Yoshimi Itazu

Born in 1980, Itazu joined the animation industry at 18. In his career he has already worked as key animator with legendary directors such as Satoshi Kon (Paprika) and Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises, The Boy and the Heron). He made his debut as character designer and lead animator with Keiichi Hara’s Annecy-winning feature film Miss Hokusai (2015). His first directorial effort, the short Pigtails (2015), garnered 24 awards. In 2017, he contributed to his first TV series, Welcome to the Ballroom (2017) as key animator and assistant action animation director.