Inuyasha and Yashahime Director GuideBy Dylan AcresEight years after Ranma 1/2 went off the air Inuyasha debuted. By comparing the two series it becomes readily apparent how much the anime industry had changed during that time. The production values and amount of money spent on television animation increased dramatically. The industry continued to change while Inuyasha was on the air, with the series moving away from traditional cel animation to fully digitized animation with episode 90. Popular character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma of Gundam Wing was assigned the series and guaranteed it to have a slick look right from the beginning. The first series ended in 2004, and finally began Inuyasha: The Final Act in 2009. When the series returned, five directors (Shinichi Sakuma, Yoshihito Hishinuma, Atsuo Tobe, Rie Nakajima, Naoko Yamamoto) returned to direct at least one or more episodes of the new series. Because of the number of animation directors that work on each episode of Yashahime (as indicated below) it is impossible to analyze much of the stylistic tendencies of the animation directors on that series. Rather than make incorrect assumptions of the work of animation directors on episodes with multiple directors those episodes will not be given the same level of analysis that I have given to Inuyasha and Inuyasha: The Final Act where individual work is easier to scrutinize.
Hideki Araki (荒木英樹) (Episodes directed: 2)  Hideki Araki only directed two episodes and if ranked would have to fit squarely in the middle. He's an average animation director, certainly not bad, but he doesn't reach the heights of some of the more detailed and colorful directors. Araki has worked on a number of erotic/adult anime that are not particularly well known in the role of a character designer. Though he handled in-between animation early in his career for Urusei Yatsura episode 141 "Underground Reincarnation! What's Darling Thinking Of!?" as well as the two films Only You and Beautiful Dreamer. [1] [2] Kenji Hachizaki (八崎健二) (Episodes directed: 1)  Hachizaki's lone turn as animation director produced a high octane action episode that featured a hand to hand battle between Suikotsu and Inuyasha (episode 109 "Hidden in the Mist: Onward to Mt. Hakurei"). Under Hachizaki's direction the animation was extremely fluid and detailed. If only he had directed more episode Hachizaki may have been one of the best animation director the series produced. With Hachizaki's pedigree however it is easy to talk about his quality. He is responsible for animating the scene in AKIRA when Tetsuo destroys the bridges. [3] He also served as a key animator on WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 and as animation director on a number of episodes of Megalo Box. [4] Yoshihito Hishinuma (菱沼義仁) (Episodes directed: 14)  Yoshitoma Hishinuma is the series character designer and usually makes an appearance directing especially significant episodes. He directed not only the first episode but the last two as well. He has a very fluid animation style and makes use of interesting camera angles. Hishinuma is as good a director as he is a designer. Hishinuma's other work includes character designs for City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes (劇場版シティーハンター <新宿プライベート・アイズ>) and animation director on a number of Gundam projects including Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz and Turn A Gundam. [5] One of Hishinuma's earliest projects was key animation on the Urusei Yatsura OVAs Catch the Heart and Date with a Spirit. [6] Hishinuma also worked on Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl and Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories (specifically the "Stink Bomb" segment). [7] We have an interview with Hishinuma translated if you'd like to learn more. Shouko Ikeda (池田晶子) (Episodes directed: 33)  Ikeda's style features more rounded faces and her trademark thick, dark eyebrows on men. She is one of the most unique designers and has a very clean style. Ikeda is one of the more prolific directors for the show. Her style is very polished and reminicent of that of Yoshihito Hishinuma in the sense that her characters' movements are extremely fluid and given special care. The animation in her episodes flows with movement and bright colors. Her other work includes character designs for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの消失) and character designer and chief animation director Sound Euphonium (響け！