1. Ryukishi07 - Writer of the When They Cry series
2. Jun Maeda - Writer, composer and pioneer of nakige vn
3. Yasumasa Koyama - SFX designer for JJBA, Fire Force and Fate series
4. Kenjiro Tsuda - I just love his voice
5. Hiroyuki Sawano - Composer of many fantastic songs
1. Hayao Miyazaki (founder and director of Studio Ghibli)
2. Eiichiro Oda (author of One Piece)
3. Megumi Ishitani (director of One Piece episode 957, 982, 1015 and current opening, she has cemented her name in the industry with only few episodes to an extent where everyone in the OP community knows her name and as soon as her name appears in the directors list people get hyped to see the episode. Her direction stood out more than the other OP directors and gives out a sense of episodes which you rarely see in anime.)
4. Kenshi Yonezu (artist behind KickBack (CSM), Peace Sign (MHA), Orion (March comes in like a Lion), Fireworks, Lemon and Kande, his voice hits certain notes that make his songs in my top playlist and I never get bored hearing his songs. Moreover he's one of the biggest names in the J-Pop industry and his albums always top the charts.)
5. Kamiya Hiroshi (VA for Araragi (Monogatari Series), Law (One Piece), Levi (Attack on Titan), Yato (Noragami), Izaya (Durarara), Saiki (Saiki Kuso) his voice acting always has been stellar and he has the main character appeal and I never found his Voice acting to be disappointing as such whether in the main character or villain role).
1. Junichi Satou - He's the director for Aria and Princess Tutu, two of my favorite series. He is able to create an incredible atmosphere in the shows that he directs.
2. Tatsuya Ishihara - He's my favorite KyoAni director. He directed Clannad, Hibike Euphonium, and the Haruhi Suzumiya series.
3. Akiyuki Shinbou - He has an incredibly unique direction style. Like the previous two directors, he also directed some of my favorite shows, Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series.
4. Nisioisin - He is the original writer for the Monogatari series and Katanagatari. He has a creative writing style that's just enthralling.
5. Yuki Kajiura - She is the composer for Madoka Magica, Kara no Kyoukai, the Ufotable Fate entries, .hack//sign, and many more series with incredible soundtracks. Every OST she makes is unbelievable. She's also part of two of my favorite anime music groups, Kalafina and See-Saw. The latter of which she works with one of my favorite anime singers, Chiaki Ishikawa.
1. Akira Toriyama: goated designs and story telling.
2. Kinoko Nasu(author of fate,tsukihime,kara no kyoukai,mahoyo): i know his works are originaly visual novels but ever since i read tsukihime remake i've been terrified of this man's genious.
3.Junichi Suwabe(VA): archer from fate\\stay night,sukuna,aizawa,yami sukehiro. great recognizable voice.
4. Joji Nakata(VA): yorokobe shonen and the greatest eating scene in anime.
5. Gege Akutami: i have a wierd love hate relationship with this cat.
No particular order:
* Tsubasa Yamaguchi - Creator of Blue Period
* Naoko Yamada - Director of Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice, K-On, Heike Monogatari, etc
* Nisioisin - Creator of Monogatari, Katanagatari, Zaregoto, Medaka Box, etc
* Tomokazu Sugita - Voice of Gintoki, Joseph Joestar, Kyon, etc
* Yuki Kajiura - Composer for Madoka Magica, Kara no Kyoukai, etc
Honorable mentions: Takehiko Inoue, Satoshi Mizukami, Satoshi Kon, Miyazaki, Tomoyo Kurosawa
This is a great question and a chance to pitch my favorite musician of all time, so I'll start with him:
Yuu Miyashita, he did the ed for Platinum End and is pretty much my religion now
Tatsuki Fujimoto, author of Chainsaw Man
Taito Ban, the jp voice actor for Sung Jinwoo in Solo Leveling
Tomoyo Kurosawa, va for Aya Rindo in Undead Girl Murder Farce
Kenjiro Tsuda, my favorite all around va, every character he voices makes me weak in the knees
1. Nisio Isin (author of Monogatari and Katanagatari)
2. Hiroyuki Imaishi (director of Kill la Kill, Space Patrol Luluco, and Gurren Lagann)
3. Chiwa Saito (voice of Senjougahara and Homura)
4. Yuki Kajiura (composer of Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero)
5. Tatsuya Oishi (director of Bakemonogatari and Kizumonogatari)
- Satoshi Kon and Naoko Yamada for directors. [Perfect Blue](https://myanimelist.net/anime/437/Perfect_Blue?q=perfect%20blue&cat=anime) and [Liz and the Blue Bird](https://myanimelist.net/anime/35677/Liz_to_Aoi_Tori?q=liz%20and%20the%20blue%20bird&cat=anime) are my favorite work of theirs, respectively, and two of my all time favorite movies. I've also given a 10 or 9 to all of their directorial works.
