Mahiro Maeda (前田真宏 ''Maeda Mahiro''; born March 14, 1963) is a Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

director, character designer, and

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author of ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called him "one of the most imaginative visualists in anime". He also worked on Concept Art and Design for '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' (2015), which won six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He has been one of the top contributors at the anime studio

GONZO Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

for many years, having directed '' Blue Submarine No. 6'', '' Final Fantasy: Unlimited'' and '' Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo''. His

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

work ranges from 2 of the "

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

" in ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...

'' to production and mechanical design for such series as , ''

The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori and Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's a ...

'' and ''

Last Exile is a Japanese anime television series created by Gonzo. It featured a production team led by director Koichi Chigira, character designer Range Murata, and production designer Mahiro Maeda. The three had previously worked together in '' Bl ...

''. He was also one of the designers for '' Gate Keepers 21''. His earlier years were spent mostly at the famed

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

, where he helped animate classics such as ''

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...

'', ''

Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, ...

'', and ''

Porco Rosso is a 1992 Anime, Japanese animated Adventure film, adventure-fantasy film, fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on ''Hikōtei Jidai'' ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki. It ...

''. Maeda is one of the select Japanese directors to actively collaborate with the international film media on various projects. He provided key animation for the animation sequence in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's ''

Kill Bill Vol. 1 ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as The Bride (Kill Bill), the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, ...

''. His directorial work has also been featured in such exclusive

package films An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

as ''

The Animatrix is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which l ...

'' (segment: " The Second Renaissance Parts I and II"), '' Genius Party Beyond'' (segment: "Gala"), and ''

Ani*Kuri15 is a series of fifteen 1-minute shorts broadcast by NHK between May 2007 and 2008. Intended as companion pieces to the ''Ani*Kuri'' program and as filler between regularly scheduled programs, the shorts were broadcast in three seasons of 5 epi ...

'' (segment: "Princess Onmitsu"). He has also visited the American

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

convention in 2000 and 2003.

References

External links

* * * 1963 births Anime directors Final Fantasy designers Japanese animators Japanese animated film directors Mechanical designers (mecha) People from Yonago, Tottori Living people {{Anime-bio-stub