Akiyuki Shinbo
Akiyuki Shinbo (新房 昭之, Shinbō Akiyuki) is a Japanese animation director, and is part of the production team for Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica.
After graduating from the Tokyo Design Institute, Shinbo started his career as an animator in the 1981 anime series, Urusei Yatsura. In 1990, he participated as a unit director in the Studio Pierrot animation Karakuri Kengouden Musashi Road and provided storyboards for YuYu Hakusho in 1992.
Shinbo made his first full directional debut in 1994 with Metal Fighter Miku. His most important work was probably Soul Taker in which he started to develop his own unique directoral style. In 2004 he further defined this in his work on Le Portrait de Petit Cossette with Studio Daume -- a bizarre love story between a man and a painting. Though the plot was simple, Shinbo used surreal, bloody imagery, and strange camera angles to make the series a disturbing and highly atmospheric experience.
Also in 2004, Shinbo was hired by Seven Arcs to work on Triangle Hearts and its popular spin-off mahou shoujo series Mahou Shoujo 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 and applied his directoral aesthetics to nearly every SHAFT production (except for He Is My Master and REC). He also produced the 2009 best-selling television anime series, Bakemonogatari.
During the production of Bakemonogatari and Hidamari Sketch, Shinbo informed producer Atsuhiro Iwakami of his desire to create a magical girl series. Iwakami asked Ume Aoki for original character designs and hired Gen Urobuchi of Nitroplus as scriptwriter to work on their new project, Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica.
Works
- 1994 - Metal Fighter Miku
- 1999 - Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko
- 2001 - The Soul Taker
- 2004 - Le Portrait de Petite Cosette
- 2004 - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
- 2004 - Tsukuyomi: Moon Phrase
- 2005 - Pani Poni Dash!
- 2006 - Negima!?
- 2007 - Hidamari Sketch
- 2007 - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- 2007 - Ef - a tale of memories (supervisor)
- 2008 - Hidamari Sketch x 365
- 2008 - Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- 2008 - Ef - a tale of melodies (supervisor)
- 2009 - Maria+Holic
- 2009 - Natsu no Arashi!
- 2009 - Bakemonogatari
- 2009 - Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- 2009 - Natsu no Arashi! Akinaichu
- 2010 - Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆
- 2010 - Dance in the Vampire Bund
- 2010 - Arakawa Under the Bridge
- 2010 - Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge
- 2010 - Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
- 2011 - Puella Magi Madoka Magica