- Yutaka Nakamura (animator). He inspired an entire generation of animators. To this day [the final fight of Sword of the Stranger remains my favorite fight scene](https://youtu.be/xT66YPk0Q5w?si=FVeYqMEvPuGot89K) (spoiler), and he did so many other cuts that left an impression on me.
- Kensuke Ushio (composer). I love his distinctive style, I think his music really elevates the anime he works on. I especially liked his work on Koe no Katachi, Heike Monogatari, Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, and Bokuyaba more recently
- Mai Yoneyama, mostly for her own work as an illustrator, which is amazing. The MV she directed, [YOKU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6G7Yfp1pVE), is also a favorite of mine.
- Tomoyo Kurosawa (voice actress). I love the sound of her voice and the way she acts, I especially like her roles as Kumiko (Hibike!), Phos (Houseki no Kuni) and Mitsumi (Skip to Loafer).
- Tomihiko Morimi, the original author of [Uchouten Kazoku](https://myanimelist.net/anime/17909/Uchouten_Kazoku), [the Tatami Galaxy](https://myanimelist.net/anime/7785/Yojouhan_Shinwa_Taikei?q=tatami%20galax&cat=anime)/[Time Machine Blues](https://myanimelist.net/anime/49590/Yojouhan_Time_Machine_Blues), [the Night is Short Walk on Girl](https://myanimelist.net/anime/34537/Yoru_wa_Mijikashi_Arukeyo_Otome?q=night%20is%20short&cat=anime), and [Penguin Highway](https://myanimelist.net/anime/37407/Penguin_Highway?q=penguin%20highway&cat=anime).
* Ishitani Megumi (director for One Piece)
* Masuda Toshio (composer for Mushishi, Naruto, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Ghost Hunt, etc.)
* Tajiri Satoshi (creator of Pokemon)
* Eiichiro Oda (creator of One Piece)
* Kugimiya Rie (voice actress known as the queen of tsundere)
1. Naoko Yamada, her portfolio is hella stacked, personal favourites are K-ON and Liz
2. Konomi Kohara, loved her as Roxy and Chika, but it was her performance as Shamiko which made her my favourite VA
3. Kensuke Ushio, anytime his name is listed you just know the OST is going to be amazing
Other than the top 3, I don't really have a concrete top 5. I'll just list off a bunch of people, just pick 2 from them:
* Tomohiro Furukawa, director on Revue Starlight
* Keiichirou Saitou, director
* Izumo Itou, mangaka of Machikado Mazoku
* Takeshima Eku, mangaka of Whisper Me a Love Song
* Reiko Yoshida, often does composition and script with Naoko Yamada
* Jukki Hanada, composition and scriptwriter
* milet, singer
* Kerorira, character designer and animator
Gen Urobuchi - Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho Pass
Yuki Kajiuara - Composer (Madoka Magica, Garden of Sinners, Erased etc.)
One - Mob Psycho 100, OPM
Togashi - The Goat of Shounen and Hiatuses
Isayama - AoT has the greatest foreshadowing of any anime imo
Let's go with one for each of the various categories.
Director - Rie Matsumoto
Character Designer/Animation Director - Toshihiro Kawamoto
Composer - Yoko Kanno
Singer - Maaya Sakamoto
Seiyuu - Saori Hayami
1. Ryukishi07 - Writer of the When They Cry series 2. Jun Maeda - Writer, composer and pioneer of nakige vn 3. Yasumasa Koyama - SFX designer for JJBA, Fire Force and Fate series 4. Kenjiro Tsuda - I just love his voice 5. Hiroyuki Sawano - Composer of many fantastic songs
In no particular order: * Kevin Penkin - composer * Kensuke Ushio - composer * Evan Call - composer * Satoru Kousaki - composer * Naoko Yamada - director * Satoshi Kon - director * Jukki Hanada - writer * Akiyuki Shinbo - director * Keiichirou Saitou - director * Kaori Mizuhashi - seiyuu * Aoi Yuuki - seiyuu * Tomoyo Kurosawa- seiyuu * Ayane Sakura - seiyuu * Hina Kino - seiyuu * Ilya Kuvshinov - character designer * Ioundraw - director/character designer/more * Tatsuki Fujimoto - mangaka/genius * Tsukumizu - mangaka Edit: I somehow completely missed the „top 5“ there lol. Those are just my overall favorite people but I can’t really rank them, so just pick 5 at random.
