Hideaki Anno

Infobox_Person
name = Hideaki Anno (庵野秀明)


image_size = 200px
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1960|05|22
birth_place = Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
death_date =
death_place =
death_cause =
known_for = "Neon Genesis Evangelion"
occupation = Animator, director
spouse = Moyoco Anno

nihongo|Hideaki Anno|庵野秀明|Anno Hideaki, born 22 May 1960 in Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan, is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion". His style has come to be defined by the touches of superflatism and postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions, often through unconventional sequences incorporating psychoanalysis and emotional deconstruction of these characters. He married comics artist Moyoco Anno in 2002.

Anime directed by Anno that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been in 1990, Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995 and 1996, and The End of Evangelion in 1997.

Biography

Early work

Anno began his career after attending Osaka University of Arts as an animator for the anime series "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" (1982–1983).cite web |url=http://www.gainax.co.jp/hills/anno/bymyself-e.html |title=Official biography |publisher=Gainax |accessdate=2007-05-24 ]

However, he wasn't a recognized talent until the release of his work on Hayao Miyazaki's 1984 film "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind". Running short on animators, the film's production studio posted an ad in the famous Japanese animation magazine Animage, announcing that they were in desperate need of more animators. Anno, in his early twenties at the time, read the ad and headed down to the film's studio, where he met with Miyazaki and showed him some of his drawings. Impressed with Anno's work, Miyazaki hired him to draw some of the most complicated scenes near the end of the movie,Studio Ghibli, "The Birth of Studio Ghibli" video, c. 2003 (included on UK Nausicaä DVD)] and regarded his work highly. [cite web |url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/archive/news/2006/05/20060504p2g00m0fe019000c.html |title=Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga |publisher=MSN News |date=2007-05-25 |accessdate=2007-05-24 ]

Anno went on to become one of the co-founders of Gainax in December 1984. He worked as an animation director for their first feature-length film, ' (1987), and ultimately became Gainax's premiere anime director, helming the majority of the studio's projects such as "Gunbuster" (1988) and ' (1990–1991).cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0030417/ |title=IMDB Profile |publisher=IMDB |accessdate=2007-05-24 ] However, Anno fell into a four-year depression following "Nadia" — the series was handed down to him from NHK from an original concept by Hayao Miyazaki (of which "Castle in the Sky" is also partly based upon) and he was given very little creative control.

"Neon Genesis Evangelion"

Anno's next project was the anime TV series nihongo|Neon Genesis Evangelion|新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|Shin Seiki Evangelion, (1995–1996), which would be recognized as one of the most influential animated series of all time, championing a return to older styles of drawing and themes in Japanese animation and taking them to new heights of precision and depth. Many believe that Anno's four-year period of depression was the main source for many of the psychological elements of the series and its characters, as he wrote down on paper many of the trials and tribulations of his condition. During the show's production, Anno became disenchanted with the Japanese "otaku" lifestyle, considering it a form of forced autism. For this and other reasons (although perhaps by design as well), "Evangelion"'s plot became increasingly dark and psychological as the series progressed, despite being broadcast in children's television timeslot. Anno felt that people should be exposed to the realities of life at as young an age as possible, and by the end of the series all attempts at traditional narrative logic were abandoned, with the final two episodes taking place within the main character's minds. (However, many suspect that the exclusion of narrative action was due largely to lack of funding and threats of cancellation from the network.) The show did not garner high ratings at its initial time slot, though it was soon moved to a later, more adult-oriented venue and became exceptionally popular throughout Japan.

After the ending of Evangelion, Anno received numerous letters and emails from fans, both congratulating him on the series and criticizing the last two episodes. Among these were death threats and letters of disappointment from fans who thought Anno had ruined the series for them. Soon, a project was launched to create a movie with a new ending for the series in 1997, eventually culminating in the controversial "The End of Evangelion".

Following the release of Evangelion, Anno appeared on the NHK TV-documentary "Welcome Back for an Extracurricular Lesson, Sempai!", answering many Evangelion related questions, including the origin of the name Evangelion. [Hideaki Anno talks to kids. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/buried-treasure/2007-05-03]

Recent work

After "Evangelion", Anno directed a significant portion of the 1998 anime series Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō (known in English as "His and Her Circumstances" or "Kare Kano" for short) — the first Gainax work to be directly adapted from previously-written material — until disputes with both the show's sponsors and the original manga author ended in the director's departure, leaving the show in the hands of his protegé, Kazuya Tsurumaki (see also "FLCL"). Since that dispute, Anno has gone on to work with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli on several short films which have been shown at the Ghibli Museum.

The director has also made forays into live-action films, beginning with "Love & Pop" (1998), a cinéma vérité-style film about enjo kosai ("compensated dating", a form of teenage prostitution) in Japan, of which a major portion was shot on miniature digital cameras with constantly shifting aspect ratios. He won Best New Director Award at 1998 Yokohama Film Festival for the film. Asumi Miwa who played the lead role won Best New Talent award respectively. His second live-action film, "Shiki-Jitsu" (2000) ("Ritual Day" or "Ceremonial Day"), is the story of a burnt-out former animation director (played by popular indie director Shunji Iwai) who falls in love with a woman disconnected from reality. Though an experimental work like "Love & Pop", this film was shot using the more traditional 2.35:1 aspect ratio and has a generally more polished presentation, eschewing the cinéma vérité grittiness of Anno's first live-action film. This movie earned him Best Artistic Contribution Award at Tokyo International Film Festival and very positive reviews.

