 朗, Yasuda Akira) (born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and mecha designer, who works under the pseudonym Akiman. Yasuda is a former employee of the video game company Capcom (joining in 1985) and has worked on many Capcom games, taking on various design roles for works such as the Final Fight series and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (including their updates). He has also been involved in anime production, most notably Turn A Gundam, Overman King Gainer and Code Geass. He also went to the United States to work on Red Dead Revolver for Angel Studios. When the studio was bought by Rockstar Games, he returned to Japan, where he officially left Capcom in 2003 and started working as a freelance artist.
Natsuhiko Kyogoku (京極 夏彦, Kyōgoku Natsuhiko; born March 26, 1963) is a Japanese mystery writer, who is a member of…Natsuhiko Kyogoku (京極 夏彦, Kyōgoku Natsuhiko; born March 26, 1963) is a Japanese mystery writer, who is a member of Ōsawa Office. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. Three of his novels have been turned into feature films; Mōryō no Hako, which won the 1996 Mystery Writers of Japan Award, was also made into an anime television series, as was Kosetsu Hyaku Monogatari, and his book Loups=Garous was adapted into an anime feature film. Vertical have published his debut novel as The Summer of the Ubume.
Tomonori Kogawa (湖川友謙, Kogawa Tomonori; born January 3, 1950 in Engaru, Hokkaidō) is a Japanese animator and character…Tomonori Kogawa (湖川友謙, Kogawa Tomonori; born January 3, 1950 in Engaru, Hokkaidō) is a Japanese animator and character designer, often noted for his work in the 1980s with noted anime studio Sunrise.
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Japanese: 安彦 良和, Hepburn: Yasuhiko Yoshikazu; born December 9, 1947) is a Japanese animator, manga…Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Japanese: 安彦 良和, Hepburn: Yasuhiko Yoshikazu; born December 9, 1947) is a Japanese animator, manga artist, and anime director. He is best known for being the character designer and animation director of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, which began in 1979. That same year, he began working as a manga artist, which had been his dream since childhood. His manga have been critically acclaimed and have won numerous awards.
Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic…Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic designer. He is known for tourism posters depicting Hokkaido, for designing the flag and emblem of Hokkaido Prefecture adopted in 1967, and for founding the first design school in Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art has described him as the "father of Hokkaido design".