Hiroyuki Imaishi

Hiroyuki Imaishi
Birth Name	今石 洋之
Rōmaji	Imaishi Hiroyuki
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	October 4, 1971
Place of Birth	Tokyo, Japan
Occupation(s)	Anime director, animator, character designer
Years Active	1995-present
Role(s)	Director (seasons 1-2)

Hiroyuki Imaishi (今石 洋之, Imaishi Hiroyuki; born October 4, 1971) is a Japanese animator and animation director who served as the animation director for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt along with several other projects at Gainax. He would later co-found with several other former Gainax members Studio Trigger, which eventually gained the rights to Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt in 2023 and produced its second season, which has begun in July of 2025.

Biography

Hiroyuki Imaishi was born on October 4, 1971 in Tokyo, Japan. Hiroyuki used to draw doujinshi manga until he began working with Gainax in 1995 as an animator for Neon Genesis Evangelion. He would stay as an animator until 2002, when he directed an episode of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.

In 2007, he made his anime director debut with Gurren Lagann, which won him lots of awards and accolades, including awards for Best Television Production and Best Character Design in the Tokyo International Anime Fair. In 2011, one year after directing Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, he left Gainax and co-founded Studio Trigger with several other Gainax employees. Hiroyuki would direct several more highly successful anime, the biggest of which being Kill la Kill.

Hiroyuki's biggest inspiration is Yoshinori Kanada. Yoshinori's influence has been shown in several of Hiroyuki's shows, such as Dead Leaves, Gurren Lagaan, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

Credits

• "Excretion Without Honor and Humanity" - script, storyboard, episode direction
• "Death Race 2010" - storyboard
• "Raiders of the Nasal Dark" - script
• "Les Diaboliques" - plot, storyboard
• "...Of the Dead" - plot
• "Inner Brief" - plot
• "D.C. Confidential" - storyboard
• "Bitch Girls" - episode direction
• "Bitch Girls: 2 Bitch" - storyboard, episode direction
• "Panty & Stocking in Sanitarybox":
  • "Heroine Interview" - storyboard
  • "Geek of the Dead" - storyboard
  • "Map of the Daten City" - storyboard
  • "Brothers of the Roundhead" - storyboard
  • "District B" - storyboard
  • "The Bad Hairdresser's Wife" - storyboard
  • "Bitch Flash" - storyboard

Filmography

Notable works (director)

• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002; episode 3)
• Dead Leaves (2004)
• Re: Cutie Money (2004; episode 1)
• Oval x Over (2005)
• Gurren Lagann (2007)
• Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010)
• Kill la Kill (2013)
• Japan Animator Expo (2015; "Sex & Violence with Machspeed")
• Space Patrol Luluco (2016)
• Promare (2019)
• Star Wars: Visions (2021; "The Twins")
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
• New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT (2025)