Anno's third live-action film, released in the summer of 2004, was an adaptation of the manga and anime franchise "Cutie Honey". A stark contrast to his earlier, more realist live-action works, "Cutie Honey" is a lighthearted fantasy/superhero movie. Later in 2004, Anno supervised but did not direct the three-part OVA, "Re: Cutie Honey". The directors are Hiroyuki Imaishi (part 1), Takamichi Ito (part 1), and Masayuki (part 3).

Also released in 2004 was the movie nihongo|"Funky Forest"|ナイスの森|Nice no Mori, in which Anno makes several acting cameos: as the student in the front row of the "Home Room!" skit sitting next to Hataru, in "Who's the Director?" as an animator who feels he is being overworked, and finally in "Singles Picnic" he is among the men awaiting females who never come. [cite web
url = http://www.nice-movie.com
title = ナイスの森
accessdate = 2007-05-27
publisher = Tōga
date = 2007-05-27] Failed verification|date=September 2007

On August 1, 2006, Hideaki Anno's official website was updated with job listings for key animators and production staff at a company he founded, Studio Khara. [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=9318] In September 2006, it is reported by the October edition of the Japanese animation magazine Newtype that the new cinema series "Rebuild of Evangelion" will be released in the summer 2007. [cite web
url = http://mizuki.onmitsu.jp/warehouse/festival/10th/index.html
title = NEON GENESIS EVANGELION RENEWAL ANIMATION MOVIE
accessdate = 2006-09-07
publisher = meguriaite
date = 2006-09-06 ] On September 9, 2006, GAINAX's official website confirmed that four new Evangelion movies are in the works. The first three movies will be an alternate retelling of the TV series (including many new scenes, settings, backgrounds, characters), and the fourth movie will be a completely new conclusion to the story. Hideaki Anno will write the scenario for the first movie and will be the general director and manager for the entire project. Kazuya Tsurumaki will direct the movies while Yoshiyuki Sadamoto will provide character designs and Ikuto Yamashita will provide mechanical designs. Shinji Higuchi will provide storyboards for the first movie. The first one will be launched in Summer 2007, the second in 2008, and the third and final movies will be shown together in Summer 2008. On February 17th, 2007, Anno published an official statement [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-20/hideaki-anno-releases-statement-about-new-evangelion-movies] on the Japanese [http://eva.yahoo.co.jp/gekijou/index.html#movie Yahoo Portal] for the films regarding his personal involvement and goals in their production. [cite web
url = http://www.evangelion.co.jp/theater.html
title = REBUILD OF EVANGELION
accessdate = 2006-09-12
publisher = Gainax
date = 2006-09-10 ]

Filmography

Director

* "Gunbuster" (1988)
* "" (1990–1991)
* "Shin Seiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion)" (1995–1996)
* "" (1997) [Executive Director]
* "The End of Evangelion" (1997) [Executive Director]
* "Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances)" (1998)
* "Love & Pop" (1998)
* "Shiki-Jitsu" (2000)
* (2002 short film)
* "Cutie Honey" (2004)
* "" (2004) [Supervising Director]
* "Rebuild of Evangelion" (2007-2008) [Executive Director]

toryboards

* "Gunbuster" (1988)
* "" (1990–1991)
* "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995–1996)
* "The End of Evangelion" (1997)
* "Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances)" (1998)
* "Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden" (2001)
* "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" (2002)
* "Gunbuster 2" (2004-2006)
* "Sugar Sugar Rune" (2005-2006)

Animator

* "Macross" (1982-1983)
* "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984)
* "Birth" (1984)
* "" (1987)
* "Crystal Triangle" (1987)
* "Grave of the Fireflies" (1988)
* "Gunbuster" (1988)
* "Madox-01" (1988)
* "Crimson Wolf" (1993)
* "Macross Plus" (1994)
* "Macross Plus Movie Edition" (1995)
* "Shin Seiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion)" (1995–1996)
* "The End of Evangelion" (1997)
* "Sugar Sugar Rune" (2005-2006)

Actor

* "FLCL" (2000), (voice of Miyu-Miyu, uncredited)
* "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" (2002), (cameo role in Episode 12, uncredited)
* "Cutie Honey" (2004), (office worker)
* "The Taste of Tea" (2004), (cameo, anime director)
* "Nihon Chinbotsu" (2006) - Actor
* "Koi no Mon (Otakus in Love)" (2004) - Cameo
* "Welcome to the Quiet Room (Quiet room ni yôkoso) (2007), (doctor)

References

External links

* [http://www.gainax.co.jp/hills/anno/bymyself-e.html English profile page] , Gainax
* [http://www.gainax.co.jp/hills/anno/ Hideaki Anno Official site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0030417/ Hideaki Anno's IMDb Listing]
* [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0028520.htm Anno Hideaki's JMDb Listing]
*

Persondata
NAME=Hideaki Anno
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Japanese anime director
DATE OF BIRTH=22 May 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH=Ube, Japan
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=