Hiroyuki Imaishi

His most well-known works include Gurren Lagann (2007), Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010), Kill la Kill (2013), Promare (2019), and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022).

• Name — Hiroyuki Imaishi • Native Name — 今石 洋之 • Born — 4 October 1971 • Birthplace — Tokyo, Japan • Occupation — Anime director, animator, character designer • Years Active — 1995–present

After drawing manga for the doujinshi circle, Imaishi worked as a creator. He worked at Gainax in 1995 as an in-between animator for Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some of his early works include animation direction, storyboarding and key animation for Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances), FLCL, Diebuster, 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. and the first episode of Re: Cutie Honey.

His series director debut was Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007). The anime received an Excellence Prize at the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival, and Imaishi himself received an individual award at the twelfth Animation Kobe 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 and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt pay special tributes to him and his art. Imaishi left Gainax and established Studio Trigger in 2011. His first directorial work at the studio is Kill la Kill. He directed the opening for season 2 of Black Dynamite.

• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002) (episode 3) • Dead Leaves (2004) • Re: Cutie Honey (2004) (episode 1) • Oval x Over (2005) • Gurren Lagann (2007) • Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010) • Kill la Kill (2013) • Japan Animator Expo (2015) ("Sex & Violence with Machspeed") • Space Patrol Luluco (2016) • Promare (2019) • Star Wars: Visions (2021) ("The Twins") • Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) • New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2025)

• Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) In-Between Animator • Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) (1998) Storyboard, Key Animator, Animation Director, Script (ep. 19) • Medabots (1999) Animation Director (episode 14), Key Animator • FLCL (2000) Animation Director (episode 5) • PaRappa the Rapper (2001) Ending Animation Director (ED1) • Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Key Animator (episodes 4, 22) • Musashi: Samurai Legend (2005) • Namco × Capcom (2005) Animation Supervisor, Storyboard, Animation Producer, Director, Animation Character Design, Art Supervisor, Key Animation • Redline (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)

Hiroyuki Imaishi was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1971. He holds Japanese citizenship and his recorded professional working language is Japanese. His formal artistic training took place at Tama Art University, where he completed his higher education prior to entering the commercial animation industry. Before gaining employment with commercial animation houses, Imaishi engaged in independent creative practice by drawing manga for a doujinshi circle, which established his initial work as a creator. Throughout his subsequent career, Imaishi has been formally catalogued under the occupational classifications of animator, animation director, film director, and screenwriter. Bibliographical and authority records present varying figures regarding his published output. The Directory of Open Access Journals lists one article naming Imaishi within its academic indexing. Whether any original physical manuscripts, key animation drawings, or storyboards in Imaishi's hand are preserved within permanent museum or institutional archival holdings is not established in the available record.

Born in Tokyo in 1971 and educated at Tama Art University, Hiroyuki Imaishi entered the Japanese animation industry through Gainax in 1995, serving initially as an in-between animator on Neon Genesis Evangelion. English Wikipedia records that his early career involved extensive key animation, storyboarding, and animation direction across major Gainax productions, including Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances), FLCL, and Diebuster, as well as directing individual television episodes for Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi and Re: Cutie Honey, alongside the 2004 theatrical film Dead Leaves produced by Production I.G. English Wikipedia documents that Imaishi made his full series directorial debut with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in 2007. This television anime received an Excellence Prize at the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival, while Imaishi was awarded an individual honour at the twelfth Animation Kobe Festival. The Tokyo International Anime Fair subsequently awarded the series accolades for best television production and best character design in 2008. The animator Yoshinori Kanada is cited by English Wikipedia as Imaishi's principal stylistic influence, with visual tributes to Kanada incorporated into Dead Leaves, Gurren Lagann, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010). In 2011, Imaishi departed Gainax to co-found Studio Trigger. English Wikipedia records his debut directorial project for the new studio as Kill la Kill in 2013. His subsequent directorial filmography at Studio Trigger encompasses the television series Space Patrol Luluco in 2016, the feature film Promare in 2019, the short film The Twins for Star Wars: Visions in 2021, and the series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners in 2022, with a further project, New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, scheduled for release in 2025.