Top 5 Anime Creatives

TV & Film

Dec 24

Anome creates — Image Source: CultureSlate

In the decades since Anime’s rise in prominence and popularity, a handful of creatives in the industry have become household names, renowned for their distinct art styles and knack for creative and original storytelling. In no particular order, these are five of the anime creatives who stand above the rest, mastering their craft and becoming legends in the game.

5. Shinichiro Watanabe

Shinichiro Watanabe is an artist and creator whose greatest strength comes from his multicultural storytelling and his ability to blend different concepts, characters, and cultures into thoughtful and engaging stories. He’s most well-known as the creator of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, which are two of the best examples of his strengths. Cowboy Bebop is a slick and stylish sci-fi series drawing inspiration from spaghetti westerns and martial arts films, with a score encompassing many subgenres of jazz. Similarly, Samurai Champloo is a series with deep roots in hip-hop. On top of his impeccable sense of style, he has a strong knack for storytelling that is both heartfelt and emotional while also being deeply comedic and, at times, philosophical. All of Watanabe’s stories, including Space Dandy and Carole and Tuesday, are filled to the brim with lively, yet grounded, and well-rounded characters.

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Watanabe is also no stranger to international projects, working with Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve to produce the short film Blade Runner 2022: Black Out. His upcoming production, Lazarus, sees him partnering with John Wick director Chad Stahleski.

Lazarus releases on Adult Swim and Max in 2025.

4. Hiroyuki Imaishi

Starting as an in-between animator on Neon Genesis Evangelion (more on that later), Hiroyuki Imaishi is a true powerhouse of the anime world, creating critically acclaimed and hilariously unhinged anime such as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt in his time at GAINAX. He would then go on to co-found the studio TRIGGER, where he would continue his creative streak with anime such as Kill-La-Kill and the film PROMARE. He would also partner with CDProjekt to direct the Netflix anime Cyberpunk Edgerunners and Lucasfilm to direct the Star Wars Visions episode "The Twins."

Imaishi’s works are the textbook definition of ‘balls-to-the-wall,’ delivering pulse-pounding, over-the-top, and manic animation that put TRIGGER on the map, along with bouncy and colorful characters to match that manic energy.

Imaishi’s latest project is New Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, which is set to release in 2025.

3. Satoshi Kon

A master of suspense, Satoshi Kon is a creative who was best known for his mind-bending thrillers, some of which went on to inspire some incredible live-action films. He’s best known for his films Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Paprika, and Perfect Blue. He is also the creator of the psychological thriller series Paranoia Agent, Paprika would end up being a source of inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s film Inception, while Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan has some noticeable parallels to Perfect Blue.

While Satoshi Kon sadly passed away in 2010 and has the shortest filmography on this list, each of his works is a gorgeous and bold masterpiece that has cemented him as an icon of both animation and cinema.

2. Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno is something of a jack of all trades, creating anime renowned the world over, directing and writing some impressive live-action films, and even having a couple of acting roles under his belt. A founding member of Daicon Film (which would later become GAINAX), Anno is best known as the director and creator of shows and films like Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Kare Kano, as well as the mecha juggernaut, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Anno would eventually leave GAINAX to create Studio Khara, where he would direct the sequel/reboot series Rebuild of Evangelion, which would reimagine his original series. He would also venture into live-action with films like Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider.

Anno and his works are best known for their complex, thoughtful, and at times bizarre storytelling and characters, providing relatable and empathetic perspectives on human nature, struggles, and emotions across a broad spectrum, oftentimes combining these character elements with aliens, kaiju, and the occasional giant robot or spaceship.

Anno’s upcoming projects include Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, where he serves as co-writer. He is also directing an anime film based on Space Battleship Yamato.

1. Hayao Miyazaki

A creator who needs no introduction, this two-time Academy Award-winning director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli is synonymous with anime creatives, directing movies that many of us grew up with, including My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Boy and the Heron.

Miyazaki’s works take viewers on journeys into worlds beyond their imaginations, yet not too far off from our own world, with loveable characters of all shapes and sizes, with emotional and heartfelt stories for audiences of all ages. There truly is a Miyazaki movie for all age groups. For young kids, you have My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo. For older kids, there’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, and for anyone seeking out more bolt or poignant storytelling, you have classics like Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises, and The Boy and the Heron. But what’s truly impressive is that across age groups, his style of storytelling remains fundamentally unchanged.

After coming out of retirement with The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki is now working on an unannounced action-adventure film.

Honorable Mention: Megumi Ishitani

Before we close out this list, I wanted to briefly highlight an up-and-coming creative that anime fans will want to keep an eye on. Megumi Ishitani is an animator and director at Toei who got her start on the anime Butt Detective before becoming a storyboard artist on Dragon Ball Super and One Piece, where she would make her directorial debut. She would later direct the 26th One Piece opening, briefly injecting her own distinct style into the long-running anime. This opening is filled to the brim with vibrant colors, complex storyboards, energetic animation, and incredible setpieces, subtly recalling how far the Straw Hats have come in their journey as they near the final act of their adventures.

Ishitani would bring her stylistic flare to One Piece once again when she directed the One Piece Fan Letter special celebrating the series’ 25th Anniversary. Ishitani would bring all the vibrant energy of her opening to a full-length episode that was immediately praised and beloved by both fans and newcomers alike.

While Ishitani does not have any announced projects on the horizon currently, there’s no doubt she’s an up-and-coming creative that fans will want to watch closely.

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