Hiroki Yamamura (Japanese: 山村洋貴, Hepburn: Yamamura Hiroki; born February 11, 1981) is a Japanese animator, character…Hiroki Yamamura (Japanese: 山村洋貴, Hepburn: Yamamura Hiroki; born February 11, 1981) is a Japanese animator, character designer and storyboard artist.
Tetsuya Nishio (西尾 鉄也, Nishio Tetsuya; born 23 June 1968 in Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese animator, character…Tetsuya Nishio (西尾 鉄也, Nishio Tetsuya; born 23 June 1968 in Aichi Prefecture) is a Japanese animator, character designer and puzzle setter. Nishio began his career as an inbetweener for the TV series Osomatsu-kun (1988). He worked for Studio Pierrot on Ninku (1995-1996). Since he was hired to work on Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999), he has worked for Production I.G., having previously done freelance work. Minipato came about because Nishio made some promotional character illustrations which Patlabor series creator Oshii liked. Nishio was also a key animator on Millennium Actress (2001), and The Cat Returns (2002). He won the Tokyo Anime Award for best character design at the Tokyo International Anime Fair for his work on The Sky Crawlers in 2009. Nishio is particularly noted for his designs of older men. Masashi Kishimoto requested that Tetsuya Nishio oversee the character designs of Naruto when the manga was adapted into an anime series. An artbook has been released of his works, called The Art of Tetsuya Nishio: Full Spectrum. Nishio is also a professional puzzle setter. Described by the The Times as "the undisputed grand puzzle master of sudoku", he creates about 15 puzzles per day (as of 2025). He is also credited with the invention of killer sudoku, a sudoku variation.
Toshiro Tsuchida (土田 俊郎, Tsuchida Toshirō) (born 1964) is a Japanese game director and game producer. He currently…Toshiro Tsuchida (土田 俊郎, Tsuchida Toshirō) (born 1964) is a Japanese game director and game producer. He currently works for Japanese Social Game company GREE. He formerly worked for Square Enix Co., Ltd. (formerly Square Co., Ltd.). He is most notably credited for creating the Front Mission and Arc the Lad media franchises.
Akira Toriyama (Japanese: 鳥山明, Hepburn: Toriyama Akira; April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist and…Akira Toriyama (Japanese: 鳥山明, Hepburn: Toriyama Akira; April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors in the history of manga and created numerous highly influential and popular series, with his most famous and successful project being the Dragon Ball franchise. Toriyama first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the manga series Dr. Slump, which was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen series. Dr. Slump went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into an anime, with a second series created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended. Toriyama wrote and illustrated the Dragon Ball manga from 1984 to 1995. It became one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with 260 million copies sold worldwide, and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been credited with boosting anime's international popularity. Beside his manga works, Toriyama acted as a character designer for numerous video games such as Square Enix's Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger, in addition to Blue Dragon. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts. In October 2024, Toriyama was posthumously inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.
Yukio Ota (太田幸夫, Ōta Yukio; 1939 – 18 August 2026) was a Japanese graphic designer best known for his work on the ISO…Yukio Ota (太田幸夫, Ōta Yukio; 1939 – 18 August 2026) was a Japanese graphic designer best known for his work on the ISO 7010 exit sign and the pictorial language LoCoS.
Shingo Araki (荒木 伸吾, Araki Shingo; November 28, 1938 – December 1, 2011) was a Japanese animation artist and character…Shingo Araki (荒木 伸吾, Araki Shingo; November 28, 1938 – December 1, 2011) was a Japanese animation artist and character designer.
Kenkichi Sugimoto (杉本健吉) (September 20, 1905 in Nagoya – February 10, 2004 in Nagoya) was a Japanese artist. He was…Kenkichi Sugimoto (杉本健吉) (September 20, 1905 in Nagoya – February 10, 2004 in Nagoya) was a Japanese artist. He was known as an oil painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. In 1987 the Meitetsu railroad company opened the Sugimoto Art Museum in Mihama, Aichi.