Akiyuki Shinbo

Akiyuki Shinbo (新房 昭之, Shinbō Akiyuki, born September 27, 1961), is a Japanese animator, director, storyboard artist and producer. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004. His most notable works since includes Bakemonogatari, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Nisemonogatari, the 1st, 2nd and 5th best selling anime since 2000 (average per volume).

He has received a Tokyo Anime Award as well as the Newtype Anime Award for Best director for his work on the universally acclaimed anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica in 2011 and 2012.

His work at Shaft has been characterized by extensive experimentation with the visual medium of animation, and often includes pictures taken from real life cut into scenes, as well as art shifts, beat panels (despite the fact that his work is animated), kabuki sound effects, textures that remain stationary when the textured object moves, showing symbols or defining parts of a character (ahoge, hair decs, foreheads, or more bizarre symbols) in place of characters during dialogue, written text in place or in opposition to dialogue, downright surgical use of fan service, and head-turning cinematography.

Early career

Akiyuki Shinbo started his career after graduating from Tokyo Design Institute as an animator in 1981 for the anime series Urusei Yatsura. Shinbo participated with Studio Pierrot in 1990 as a unit director in Karakuri Kengouden Musashi Lord and started to provide storyboards for YuYu Hakusho in 1992. His first full directorial debut was 1994's Metal Fighter Miku, produced by J.C.Staff. He continued his directional career with several OVA series starting with Devil Hunter Yohko 6: Double Jeopardy in 1995, followed by Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: The Abyssal Fairy in 1996, Debutante Detective Corps and New Hurricane Polymar. That year and in 1997, he directed the two Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko OVA series, which led to his second TV anime series directorial job in 1999 (the Yamamoto Yohko TV series). He then served as a director for Tatsunoko Production's The SoulTaker in 2001.

Shinbo participated with Seven Arcs starting with Triangle Heart: Sweet Songs Forever in 2003, and then become a director for 2004's spin-off Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Along with Shin Oonuma and Tatsuya Oishi, Shinbo was subsequently hired by the new Shaft chief director, Mitsutoshi Kubota, as a 'supervisor', director, and 'educator' for new members of the studio. He has since participated in most of Shaft's works as a director or supervisor.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

During the production of Hidamari Sketch and Bakemonogatari, Shinbo expressed to Aniplex producer Atsuhiro Iwakami his desire to create a new magical girl series, thus spawning the development of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. During the early planning stage, Iwakami decided not to adapt an existing work in order to give Shinbo more freedom in his direction style. Another goal of the project was to develop an anime that could appeal to a wider audience than the usual demographic for media within the magical girl genre. Shinbo and Iwakami intended for their series to be accessible to "the general anime fan." Shinbo then contacted Gen Urobuchi to work on the project as a scriptwriter and Ume Aoki as a character designer.

Shinbo won the 11th Tokyo Anime Award, and the 2011 Newtype Anime Award for directing Madoka Magica.

Subsequent work

After Madoka Magica, Shinbo directed Nisemonogatari, the sequel to Bakemonogatari.

Director

• Metal Fighter Miku (1994)
• Devil Hunter Yohko 6: Double Jeopardy (1995)
• Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: The Abyssal Fairy (1996)
• Debutante Detective Corps (1996)
• Hurricane Polymar: Holy Blood (1996)
• Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko series (1996–1999)
• Detatoko Princess (1997)
• Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)
• Tenamonya Voyagers (1999)
• The SoulTaker (2001)
• Triangle Heart: Sweet Songs Forever (2003)
• Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (2004)
• Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase (2004)
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (2004)
• Pani Poni Dash! (2005)
• Negima!? (2006)
• Hidamari Sketch series (2007–2013)
• Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei series (2007–2010)
• Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two. series (2007–2008) [Supervisor]
• Mahō Sensei Negima!: Shiroki Tsubasa Ala Alba (2008)
• Maria Holic series (2009-2011)
• Natsu no Arashi! series (2009)
• Monogatari series (2009-2014)
• Mahō Sensei Negima! : Mō Hitotsu no Sekai (2009)
• Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010)
• Arakawa Under the Bridge series (2010)
• Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (2010)
• Katte ni Kaizou (2011)
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011-2013)
• Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (2011)
• Sasami-san@Ganbaranai (2013)
• Nisekoi (2014)
• Mekakucity Actors (2014)
• Koufuku Graffiti (2015)
• Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (2017)

Unit director

• Karakuri Kengōden Musashi Lord (1990)
• Marude Dameo (1992)
• YuYu Hakusho (1992)
• Kyōryū Wakusei (1993)
• Montana Jones (1994)
• Ninku (1995)
• Midori no Makibaō (1996)
• Kaiketsu Zorro (1996)
• Fate/EXTRA CCC (2013) [Opening movie]

Storyboard

• YuYu Hakusho (1992)
• Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: Siren's Sadness (1995)
• Kaiketsu Zorro (1996)
• Saber Marionette J (1996) [Opening movie]
• Saber Marionette J Again (1997) [Opening movie]
• Saber Marionette J to X (1998)
• Tatsunoko Fight (2000) [Opening movie]
• Denkō Sekka Volter (2000) [Opening movie]
• The God of Death (2005) [Opening movie]
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica Concept Movie (2015)