Hiroyuki Imaishi

Hiroyuki Imaishi (今石 洋之) is a Japanese key animator, animation director and a co-founder of Studio Trigger.

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.

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

After drawing the manga for the doujinshi circle, Imaishi worked as a creator.

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.