is a Japanese
key animator and animation director and one of the co-founders of
Studio Trigger
, also known as Studio Trigger, is a Japanese animation studio founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ōtsuka in 2011. It has produced anime works including '' Kill la Kill'' (2013), ''Little Witch Academia'' (short f ...
. His style is marked by fast and frantic animation combined with elaborate storyboarding and punchy direction. Prior to founding Trigger, he was an animator and director at
Gainax
Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force'', ''Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Wate ...
. His most well-known works include ''
Gurren Lagann
''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyuki ...
'' (2007), ''
Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt'' (2010), ''
Kill la Kill'' (2013), ''
Promare
is a 2019 Japanese animated film co-produced by Trigger and XFLAG. It was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima. It features character and mecha designs by Shigeto Koyama, 3DCG animation by Sanzigen, and music by Hiroy ...
'' (2019), and ''
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'' (2022).
Early career
After drawing the
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...
for
doujinshi
, also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
circle, Imaishi worked as a creator. He worked at
Gainax
Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force'', ''Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Wate ...
in 1995 as an in-between animator for ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese Mecha anime and manga, mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko Production, Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo fr ...
''. Some of his early works include animation direction, storyboarding and key animation for ''
Kare Kano
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in ''LaLa'' from 1996 to 2005 and collected in 21 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and ...
'' (''His and Her Circumstances''), ''
FLCL
is an original video animation (OVA) anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. '' ...
'', ''
Diebuster
''Diebuster'', also known as and ''Gunbuster 2'', is a six-episode original video animation series directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido and animated by Gainax. It was created to commemorate the studio's 20th anniversary ...
'', ''Oval X Over'', and the ending animation of ''
Paradise Kiss''. He went on to direct ''
Dead Leaves'', a 2004 anime film produced by
Production I.G.
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
and the first episode of ''
Re: Cutie Honey''.
Director
His series director debut was ''
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime, mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directe ...
'' (2007).
["Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann". (November 2006) ''Newtype USA''. p. 17.] The anime received an Excellence Prize at the 2007
Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition.
Based on judging by a ...
,
and Imaishi himself received an individual award at the twelfth
Animation Kobe
The was an event established by Kobe in 1996 to promote anime and other visual media. The were given annually until 2015 by Kobe and the Organising Committee to creators and creations.
Event
Animation Kobe has been held annually in Kobe since 1 ...
Festival.
In 2008, the anime received both "best television production" and "best character design" from the
Tokyo International Anime Fair.
Later he went on to work as director in the anime series, ''
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt''. His main influence of being an animator and director are
Yoshinori Kanada and his works, in which all his anime titles such as ''
Dead Leaves'', ''
Gurren Lagann
''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyuki ...
'' and ''
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt'' pay special tributes to him and his art. Imaishi left Gainax and established
Studio Trigger
, also known as Studio Trigger, is a Japanese animation studio founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Ōtsuka in 2011. It has produced anime works including '' Kill la Kill'' (2013), ''Little Witch Academia'' (short f ...
in 2011. His first directorial work at the studio is ''
Kill la Kill''. He directed the opening for season 2 of ''
Black Dynamite
''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-sta ...
''.
Notable works
Director
* ''
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
is a Japanese anime television series created by Gainax, with animation produced by Gainax and Madhouse, and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was broadcast for thirteen episodes on Kids Station from April to June 2002. The series was licens ...
'' (2002) (episode 3)
* ''
Dead Leaves'' (2004)
* ''
Re: Cutie Honey'' (2004) (episode 1)
* ''Oval x Over'' (2005)
* ''
Gurren Lagann
''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyuki ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt'' (2010)
* ''
Kill la Kill'' (2013)
* ''
Japan Animator Expo'' (2015) (''"Sex & Violence with Machspeed"'')
* ''
Space Patrol Luluco
is a Japanese anime television series created by Hiroyuki Imaishi and produced by Studio Trigger. It aired from April to June 2016 as part of the Ultra Super Anime Time programming block.
Plot
Luluco is a normal girl living in the solar syst ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Promare
is a 2019 Japanese animated film co-produced by Trigger and XFLAG. It was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima. It features character and mecha designs by Shigeto Koyama, 3DCG animation by Sanzigen, and music by Hiroy ...
'' (2019)
* ''
Star Wars: Visions'' (2021) (''"The Twins"'')
* ''
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'' (2022)
Other
* ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese Mecha anime and manga, mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko Production, Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo fr ...
'' (1995) In-Between Animator
* ''
Kare Kano
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in ''LaLa'' from 1996 to 2005 and collected in 21 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and ...
'' (His and Her Circumstances) (1998) Storyboard, Key Animator, Animation Director, Script (ep. 19)
* ''
Medabots
''Medabots'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese role-playing video game franchise created by Rin Horuma (Horumarin) and currently owned by Imagineer. The main series of RPGs focus on collecting and battling with the titular robots. The bulk of ...
'' (1999) Animation Director (episode 14), Key Animator
* ''
FLCL
is an original video animation (OVA) anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. '' ...
'' (2000) Animation Director (episode 5)
*
PaRappa the Rapper
is a rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaborat ...
(2001) Ending Animation Director (ED1)
* ''
Fullmetal Alchemist
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. It was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology magazine ''Gangan Comics#Monthly Shōnen Gangan, Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' between July 20 ...
'' (2003) Key Animator (episodes 4, 22)
* ''
Musashi: Samurai Legend'' (2005)
*''
Namco × Capcom
(pronounced as "Namco Cross Capcom") is a tactical role-playing (RPG) crossover video game developed by Monolith Soft for the PlayStation 2 and published by Namco in 2005. The gameplay combines tactical RPG and action sequences during battles, ...
'' (2005) Animation Supervisor, Storyboard, Animation Producer, Director, Animation Character Design, Art Supervisor, Key Animation
* ''
Redline
Redline refers to the maximum engine speed at which an internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine. The redline of an e ...
'' (2009) Key Animator
* ''
Black Rock Shooter'' (2012) Director (CG Battle)
* ''
Inferno Cop'' (2012) Supervisor
* ''
Ninja Slayer'' (2015) Character Designer
* ''
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'' (2017) Storyboard Artist for opening titles
*''
BNA: Brand New Animal'' (2020), Storyboard Artist (episode 5)
References
External links
Hiroyuki Imaishi profile & worksHiroyuki Imaishi interview)
*
1971 births
Living people
People from Tokyo
Anime directors
Japanese animators
Japanese animated film directors
Anime character designers
Japanese animated film producers
{{Anime-bio-stub