Shinji Higuchi: Difference between revisions

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'''Shinji Higuchi''' (Japanese: '''樋口真嗣'''), born September 22, 1965, Tokyo, is a writer, director, storyboard artist and a prominent special effects figure in Japanese film and television. As a teenager he was one of the four founding members of {{wp|Gainax}} (originally established as Daicon Films), working on many anime and {{wp|tokusatsu}} productions. He played an important part in the creation of the popular anime series ''{{wp|Neon Genesis Evangelion}}'', serving as writer, assistant director, and art director/storyboarder. His previous work on the anime ''{{wp|Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water}}'' led the show's director and fellow Gainax member {{wp|Hideaki Anno}} to name Evangelion's protagonist, {{wp|Shinji Ikari}} after him as an inside joke.

Higuchi initially started his career in the mid 80s working within special effects on several {{wp|kaiju}} films, and by the mid 90's had established himself as a master within the field with the release of the acclaimed {{wp|Gamera}} trilogy of films. During this time, he continued to be a storyboarder for anime such as ''{{wp|Gunbuster}}'' and ''{{wp|Otaku no Video}}'', his wife also providing the namesake for the former's heroine, [[Noriko Takaya]].

In addition to his special effects direction, Higuchi branched into CG animation for several tokusatsu films in the early 2000s, and has since directed a number of live-action films. Higuchi became involved within the Pokémon franchise during the production of ''[[M06|Jirachi: Wish Maker]]'' as a storyboard artist in 2004. He was later commissioned to produce the artwork for the new {{TCG|Pokémon LEGEND}} cards that first appeared in the {{TCG|HeartGold & SoulSilver}} expansion of the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]], and went on to co-illustrate all subsequent Pokémon LEGEND cards released in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Series. He was also involved in the art direction of two cards from the {{TCG|Undaunted}} expansion in collaboration with 3D illustrator [[Kent Kanetsuna]].

   

==Works==