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Hisaharu Iijima

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Hisaharu Iijima
飯島 寿治
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Art director, artist
Years active1986–present
Employer(s)Studio Easter [ja] (1986–2004)
Ryuubidou (CEO, 2004–present)
Shaft (2020–present)
Websitehttps://ryubido.jp

Hisaharu Iijima (Japanese: 飯島 寿治, Hepburn: Iijima Hisaharu)[a] is a Japanese art director, background artist, and CEO of art studio Ryuubidou (竜美堂).

Early life

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During high school, Iijima did watercolor and oil painting and decided to go to a vocational school where he found that he liked to paint landscapes and backgrounds.[2] He became a fan of Rembrandt and wanted to paint with expressive light and shadows similar to him.[2]

Career

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Iijima started to work in the anime industry as a background artist at art company Studio Easter [ja] around 1986. In 2003, he was promoted to the role of art director and given responsibilities for Gad Guard and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (2004) alongside studio representative Junichi Higashi [ja] under the collective pseudonym "Easter Princess Group" (イースター姫組),[3] as well as Uta Kata on his own. That year, Iijima left Studio Easter and formed his own company, Ryuubidou, in June. For the next few years, Iijima and his studio worked on a number of series until the director of Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, Akiyuki Shinbo, by then basing himself out of studio Shaft, heard that Iijima had formed his own studio and decided to ask him to be the art director for the studio's upcoming Hidamari Sketch series that was in pre-production.[4] Shinbo considered Iijima to be a key artist responsible for the core foundations of Hidamari Sketch alongside (at the time) art designer Tatsuya Oishi and chief director Ryouki Kamitsubo throughout its run, even as the latter two were no longer involved in its later seasons.[5] From that point on, Iijima worked mainly with Shinbo and Shaft's productions while occasionally taking on jobs elsewhere. He took over the role of art director for Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei in its first OVA series and third season,[6] and in 2009 was the art director for Oishi and Shinbo's Bakemonogatari, a work considered to have pushed Shaft "into fame."[7][8]

Regarding the style of Bakemonogatari, visual director Nobuyuki Takeuchi had interest in the photography works of Sadahiro Koizumi and had shown Shinbo and Oishi; as they liked the idea, Shinbo told Iijima to keep the photographs in mind while working on Monogatari, and Takeuchi asked Iijima to stick closely to the photos where possible.[9][10] Iijima also found it interesting to paint both foreground objects and parts of the backgrounds with solid white colors and white gradients which became a staple of the series' art direction even through seasons he was not in charge of.[11] He approached the background painting with a relatively 'ordinary' color scheme at first which changed when Oishi made certain corrections. Alongside his other Shaft works and occasional works to other production houses, Iijima continued as the art director for Hidamari Sketch until its final release in 2013 and Monogatari until 2014. By that time, with Hanamonogatari, Iijima was joined by art director Ken Naitou from Studio Tulip who would take over as art director for the succeeding television works of the series while Iijima focused his and Ryuubidou's efforts on the Kizumonogatari film trilogy. He thought that Naitou might have been intimated when he took over his responsibilities, but felt relieved seeing Naitou's work on Owarimonogatari (2015) and that he could continue to make interesting pictures that even he couldn't.[12] Kizumonogatari had a very different approach to the rest of the Monogatari series, however, as director Oishi was adamant about using live-action photography for all of the shots of the sky and using 3DCG for most of the buildings and environmental shots besides the close-ups.[12] Since the overall artistic direction heavily leaned on the 3D backgrounds, Iijima even joked about whether or not he'd lose his job on the film.[12]

