25 Best Anime Animators Of All Time


Best Anime Animators Of All Time

Animation is a type of art that has developed well beyond its original ideas. This may be seen in commercials, cartoons, and other forms of animation every day. So we’ll be looking at the Best Anime Animators of All Time. Anime, on the other hand, is a type of animation that has rapidly grown in both popularity and quality since its inception.

These are the individuals that created some of the most well-known anime. They should be honoured for their contributions to the genre. The creators of anime industry have produced works that go beyond their genre and even their place of origin.

Also Read: 20 Most Overrated Anime Characters

25. Shingo Yamashita

Jujutsu Kaisen
Credits – Twitter

One of the important individuals of the “Web Generation” is Yamashita, who was among the first to get hired inside the sector without any official training and instead after showcasing his talent by uploading animated gifs online. He animated the Jujutsu Kaisen Opening, he deserves to be on the list of best anime animators of all time.

The EDs for Birdy the Mighty Decode and Shinsekai Yori, where he handled every part of the animation production, show that he still has a great eye for delicate and realistic character animation, inspired by artists like Norio Matsumoto.

His terrifying, man-eating giants haunting humanity’s apocalyptic vision is what gave us our favourite anime, Attack on Titan. I mean he is the Best Anime animator of all time.

24. Satoshi Kon

Satoshi Kon Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – MidnightEye

One of the rare anime creators who wasn’t also a mangaka was Satoshi Kon. This indicates that he was a solely dedicated animator, which was evident. With the 1997 release of Perfect Blue, a movie that immediately attained cult status, he began his career as an animator.

Kon contributed to a number of further motion pictures and animated programs throughout his career as an active animator. He specialized in complex shots with fluid animation, which demonstrated his mastery of the form.

23. Atsuko Ishizuka

Atsuko Ishizuka Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – ComingSoon.net

The path Ishizuka took to become an animator was unconventional by Japanese industry standards. She did not grow up watching anime on television like many of her peers did; instead, she became interested in music and graphic design.

Ishizuka created a lot of short animated films for her own delight while she was a student at the art school, frequently with music. Ishizuka has since worked as a staff animator on Madhouse productions and directed Sen no Hana Sen no Sora, another short for Minna no Uta.

22. Yutaka Nakamura

My Hero Academia
Credits – Splikat

Japanese animator, designer, and director of photography Yutaka Nakamura. Bones is his current employer. One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, Eureka Seven, Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Cowboy Bebop all included major animation from him.

He was also the lead animator for Jujutsu Kaisen. He is regarded as one of the greatest action cinematographers of his generation in the world of animation because of his dynamic and distinctive action sequences, which frequently heavily rely on impact frames.

21. Takehiko Inoue 

Takehiko Inoue Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – TheCollector

Takehiko is a fantastic artist who began as an unassuming worker with an undeveloped aesthetic. He simply tried to make it better, giving us Slam Dunk and Vagabond, two of his best-known creations. Slam Dunk is a success that I hope to look back on and regard as a source of my own inspiration, even though he hasn’t yet finished Vagabond.

Japanese manga artist Takehiko Inoue creates comic books. He is well known for the jidaigeki manga Vagabond and the basketball series Slam Dunk, two of the most popular manga ever produced. Given that Inoue is a major basketball fan, a lot of his works are on the sport.

20. Shinichiro Watanabe

Shinichiro Watanabe
Credits – Otaquest

Shinichiro Watanabe is one of those best anime animators who does something amazing once in a lifetime, then vanishes. Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop are two of his most popular works.

Due to the innovation, they introduced anime as a form of animation and its well-written characters and plot, both of these series are well-known in the animation business.
Shinichiro Watanabe is a Japanese anime television and film director.

Watanabe was born on May 24, 1965. His work is distinguished by evocative musical choices, mature topics, and the blending of several genres.

19. Kentaro Miura

Kentaro Miura Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Kotaku

One of the greatest manga artists in the history of the genre is Kentaro Miura. His most well-known manga, Berserk, has been published since 1987. Despite of some setbacks, he continued to work on Berserk’s dark fantasy as of 2021.

One of those series that had a profound impact on many other genres of art, such as anime and manga, was Berserk. The tale had an amazing progression, and Miura’s artwork was of the highest calibre. However, Miura passed dead in May 2021.

Although it’s disappointing that Berserk was never animated in a fashion that did the entire series justice, Miura will always be cherished.

18. Sui Ishida

Sui Ishida Tokyo Ghoul
Credits – CosmoNerd

The next Best Anime Animator of all time is Sui Ishida. Ishida is most known for his dark fantasy work Tokyo Ghoul, which tells the tale of a young man named Ken Kaneki who meets a ghoul and is thereafter changed into one.

