Hiroyuki Imaishi

Hiroyuki Imaishi (今石洋之) is a Japanese key animator and anime director. His style is marked by fast and frantic animation combined with elaborate storyboarding and punchy direction.

Early career
Imaishi began his career at Gainax in 1995 as a key animator on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some of his early works include animation direction, storyboarding, and key animation in FLCL episode 5, Diebuster, Oval X Over, and the ending animation of Paradise Kiss. Imaishi was also known for his "manga" scenes in Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) and FLCL. He went on to direct Dead Leaves, a 2004 anime film produced by animation studio Production I.G., and the first episode of Re: Cutie Honey.

Director
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.