Following Kizumonogatari, Iijima was the art director for Stan Lee and Hiroshi Nagahama's The Reflection (2017) at Studio Deen,[13] as well as Takeuchi and Shinbo's Fireworks (2017) at Shaft. He continued to contribute background art through Ryuubidou for the next several years, but did not take on another job as art director until 2021 with a promotional short for the Bakemonogatari manga adaptation.[14] By then, much of the Ryuubidou staff had left and Shaft founded its own art department with Iijima taking on the role of technical advisor at the studio.[2] In 2023, director Hiroshi Nishikiori, whom Iijima had worked with several times in the 2000s, made a direct request to Iijima for a screen background to be used in Idolish 7 the Movie.[15] Although busy with other work, Iijima accepted the request and ultimately drew two and a half screen backgrounds.[15] The next year, he returned as the art director for the Monogatari franchise with Off & Monster Season.[16]

Works

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Teleivison series

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Year Title Director(s) Studio Art director Background artist Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1994 Mobile Fighter G Gundam Yasuhiro Imagawa Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
1995 El Hazard: The Wanderers Katsuhito Akiyama AIC Shigemi Ikeda Yes
1996 City Hunter: The Secret Service Kenji Kodama Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
The Vision of Escaflowne Kazuki Akane Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
1998 Cowboy Bebop Shinichiro Watanabe Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
Neo Ranga Toshiyuki Tsuru
(25–48) 		Pierrot Yuuji Ikeda Yes
Gasaraki Ryōsuke Takahashi Sunrise Shigemi Ikeda Yes
1999 Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko Akiyuki Shinbo J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
Excel Saga Shinichi Watanabe J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
2000 Descendants of Darkness Hiroko Tokita J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
2001 The SoulTaker Akiyuki Shinbo Tatsunoko Production
Tatsunoko VCR 		Junichi Higashi Yes
2002 Ai Yori Aoshi Masami Shimoda [ja] J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
The Twelve Kingdoms Tsuneo Kobayashi Pierrot Junichi Higashi Yes
Saikano Mitsuko Kase Gonzo Junichi Higashi
Toshihiro Kohama 		Yes
2003 Stratos 4 Takeshi Mori Studio Fantasia "Princess Group" Yes
Gad Guard Hiroshi Nishikiori Gonzo
Amber Film Works 		Junichi Higashi
Hisaharu Iijima 		No [17]
2004 Uta Kata Keiji Gotoh Hal Film Maker Hisaharu Iijima No [9]
2005 Oku-sama wa Mahō Shōjo: Bewitched Agnes Hiroshi Nishikiori J.C. Staff Chikako Shibata Yes
Canvas 2: Akane-iro no Palette Itsuro Kawasaki Zexcs Ayumi Kondou Yes
2006 The Good Witch of the West Katsuichi Nakayama Hal Film Maker Hisaharu Iijima Yes
Kemonozume Masaaki Yuasa Madhouse Ryou Kouno [ja] Yes
Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na Masahiko Ohta Daume Hisaharu Iijima Yes [18]
2007 Hidamari Sketch Akiyuki Shinbo
Ryouki Kamitsubo 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
Shattered Angels Tetsuya Yanagisawa TNK Hisaharu Iijima No
2008 Hidamari Sketch x 365 Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
Someday's Dreamers II: Sora Osamu Kobayashi Hal Film Maker Hisaharu Iijima No [9]
2009 Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [6]
Maria Holic Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [19]
Bakemonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [9]
2010 Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenichi Ishikura 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
And Yet the Town Moves Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [13]
2011 Maria Holic Alive Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomokazu Tokoro 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No
Hidamari Sketch x Special Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
2012 Nisemonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [20]
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
Nekomonogatari: Black Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [21]
2013 Monogatari Series Second Season Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura
Naoyuki Tatsuwa
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [22]
2014 Mekakucity Actors Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No Art board [23]
Hanamonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima
Ken Naitou 		No [24]
Wolf Girl and Black Prince Ken'ichi Kasai TYO Animations Hisaharu Iijima No [25]
Tsukimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Ken Naitou No Background art assistance
2015 Owarimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Ken Naitou No Background art assistance
2017 The Reflection Hiroshi Nagahama
Kouichirou Sohtome 		Studio Deen Hisaharu Iijima No [13]
March Comes In like a Lion 2nd Season Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenjirou Okada 		Shaft Seiki Tamura [ja] Yes
2019 Zoku Owarimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Ken Naitou No Background art assistance
2020 Magia Record Doroinu
Yukihiro Miyamoto
Kenjirou Okada
Midori Yoshizawa 		Shaft Ken Naitou Yes
2021 Magia Record: The Eve of Awakening Doroinu
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft Ken Naitou Yes
2022 RWBY: Ice Queendom Toshimasa Suzuki
Kenjirou Okada 		Shaft Ken Naitou Yes Art board [26]
2023 The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Satoshi Kuwabara [ja] Tezuka Productions Masami Saitou No Background art manager
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Kazuki Kawagoe Bug Films Taketo Gonpei Yes
2025 Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi Yukihiro Miyamoto Shaft Hisaharu Iijima TBA [27]