The serial then ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine from 2011 to 2014, and in 2014, a light novel and anime series were created from it. The manga was also translated into English, where it became 2015’s No. 1 Best Seller on The New York Times List.

17. Sorachi Hideaki 

Sorachi Hideaki Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Crunchyroll

Next on the Best Anime Animator of All Time is Sorachi Hideaki. While Hideaki is a component of his true name, Sorachi has claimed that his pen name is derived from the Hokkaido prefecture of Sorachi. In the end notes of manga volumes, he occasionally tells tales about his older sister.

Researchers have said that Sorachi’s distinctively funny characters and satire of modern themes are to blame for the Gin Tama series’ success. It is “gently presenting the life of a loser, a really attractive type of humanity and realism,” according to Sorachi, who also claims that the popularity of the manga’s characters is a result of their sympathetic, flaws.

16. Noriaki Kubo

Noriaki Kubo Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Alchetron

Tite Kubo, a stage name for Noriaki Kubo makes it on the Best Anime Animators of All Time too. I’ve never seen anything more lovely than this kind of art. It expertly conveys emotions and makes it easy to see oneself in the characters’ situations. I adore how he prefers to focus on the persons themselves rather than the settings.

The Japanese manga artist and character designer know what he does. The battle sequences flow naturally and make sense. His manga series Bleach, which sold more than 130 million copies as of 2022, is the one for which he is best known.

15. Hiro Mashima

Hiro Mashima Fairy Tail
Credits – AnimeCorner

Amazing mangaka Mashima-Sensei deserves to be on at least the Best Anime Animators top 10 list. He consistently releases at least one Fairy Tail manga chapter each week while also working on other series including Fairy Tail Zero, the Ice Trail narrative, and Fairy Girls. Mashima-Sensei posts drawings on his Twitter account frequently in addition to this.

Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga artist who was born on May 3, 1977. With his first serial Rave Master, he found success. He has a terrific sense of humour and is an accomplished artist, but his greatest talent is for coming up with brilliant stories for his comics.

14. Hirohiko Araki 

Hirohiko Araki Jojo
Credits – MicDrop

Japanese manga artist Hirohiko Araki was born on June 7, 1960. He is most known for the enduring series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, one of the all-time top-selling manga series, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1987 and has since sold over 120 million copies. From his early writing days to the writer he is today, he has experienced some of the greatest growth.

Anyone who conducts even a modest amount of study is likely to concur. Hirohiko Araki is a special instance that consistently goes above and beyond to contribute something distinctive to his work. a talented writer who has a creative spirit.

13. Naoki Urasawa

Naoki Urasawa Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – DigitalArts

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese musician and manga artist who can create two series at once for the majority of his professional career and has been drawing manga since he was four years old.

Additionally original is his art. It has a highly appealing appearance and is clear, crisp, and straightforward. Unexpectedly, his work perfectly complements his narrative, whether they are slice-of-life tales or bleak psychological thrillers (Monster).

In his manga, even the slightest elements can become monumental. Each of his characters has a distinct personality and appearance.

12. Rumiko Takahashi

Rumiko Takahashi Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – ToonsMag

Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi creates comic books. Takahashi is one of Japan’s most well-known and wealthy manga artists with a career that spans multiple commercially successful works, starting with Urusei Yatsura in 1978.

Her books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and have been translated into a number of languages. The creator of the popular animated shows Ranma 12 and Inuyasha, which especially appealed to female viewers, is Rumiko Takahashi.

11. Yoshihiro Togashi

Yoshiro Togashi Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – PledgeTimes

I have a lot of respect for many manga artists, but Togashi’s mind is truly unique. I adore this man’s mentality. He started creating comics at a young age, and while he was still in college, the publishing house Shueisha noticed his potential.

Over the past three decades, Togashi has written several manga series in many genres. His most well-known works include the YuYu Hakusho and Hunter Hunter series, two of the most popular manga ever published.

10. Koyoharu Gotouge

Koyoharu Gotouge Demon Slayer
Credits – ComicBook.com

Our list of Best Anime Animators Of All Time is incomplete without KoyoAn anime series named Kimetsu no Yaiba is the main source of recognition for Koyoharu Gotouge, a relatively fresh artist. Kimetsu no Yaiba, also known as Demon Slayer, premiered in 2019 to rave reviews from both seasoned and novice anime fans.

However, it’s important to note that a movie based on the anime was produced in 2020, continuing the story. This film has surpassed all other anime films produced by Miyazaki, Oda, and Toriyama in terms of global box office revenue in less than a year.

9. Hiromu Arakawa

Hiromu Arakawa Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – TheOuterhaven

Next on the Best Anime Animators list is Hiromu Arakawa. Full Metal Alchemist is the only series that Hiromu Arakawa has produced that has garnered widespread notice. This television series contributed to the acceptance of anime as a widely accessible medium.