ユーフォニアム). [8] Sadly Ikeda was one of the many people murdered in the Kyoto Animation Studio arson. [9] Ayako Kurata (倉田綾子) (Episodes directed: 1)  As with most of the talented directors who only worked on a single episode, Kurata is able to expertly mimic the artistic style of character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma. Kurata turns in a very well done episode which features lots of well animated fights between Inuyasha, Koga and Sesshomaru versus the Panther Devas. She worked on in-between animation for Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン) and Please Save My Earth (ぼくの地球を守って) before becoming the chief animation director on the 2004 version of Area 88 and doing character designs for Star Ocean EX. [10] Rie Nakajima (中島里恵) (Episodes directed: 24)  One of the finest animation directors on Inuyasha, she continued on to each subsequent series as well. Her designs stay very consistent and clean throughout her dozens of episodes. She has a very expressive and fluid style and her work is often a showcase of fluid animation. One of her most characteristic traits is that she draws Inuyasha with very prominent eyebrows, this is most visible in episode 160 "The Violent, Two-Timing Boy Who Brings Happiness". Most of her other characters remain fairly consistant with the overall character designs of the series. Overall Nakajima is a very accomplished animation director. Her other work includes a number of Sunrise projects including various Detective Conan (名探偵コナン) projects, Kekkaishi (結界師), and Yakitate!! Japan (焼きたて!! ジャぱん). [11] Mamiko Nakanishi (中西麻実子) (Episodes directed: 12)  Extremely detailed and beautifully rich in color, Mamiko Nakanishi joined the series with episode 102 "Assault on the Wolf-Demon Tribe" at the first episode of the Band of Seven arc and brought a very high quality to the episodes she worked on. Her other projects include BLEACH films and Strike Witches. [12] Takehiro Nakayama (中山岳洋) (Episodes directed: 1)  Nakayama was the animation director for episode 35 "The True Master Chosen by the Noted Sword", which he also directed himself. Very clean animation in most places, however some of the non-closeup shots look a bit flat or the animation is not as fluid as other times, but overall he has a good look to his animation. His other work includes Magic Knight Rayearth (魔法騎士 レイアース) and Bubblegum Crisis (バブルガムクライシス), with in-between animation on Robot Carnival (ロボットカーニバル) and animation direction on Angel Cop (エンゼルコップ). [13] [14] Hiroaki Noguchi (野口寛明) (Episodes directed: 2)  Noguchi only worked on one episode by himself and assisted on two others, so his work on the series is brief. Because of his small contribution he doesn't really exhibit a unique style and instead hews closely with the original character designs. He worked on AKIRA. [15] He also worked on a number of Detective Conan and Lupin III projects including Lupin III Part 5. [16] Shinichi Sakuma (佐久間信一) (Episodes directed: 68)  Sakuma is an odd director at times. He directs quite a few episodes, but he's definitely on the lower rung at times in terms of quality when compared to the others. His characters tend to be stiff with significantly less movement. His colors often look flat as well. But for some reason at the end of the series he directs episode 162 "Together With Lord Sesshomaru, Forever" which is extremely fluid and stands out in a very unique way from all the other directors on the show. If he had done more like this he would have been a fantastic animation director, and to his credit, the work he does on the Final Act blows away all the stuff he did in the main series, it's much stronger visually. His other work includes After War Gundam X, Mobile Fighter G Gundam and Super Demon Hero Wataru (超魔神英雄伝ワタル). [17] [18] Taka Sato (佐藤陵) (Episodes directed: 3)  Sato's art style looks quite natural and realistic, with a slightly less traditional anime style while not being completely unrecognizable. Her work has a very cinematic quality with lots of closeups and detailed facial expressions. It could be said that it has an OVA quality. She's another one of my favorites. Her other work includes chief animation director on Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (異世界美少女受肉おじさんと) and two of the Inazuma Eleven films (イナズマイレブン). [19] [20] Atsushi Shigeta (重田敦司) (Episodes directed: 6)  Shigeta's style on Inuyasha is very difficult to distinguish as he always directs alongside Shinichi Sakuma. The episodes he co-directed appear so uniform that is is near impossible to tell which are Shigeta's scenes and which are Sakuma's. He has worked on a number of Gundam properties such as Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Victory Gundam. [21] He also did character designs for Urusei Yatsura OVAs Terror of Girly-Eyes Measles and Date with a Spirit plus did genga work on Ranma 1/2 Movie 1: The Battle of Nekonron, China! A Battle to Defy the Rules!!. [22] [23] Kumiko Takahashi (高橋久美子) (Episodes directed: 1)  Having Kumiko Takahashi as animation director is a special treat. Known for her excellent work on the Mermaid Scar OVA and character designs for Urusei Yatsura Movie 6: Always My Darling, Takahashi also handles the animation in all of Inuyasha's opening and closing