OVAs/ONAs

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Year Title Director(s) Studio Art director Background artist Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1989 Ano Ko ni 1000% Harumi Izawa Visual 80 [ja] Sadako Minamisawa Yes
Megazone 23: Part III Shinji Aramaki Artmic
AIC 		Junichi Higashi Yes
1990 YJ Ban Lemon Angel Tetsurō Amino MI Junichi Higashi Yes
1991 Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Mitsuko Kase [ja]
Takashi Imanishi [ja] 		Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
1992 Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still Yasuhiro Imagawa Mu Animation Studio Masanori Kikuchi
(2) 		Yes
1994 Future GPX Cyber Formula Zero Mitsuo Fukuda Sunrise Shigemi Ikeda [ja] Yes
1995 Sotsugyou: Graduation Katsuhiko Nakajima Studio Fantasia Junichi Higashi Yes
1999 Tenamonya Voyagers Akiyuki Shinbo Pierrot Junichi Higashi Yes
2001 Puni Puni Poemy Shinichi Watanabe J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
Alien Nine Jirou Fujimoto
Yasuhiro Irie 		J.C. Staff Junichi Higashi Yes
2004 Le Portrait de Petit Cossette Akiyuki Shinbo Daume Junichi Higashi
Hisaharu Iijima 		Yes "Easter Princess Group" [3]
2008 Yotsunoha Hiroshi Nishikiori Hal Film Maker Hisaharu Iijima No
Goku Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No
2009 Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Bangaichi Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No
2011 Katteni Kaizō Akiyuki Shinbo
Naoyuki Tatsuwa 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No
2012 Mahou Tsukai Nara Miso wo Kue! Makoto Bessho [ja] AIC Hisaharu Iijima No
2013 Hidamari Sketch: Sae & Hino's Graduation Arc Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [4]
2016 Koyomimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft Ken Naitou No Background art assistance
2021 Bakemonogatari Special Shaft PV Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [14]
2024 Monogatari Series Off & Monster Season Akiyuki Shinbo
Midori Yoshizawa 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima Yes [16]

Films

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Year Title Director(s) Studio Art director Background artist Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1986 Gall Force: Eternal Story Katsuhito Akiyama AIC Junichi Higashi [ja] Yes
They Were Eleven Satoshi Dezaki
Tsuneo Tominaga [ja] 		Magic Bus Junichi Higashi Yes
1989 City Hunter: .357 Magnum Kenji Kodama Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
Akuma-kun Junichi Sato Toei Animation Junichi Higashi Yes
1990 City Hunter: Bay City Wars Kenji Kodama Sunrise Junichi Higashi Yes
2000 Escaflowne Kazuki Akane Bones Junichi Higashi Yes
2007 Sword of the Stranger Masahiro Andou (director) [ja] Bones Atsushi Morikawa Yes
2016 Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [12]
Kizumonogatari II: Nekketsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [12]
2017 Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [12]
Fireworks Akiyuki Shinbo
Nobuyuki Takeuchi 		Shaft Hisaharu Iijima No [28]

