The usual disclaimer: this is not intended to be a comprehensive list of anime directors, or even just great ones. There are simply too many to cover in the space I have here, so I’m going to focus on those who specialize in TV animation and those who some folks may not know too much about. Additionally, great talents like Tachikawa Yuzuru who only have a series or two under their belt – impressive as they are – still have to do a little more to establish their resume in order to be logical additions to a list like this one that’s focused on career achievements.
None of this is to say that the great theatrical directors should be overlooked. Miyazaki is anime’s most famous figure, but there’s also Shinkai Makoto, who hasn’t achieved huge box office numbers but has stamped himself among serious fans as one of the greatest visual artists in anime history.
On, then, to the list (in no particular order)…
Shinichirou Watanabe 21s4a
I think any list of television anime directors has to start with Watanabe, the closest thing the medium has to a superstar. Watanabe really exploded into the public consciousness (both in Japan and the West) with Sakamichi no Apollon reveals that Watanabe remains a master of experimental visual styles and integration of music in telling a story.
Akitarou Daichi 4f1l2g
Daichi-sensei is another of the giants of TV anime. His stature is quite different from Watanabe’s, though, in that he’s defined by his work in a specific demographic – shoujo – to the point where’s he’s widely regarded as its unchallenged master. From the seminal shoujo Chi’s Sweet Home – maybe the best series about cat ownership ever.
Hideaki Anno t5w4j
– No director – and writer – is more associated with a single property than Anno is with Kare Kano (marred though it is by its ending), and his stewardship of the online Animator Expo Project, and even live-action (including the "Godzilla" revival) – though he’ll always be defined by the excesses, successes and disasters of "NGE".
Keichi Hara 722q6v
Hara-sensei is primarily a theatrical director, and one associated with live-action films as much as anime. But I’m including him on this list because he’s far less known than the likes of Miyazaki, Takahata or Hosoda, and because he’s responsible for two of the most outstanding anime films of the 21st Century. Colorful that forever stamps him as one of the greats. A story of adolescent alienation and depression set against the backdrop of the serious social problems facing Japan’s youth, Colorful is without exaggeration one of the most powerful and accomplished films in anime history. Not enough people have seen it – you should be one of the ones that has.
Tomomi Mochizuki 5g5z2w
Mochizuki is a name little-known outside serious fan circles, and not universally known within them. But this writer/director is one of the greatest talents in anime. He broke into the industry while barely out of his teens doing storyboards for the old Saraiya Goyou are two of the most beautiful and challenging series in anime – and among the most underrated.
Tatsuyuki Nagai 1f672v
Nagai is another director who’s closely associated with a certain style of anime – character-driven comedies and dramas grounded in realism. With his colleague Kasai Kenichi, Nagai-sensei stamped J.C. Staff as the go-to studio for this sort of anime for years. I might argue (based on Ano Natsu de Matteru – it’s an impressive list.
Masahiro Ando t315m
Ando is perhaps equally as well-known as a TV and film director, which is relatively rare in anime. The list of anime on which Ando-sensei worked reads like an encyclopedia of anime greatness – Akagami no Shirayukihime.
Kenji Kamiyama 6r1k4f
The truth is, the last few years haven't been all that fruitful for Kamiyama Kenji. But anyone who had a series as iconic as he does under his belt would be a strong candidate for this list - that he has two makes his inclusion a slam-dunk. There are those who consider Kamiyma-sensei's Seirei no Moribito to be the finest TV anime of all time when everything - script (which he wrote), direction, cast, music, art and animation - is taken into consideration. Kamiyama took what was already a superb fantasy novel by Uehashi Nahoko and improved on it in every way, making it denser, more complex and more emotionally powerful. Even if he never directs another series, Kamiyama's legacy is secure.
Kenichi Kasai 3ix61
As mentioned, Kenichi-sensei is the other half of J.C. Staff's double-play combination of superb directors. But it's interesting to compare Kenichi to Nagai, because while their sensibilities clearly overlap (and they've worked together on numerous series) Kenichi is both more erratic and more versatile than Nagai. While he's best known for directing two of anime's most-beloved romance shows, Bakuman.
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