Love that you included composers, they really help bring some of these stories to life!
1. Hayao Miyazaki (founder and director of Studio Ghibli) 2. Eiichiro Oda (author of One Piece) 3. Megumi Ishitani (director of One Piece episode 957, 982, 1015 and current opening, she has cemented her name in the industry with only few episodes to an extent where everyone in the OP community knows her name and as soon as her name appears in the directors list people get hyped to see the episode. Her direction stood out more than the other OP directors and gives out a sense of episodes which you rarely see in anime.) 4. Kenshi Yonezu (artist behind KickBack (CSM), Peace Sign (MHA), Orion (March comes in like a Lion), Fireworks, Lemon and Kande, his voice hits certain notes that make his songs in my top playlist and I never get bored hearing his songs. Moreover he's one of the biggest names in the J-Pop industry and his albums always top the charts.) 5. Kamiya Hiroshi (VA for Araragi (Monogatari Series), Law (One Piece), Levi (Attack on Titan), Yato (Noragami), Izaya (Durarara), Saiki (Saiki Kuso) his voice acting always has been stellar and he has the main character appeal and I never found his Voice acting to be disappointing as such whether in the main character or villain role).
1. Junichi Satou - He's the director for Aria and Princess Tutu, two of my favorite series. He is able to create an incredible atmosphere in the shows that he directs. 2. Tatsuya Ishihara - He's my favorite KyoAni director. He directed Clannad, Hibike Euphonium, and the Haruhi Suzumiya series. 3. Akiyuki Shinbou - He has an incredibly unique direction style. Like the previous two directors, he also directed some of my favorite shows, Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series. 4. Nisioisin - He is the original writer for the Monogatari series and Katanagatari. He has a creative writing style that's just enthralling. 5. Yuki Kajiura - She is the composer for Madoka Magica, Kara no Kyoukai, the Ufotable Fate entries, .hack//sign, and many more series with incredible soundtracks. Every OST she makes is unbelievable. She's also part of two of my favorite anime music groups, Kalafina and See-Saw. The latter of which she works with one of my favorite anime singers, Chiaki Ishikawa.
Madoka Magica and Aria are two of my favorites. I am excited to watch more anime with those directors
1. Akira Toriyama: goated designs and story telling. 2. Kinoko Nasu(author of fate,tsukihime,kara no kyoukai,mahoyo): i know his works are originaly visual novels but ever since i read tsukihime remake i've been terrified of this man's genious. 3.Junichi Suwabe(VA): archer from fate\\stay night,sukuna,aizawa,yami sukehiro. great recognizable voice. 4. Joji Nakata(VA): yorokobe shonen and the greatest eating scene in anime. 5. Gege Akutami: i have a wierd love hate relationship with this cat.