Notes

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General notes

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  1. ^ Sometimes misromanized as "Toshiharu Iijima."[1]

Book citations

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  • Kizawa, Yukito; Nakamoto, Muneo; Yanagi, Yuuichi, eds. (2008). Hidamari Sketch Album. Houbunsha. ISBN 978-4832277403.
  • Kizawa, Yukito, ed. (2013). ひだまりスケッチデイズ -TVアニメ公式ガイドブック- [Hidamari Sketch Days: TV Anime Official Guidiebook]. Houbunsha. ISBN 978-4832277403.
  • Kushida, Makoto, ed. (2017). 〈物語〉Febri ["Monogatari" Febri] (in Japanese). Ichijinsha. ASIN B075QWP3NZ.
  • Takahashi, Yumi, ed. (2019). Akiyuki Shimbo x Shaft Chronicle (in Japanese). Dotcom. ISBN 978-4835457017.

References

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  1. ^ "Aniplex of America Announces Blu-ray Release of Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu". Anime News Network. August 17, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Shaft Shizuoka Studio Aoi display, part of the Mirai Innovation Design Exhibit (ミライイノベーションデザイン展) at the Shizuoka City Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Center (静岡市文化・クリエイティブ産業振興センター). October 12, 2024, to November 10, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Interview: Akiyuki Shinbo (WEB Anime Style 2/14/2005) Part 2". Wave Motion Cannon. July 11, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Kizawa, Nakamoto & Yanagi 2008, p. 110-111.
  5. ^ Kizawa 2013, p. 103.
  6. ^ a b "Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei". Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  7. ^ Funimation (May 22, 2020). "The Works of Shaft, From Monogatari to Madoka Magica". Funimation. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Inoa, Christopher (August 27, 2019). "Bakemonogatari pushed studio Shaft into the spotlight". Polygon. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d Kushida 2017, p. 142.
  10. ^ Bakemonogatari KEY ANIMATION NOTE (in Japanese). Media Pal. November 30, 2013. ISBN 978-4896106916.
  11. ^ Takahashi 2019, p. 163.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Kushida 2017, p. 144-145.
  13. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 4, 2017). "Exclusive: Stan Lee and Studio Deen's The Reflection Superhero Anime Casts 9nine Idols". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  14. ^ a b shonenmagazine official (February 17, 2022). 漫画『化物語』シャフト制作特別PV [Manga "Bakemonogatari" Special Shaft Production PV]. YouTube. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Ogata, Miyuki (July 9, 2023). Lee, Seungjin (ed.). アニメの美術監督が描いた『劇場版アイナナ』のスクリーン背景 〜作り手の理想が入った絵を背景に置く [Screen Backgrounds for "iDOLISH 7 the Movie" drawn by the Art Director of the Anime ~ Putting a Picture That Refelcts the Creator's Ideals Into the Background Art]. CG World (in Japanese).
  16. ^ a b Loo, Egan (March 24, 2024). "Monogatari Series Off & monster Season Anime Teaser Confirms Staff, 2024 Launch with Orokamonogatari Story". Anime News Network.
  17. ^ "Gad Guard". Gonzo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 24, 2005. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  18. ^ "Staff / Cast". Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na (in Japanese). TBS. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  19. ^ "Maria Holic". Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  20. ^ "偽 物 語[ニセモノ ガタリ]". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "猫物語[ネコモノガタリ] 黒". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  22. ^ "[〈物　語 〉 モノガタリ　シリーズ セカンドシーズン]". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "Mekakucity Actors". Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  24. ^ "Hanamonogatari". Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  25. ^ "Cast / Staff". Wolf Girl and Black Prince (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  26. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 13, 2022). "1st 3 Episodes of RWBY: Ice Queendom Anime to Stream from June 24–26". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  27. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (November 25, 2024). "Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi Anime Reveals April 2025 Debut, Teaser Video, Staff, More Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Uchiage Hanabi - About The Movie". Uchiage Hanabi (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2018.
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