credits. Her stylish designs make use of shadows and dramatic camera angles and make for a truly theatrical level of animation quality. [24] [25] Hiroshi Takeuchi (竹内浩志) (Episodes directed: 5)  Takeuchi's style is one of the more ordinary and unremarkable of the series. While no episodes of Inuyasha could be said to have poor animation, Takeuchi's were some of the more average. His early career featured in-between animation work on Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール), Magical Princess Minky Momo (魔法のプリンセス ミンキー モモ), Vampire Hunter D (吸血鬼ハンターD) and Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳). [26] [27] Kazuo Takigawa (滝川和男) (Episodes directed: 1)  Playful moods and expressive faces mark Takigawa's single episode. It is quite appropriate that his lone episode features Shippo's slideshow of of crayon drawings featuring Koga, Kagome and Inuyasha. He worked on Wolf Guy, Hell Teacher Nube (地獄先生ぬ~べ~) and character designs (adapting Rumiko Takahashi's designs into animation) on Moeyo Ken (機動新撰組 萌えよ剣). [28] [29] Teiichi Takiguchi (滝口禎一) (Episodes directed: 1)  Though he directed only a single episode, Teiichi's sole contribution to Inuyasha was a bright and colorful episode that really showed off his design talents. He was one of the key animators on Inuyasha The Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass Takiguchi has worked on a number of high profile series including Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃) and Lupin III Part 4 and character designs on Baki. [30] [31] Keiji Tani (谷圭司) (Episodes directed: 1)  Another single-episode director who's designs hewed closely to Hishinuma's character designs while never really rising to the levels of Ikeda or Sakuma. He did character designs for the adult series Last Waltz: Hakudaku Mamire no Natsu Gasshuku (Last Waltz～白濁まみれの夏合宿～) and in-between animation for the original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime from the 1990s as well as the Ghost Sweeper Mikami (GS美神 極楽大作戦!!) film. [32] Atsuo Tobe (戸部敦夫) (Episodes directed: 4)  Tobe did a solid job with the three episodes he directed. Two of Tobe's episodes were at the very beginning of the series, and he did not return as an animation director again until episode 150 "The Mysterious Light that Guides the Saint" and then again one more time in the Final Act with episode 22 "Naraku: Trap of Darkness". Tobe returned for quite a number of episodes of Yashahime and Kyokai no RINNE. Tobe's characters sometimes have a longer, slightly leaner look to them. His style definitely stands out. In addition his mother is Noriko Obara, Oyuki's voice actress from the original Urusei Yatsura anime. His other work beyond Takahashi projects includes Dirty Pair, Yakitate!! Japan, Kekkaishi and Turn A Gundam.[33] [34] Naoko Yamamoto (山本直子) (Episodes directed: 5)  Yamamoto has a clean style that can also be seen in her previous work on Project A-ko and the series she worked on after Inuyasha such as Yakitate! Japan and Kekkaishi. She is a veteran of many Rumiko Takahashi anime. She was the animation director for Urusei Yatsura episode 126: "Ran-chan's Panic: No Tomorrow for Tomobiki" (with storyboards by Motosuke Takahashi who frequently works with Yamamoto). [35] She has also done key animation for Fire Tripper, The Supergal and The Laughing Target as well as and key animation for three episodes of Ranma 1/2 Nettohen. [36] Sachiko Sugimoto (杉本幸子) (Episodes directed: 5)  Sugimoto's work is very on model. Gorgeous visuals, extremely well animated. She is one of the best later directors, and really benefits from the widescreen and HD that come with The Final Act. The visuals of her episodes are excellent whether it's tight close-ups or long distance shots. The colors are vibrant, and everything looks terrific. [37] She worked on the last three Inuyasha films and chief animation director on The World God Only Knows (神のみぞ知るセカイ) season 2. [38] Taeko Oda (小田多恵子) (Episodes directed: 1)  She only co-directed episode 4 "Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga" of the Final Act, and there may be a reason for that. Her episode is the least stylish of the early episodes of the second series. Her layouts are dull and uninspired and the designs lack any substantive detail. Her work on Final Act marks her as a mid-tier director. The majority of her career is as a key animator rather than an animation director. [39] [40] Hideaki Shimada (しまだひであき) (Episodes directed: 2)  Visually the saving grace of the 4th episode of the Final Act, "Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga", is Hideaki Shimada. Compared with his co-director, Taeko Oda, his style is much more exciting. His solo work on episode 10 "Flowers Drenched in Sadness" continues with is polished style. His faces are unique looking, very slightly elongated, with a bit more curve to the chins, and more slender