Full Metal Alchemist is currently thought of by the general public as one of the best-written and developed stories in the whole history of animation.

8. Ken Sugimori

Ken Sugimori Pokemon
Credits – Danksoups

Ken Sugimori is next on the list of best anime animators of all time. The significance of Ken Sugimori can be summed up in one word: Pokémon. Since the franchise’s inception, he has served as its primary designer, and he continues to do so now.

He continues to be in charge of creating new Pokemon for each new generation. Another franchise that has transcended the borders of Japan and permeated the animation sector in all conceivable ways is Pokémon.

7. Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Polygon

Neon Genesis Evangelion is unquestionably Hideaki Anno’s most well-known creation. But before he got to that point, he really started working with Studio Ghibli on some of his early projects. In 1984, he contributed as an animator to Ghibli’s debut film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Later, for the Ghibli film The Grave of the Fireflies, he worked once more for the studio.

Gainax, an animation firm that Anno founded in the same year, went on to create a number of additional animated movies. Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Gainax in 1995, was released that year and had an impact that no one in the production company could have foreseen.

6. Eiichiro Oda

Eiichiro Oda Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – MurphysMultiverse

One of those names that are almost as well-known as Akira Toriyama’s is Eiichiro Oda. He is well known as the author and mangaka of One Piece, the manga that is currently selling the most copies in Japan.

One Piece first began to be serialized in 1997 and soon developed a following among manga fans of the time. One Piece premiered that year after Toei Animation, the same company that sought Toriyama, contacted Oda two years later.

Oda’s ability to sustain a long series like One Piece for such a long period without any significant snags is perhaps his greatest accomplishment.

5. Masashi Kishimoto

Masashi Kishimoto Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Telegraph

One of the most well-known manga-ka, or manga artists, in the world at the age of 34 is Masashi Kishimoto. Tens of millions of books in his long-running Naruto Uzumaki series have been sold worldwide.

Kishimoto seemed a little dazed by the unstoppable popularity of his first significant creation, despite the fact that Naruto may occasionally be insufferably cocky.

The numerous action moments have a visual impact because of Kishimoto’s powerful, straight lines and large swaths of black. The stances of the human figures indicate believable movements, and they are expertly drawn and proportioned.

4. Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Fatos

Akira Toriyama is well-known for a different reason than the other artists we’ve covered, who all contributed to the evolution of the medium in some way. For pushing the bounds of Japan and creating one of the most well-known animated series in the world, Dragon Ball, he is acknowledged as one of the greatest anime creators of all time.

Since 1978, Toriyama has been working as a mangaka. His first work was an original manga named Dr Slump, which at the time was thought to be excellent.

He was shortly approached by Toei Animation, an animation studio, that adapted the manga into an anime series. But it wasn’t until 1984 that he struck gold with the invention of Dragon Ball.

3. Katsuhiro Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomp Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Tuweb Anime

Manga author Katsuhiro Otomo is also a hugely renowned anime creator. Otomo directed and animated a portion of the animation for Akira while also creating the manga. This anime and science fiction movie is regarded as one of the most genre-defining works of art.

The animation and manga for what would be the most costly animated film ever produced in 1988 were both independently created by Otomo at the same time. Since then, Akira has evolved into a movie that every fan of animation is familiar with.

Neo Tokyo, a futuristic science fiction setting that is still in use today, was also made popular by this film.

2. Hajime Isayama

Hajime Isayama Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Yucatan

Japanese author and manga artist Hajime Isayama are well-known for being the brains behind the Attack on Titan franchise series. Isayama, a native of Japan’s Oita Prefecture, studied cartoon design in college and received his big break with the release of his debut television series, Attack on Titan, in 2009.

Isayama was born in Oyama, Oita, Japan, on August 29, 1986. Prior to enrolling in the cartoon design program at the Kyushu Designer Gakuin college, he completed his high school education at the Prefectural Hitarinkou High School. He travelled to Tokyo, where he made his first forays into the world of comics.

1. Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Best Anime Animators Of All Time
Credits – Anime2you

One of, if not the most significant anime creators working today is Hayao Miyazaki. He founded Studio Ghibli, which has created more than 22 films since its founding in 1985.

Miyazaki has held positions such as chief animator, artist, writer, and director in a number of films. Because of his significance to Ghibli and the influence of his films, he is regarded as the founder of contemporary animation.

Ghibli has received acclaim and numerous accolades on a national and international level while being guided by Miyazaki. Half of the ten highest-grossing animated films in Japan are Studio Ghibli creations.

Who is your favourite Mangaka? Let us know in the comments below. Click here for more anime news.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime has the most realistic animation?

Animes by Studio Ghibli have the most realistic animation.

Where can I watch anime for free?

You can watch free anime on Crunchyroll.


Leave a Reply

Scroll to Top