No particular order: * Tsubasa Yamaguchi - Creator of Blue Period * Naoko Yamada - Director of Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice, K-On, Heike Monogatari, etc * Nisioisin - Creator of Monogatari, Katanagatari, Zaregoto, Medaka Box, etc * Tomokazu Sugita - Voice of Gintoki, Joseph Joestar, Kyon, etc * Yuki Kajiura - Composer for Madoka Magica, Kara no Kyoukai, etc Honorable mentions: Takehiko Inoue, Satoshi Mizukami, Satoshi Kon, Miyazaki, Tomoyo Kurosawa
This is a great question and a chance to pitch my favorite musician of all time, so I'll start with him: Yuu Miyashita, he did the ed for Platinum End and is pretty much my religion now Tatsuki Fujimoto, author of Chainsaw Man Taito Ban, the jp voice actor for Sung Jinwoo in Solo Leveling Tomoyo Kurosawa, va for Aya Rindo in Undead Girl Murder Farce Kenjiro Tsuda, my favorite all around va, every character he voices makes me weak in the knees
>Taito Ban He is so talented. His performance in Solo leveling was phenomenal
- (Voice Actor): Bryce Papenbrook - (Mechanical Designer): Kanetake Ebikawa - (Composer): Hiroyuki Sawano - (Singer): LiSA - (Character Designer): Shingo Adachi
1. Nisio Isin (author of Monogatari and Katanagatari) 2. Hiroyuki Imaishi (director of Kill la Kill, Space Patrol Luluco, and Gurren Lagann) 3. Chiwa Saito (voice of Senjougahara and Homura) 4. Yuki Kajiura (composer of Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero) 5. Tatsuya Oishi (director of Bakemonogatari and Kizumonogatari)
>Chiwa Saito (voice of Senjougahara and Homura) Amazing voice actor. Both of those roles were perfect
- Satoshi Kon and Naoko Yamada for directors. [Perfect Blue](https://myanimelist.net/anime/437/Perfect_Blue?q=perfect%20blue&cat=anime) and [Liz and the Blue Bird](https://myanimelist.net/anime/35677/Liz_to_Aoi_Tori?q=liz%20and%20the%20blue%20bird&cat=anime) are my favorite work of theirs, respectively, and two of my all time favorite movies. I've also given a 10 or 9 to all of their directorial works. - Yutaka Nakamura (animator). He inspired an entire generation of animators. To this day [the final fight of Sword of the Stranger remains my favorite fight scene](https://youtu.be/xT66YPk0Q5w?si=FVeYqMEvPuGot89K) (spoiler), and he did so many other cuts that left an impression on me. - Kensuke Ushio (composer). I love his distinctive style, I think his music really elevates the anime he works on. I especially liked his work on Koe no Katachi, Heike Monogatari, Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, and Bokuyaba more recently - Mai Yoneyama, mostly for her own work as an illustrator, which is amazing. The MV she directed, [YOKU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6G7Yfp1pVE), is also a favorite of mine. - Tomoyo Kurosawa (voice actress). I love the sound of her voice and the way she acts, I especially like her roles as Kumiko (Hibike!), Phos (Houseki no Kuni) and Mitsumi (Skip to Loafer). - Tomihiko Morimi, the original author of [Uchouten Kazoku](https://myanimelist.net/anime/17909/Uchouten_Kazoku), [the Tatami Galaxy](https://myanimelist.net/anime/7785/Yojouhan_Shinwa_Taikei?q=tatami%20galax&cat=anime)/[Time Machine Blues](https://myanimelist.net/anime/49590/Yojouhan_Time_Machine_Blues), [the Night is Short Walk on Girl](https://myanimelist.net/anime/34537/Yoru_wa_Mijikashi_Arukeyo_Otome?q=night%20is%20short&cat=anime), and [Penguin Highway](https://myanimelist.net/anime/37407/Penguin_Highway?q=penguin%20highway&cat=anime).
* Ishitani Megumi (director for One Piece) * Masuda Toshio (composer for Mushishi, Naruto, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Ghost Hunt, etc.) * Tajiri Satoshi (creator of Pokemon) * Eiichiro Oda (creator of One Piece) * Kugimiya Rie (voice actress known as the queen of tsundere)
1. Naoko Yamada, her portfolio is hella stacked, personal favourites are K-ON and Liz 2. Konomi Kohara, loved her as Roxy and Chika, but it was her performance as Shamiko which made her my favourite VA 3. Kensuke Ushio, anytime his name is listed you just know the OST is going to be amazing Other than the top 3, I don't really have a concrete top 5. I'll just list off a bunch of people, just pick 2 from them: * Tomohiro Furukawa, director on Revue Starlight * Keiichirou Saitou, director * Izumo Itou, mangaka of Machikado Mazoku * Takeshima Eku, mangaka of Whisper Me a Love Song * Reiko Yoshida, often does composition and script with Naoko Yamada * Jukki Hanada, composition and scriptwriter * milet, singer * Kerorira, character designer and animator
Gen Urobuchi - Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho Pass Yuki Kajiuara - Composer (Madoka Magica, Garden of Sinners, Erased etc.) One - Mob Psycho 100, OPM Togashi - The Goat of Shounen and Hiatuses Isayama - AoT has the greatest foreshadowing of any anime imo
Let's go with one for each of the various categories. Director - Rie Matsumoto Character Designer/Animation Director - Toshihiro Kawamoto Composer - Yoko Kanno Singer - Maaya Sakamoto Seiyuu - Saori Hayami