eyes. He has had a lenghty career beginning with working on Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (超時空要塞マクロス) up to more contemporary series such as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 ストーンオーシャン) and the final season of Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人). [41] Masaya Fujimori (藤森雅也) (Episodes directed: 3)  Fujimori is another excellent director from the Final Act. He has a great, fluid style with lots of dynamic camera angles. His style reminds me a lot of Rie Nakajima, very clean, and really exciting. Fujimori is a terrific action director as well. He's worked on a number of Doraemon films as well as animation direction on the first and last Inuyasha films. [42] [43] Sayaka Koiso (小磯沙矢香) (Episodes directed: 2)  She may not have made a major contribution in the overall number of episodes she worked on, but Koiso definitely does well with what she's given. She uses exciting angles in her episode as well as lots of dynamic action. Another strong Final Act director. Her fluid animation can also be seen in her work on Gintama and Jujutsu Kaisen. [44] [45] Yu Saito (斎藤佑) (Episodes directed: 5)  Just like Atsushi Shitgeta from the first series, Yu Saito always co-directs alongside Shinichi Sakuma. It is hard to differentiate Saito from Sakuma due to this, but the five episodes in which they worked together overall look better than most of Sakuma's solo work from the first series. The framing may not be the most stylish but the art itself is always well designed, and close to Yoshito Hishinuma's character designs. [46] Hiromi Maesawa (前澤弘美) (Episodes directed: 5)  Maesawa directed both their episodes in the Final Act with Kayo Tachibana and turned in excellent work both times. While it may be difficult to suss out a particularly unique style due to Maezawa working with Tachibana, the viewer can be assured that it will be a visually pleasing episode everytime the direct. She worked on both versions of Tiger and Bunny. [47] Kayo Tachibana (橘佳良) (Episodes directed: 3)  Tachibana is a new director for the Final Act, and a good one at that but almost impossible to pin down a unique style for. She only directed a handful of episodes and all of those were directed with either Hiromi Maesawa or Sachiko Sugimoto. They're both stylish directors, so it is easy to think of Tachibana as another good director by association. [48] Hiroki Negeshi (根岸宏樹) (Episodes directed: 1)  Its difficult to discern a unique style for Hiroki Negeshi, because she only co-directed one episode. But her faces do have a slightly more squat look to them. Overall well done though. He was a segment director and unit director on the first and last Inuyasha films respectively. [49] |
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Footnotes
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- [2] "荒木英樹." Atwiki.jp. December 21, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://w.atwiki.jp/anime_wiki/pages/5882.html.
- [3] "Kenji Hachizaki." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=kenji_hachizaki+.
- [4] "Hachizaki Kenji." AniDB.net. September 20, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/8928.
- [5] "Yoshihito Hishinuma." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=yoshihito_hishinuma+.
- [6] "Hishinuma Yoshihito." AniDB.net. February 12, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/3412.
- [7] "菱沼義仁." 作画@wiki. October 30, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://w.atwiki.jp/sakuga/pages/131.html.
- [8] "Shouko Ikeda." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=shouko_ikeda+.
- [9] "Ikeda Shouko." AniDB.net. August 27, 2019. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/523.
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- [38] "Sugimoto Sachiko." AniDB.net. July 16, 2010. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/20084.
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- [40] "小田多恵子." Atwiki.jp. September 14, 2020. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://w.atwiki.jp/ anime_wiki/pages/1401.html.
- [41] "Shimada Hideaki." AniDB.net. February 13, 2015. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/8120.
- [42] "Fujimori Masaya." AniDB.net. June 30, 2011. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/4787.
- [43] "Masaya Fujimori." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=masaya_fujimori+.
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- [48] "Hiroki Negeshi." Anime News Network. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ encyclopedia/people.php?id=33060.
Dylan Acres is a college professor and researcher of Rumiko Takahashi's works in all shapes and forms. We have written extensive analyses on each of the animation directors of all of Rumiko Takahashi's anime adaptations including Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 and Kyokai no RINNE.
