Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno
Born	May 22, 1960 (age 65) Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
Occupation	Director, artist, animator, anime creator, screenwriter, actor, producer
Years Active	1981 - present
Spouse	Moyoko Anno (2002 - present)
Website	Official website
External Links

Hideaki Anno is a Japanese director, animator, producer, and special skill director.

Career

Anno has been making some amateur works since he was a self-taught student. While studying in the Art Department of Image Planning at Osaka University of Arts, he founded DAICON FILM and produced special effects works such as Daicon Film's Return of Ultraman in 1983.

After dropping out, he entered the animation industry as an animator and participated in the production of works such as Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

In 1987, Anno joined GAINAX due to his production of GAINAX's founding work Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise. He made his debut as an animation director in 1988, consecutively directing Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. His most famous representative work is Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995).

Anno left GAINAX in 2006 and founded khara, beginning to produce the animated film series Rebuild of Evangelion (2007-2021). He later released three live-action special effects films, including Shin Godzilla (2016), Shin Ultraman (2022, screenwriter), and Shin Kamen Rider (2023). These productions were later united under the collaborative project Shin Japan Heroes Universe (SJHU), developed by Anno together with Toho, Khara, Tsuburaya Productions, and Toei. In 2022, Bandai released the toy "S.J.H.U. PROJECT Shin Universe Robo", a mecha formed by combining Godzilla, Ultraman, Evangelion Unit-01, and Kamen Rider 1's motorcycle, the Cyclone, accompanied by a promotional short film directed by Hiroshi Butsuda.

Works

• Return of Ultraman: MAT Arrow 1 Takeoff Order (1983) - Director
• Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (1987) - Assistant art director and key animator
• Mighty Jack: THE SHADOW FORCE (2004-2005) - Planning
• Shin Ultraman (2022) - Production, planning, screenwriter, etc.

Others

• Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982)
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1984)
• Gunbuster (1988)
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. (1990-1991)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)
• The End of Evangelion (1997)
• Kare Kano (1998-1999)
• Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
• Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2013)
• Shin Godzilla (2016)
• Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)
• Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

Roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2022	Shin Ultraman	Ultraman	Motion capture actor

Gallery

A screenshot from Anno's 8mm film Nakamuraider in 1978

Stills of Hideaki Anno in Daicon Film's Return of Ultraman

An eraser of Hideaki Anno's appearance in the Daicon Film's Return of Ultraman by Bandai Namco

Hideaki Anno participated in the test video of Shin Ultraman as a motion capture actor

Trivia

• Anno is well known for his deep passion for tokusatsu, particularly the Ultraman series, which has heavily influenced his own works, including Neon Genesis Evangelion.
  • According to Anno, his first encounter with Return of Ultraman was in fifth grade. Reflecting on it, he remarked, "As a television drama, this is my favorite show. The cinematography is superb, and the visuals are fantastic." He also credited the series with sparking his fascination with special effects filmmaking.
  • During the Tsuburaya Film Festival 2023, Anno spoke positively about Ultraman Taro and praised the special effects techniques used in Ultraman 80. He shared that it wasn’t until his university years that he truly recognized the value of the series, stating, “I had to reach a certain age to realize just how interesting it is.” While the "Second Ultra Series" received lower ratings from some special effects enthusiasts, and many in Anno’s generation tended to overlook Taro, he expressed a different perspective:

"I can't help but feel it's a shame for those who don't understand how great this work is… It truly is excellent, but its appeal isn't always easy to convey. [...] If someone rejects it as a child, does that mean there's no going back? Ideally, they would come to appreciate it later. I believe that everyone here is either someone who had a change of heart or someone who understood its value from the very beginning."

―Hideaki Anno

• Anno had a discussion with Kyota Kawasaki in 1999 titled "The Current State of Japanese Tokusatsu," which was published in GaZO Vol.2 by Tokuma Shoten.
  • During this discussion, Anno shared his thoughts on the ending of Ultraman Tiga episode 52, "To the Shining Ones." While critics and tokusatsu fans highly praised it for its message that "anyone can become light," a concept that resonated with a broad audience, Anno expressed a different opinion. He argued that this idea allows critics to reaffirm their own sense of identity, comparing it to soccer fans supporting the J.League as a means of maintaining a collective identity.
  • Anno did not agree with the notion that "anyone can become light," instead believing that only those with true ability can do so. He warned that if the message suggests humanity is powerless and incapable of taking action, people will cling to Ultraman, seeking salvation rather than striving to change their circumstances. In the end, he felt that Tiga's metaphor would inevitably revert to that of the original Ultraman.
  • According to "Tsuburaya THE COMPLETE," Anno mentioned that he only watched Ultraman Tiga from the Heisei series and felt the generational limitations. He believed that the Showa series carried the creators' concerns and issues of the time, but by the Heisei era, Ultraman had become a self-referential, self-sustaining entity. He described Tiga as "the 'Ultraman' I designed for a submission magazine," where the imagery was no longer a metaphor but had directly become the main focus of the work. This shift caused the series development to fall into a closed-loop, ultimately only producing replicas. Anno saw this as a problem specific to his generation.
• According to Hyouri Takahashi's account from TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2023, Anno shared his thoughts on Ultraman Z, describing the series as "very interesting." He specifically praised the episodes directed by Koichi Sakamoto, noting their high level of execution. Jokingly, he even remarked, "It feels like Shin Ultraman lost."
  • Additionally, Anno acknowledged Kiyotaka Taguchi's efforts and expressed interest in watching the currently airing Ultraman series. However, he mentioned that he had yet to subscribe to TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION, as he found the subscription fee a bit high, though he planned to join in the future.