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Shinji Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 真嗣, Hepburn: Higuchi Shinji, born September 22, 1965) is a Japanese filmmaker and storyboard artist. Higuchi became known for his work on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, for which he won the Special Technology Award at the 19th Japan Academy Film Prize. In 2005, he made his feature directorial debut on Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean. His second feature film, Sinking of Japan (2006), was second place at the Bunshun Kiichigo Awards. His 2015 live-action two-part film adaptation of Hajime Isayama's manga series, Attack on Titan, won the Excellence in Theatrical Live Action Film award at the 2016 VFX-JAPAN Awards.[1] In 2017, Higuchi and Hideaki Anno won the Director of the Year award at the 40th Japan Academy Film Prize, for their work on the 2016 kaiju film, Shin Godzilla. His 2022 film, Shin Ultraman, was a major success in Japan,[2] and has received generally positive reviews from critics internationally.[3]

Shinji Higuchi
樋口 真嗣
Higuchi in 2016
Born	(1965-09-22) September 22, 1965 (age 57) Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Film director special effects director screenwriter storyboard artist
Years active	1984–present
Notable work	Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Neon Genesis Evangelion Sinking of Japan Attack on Titan Shin Godzilla Shin Ultraman

Biography

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Early life

Higuchi was born on September 22, 1965,[4] in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. When Higuchi was in junior high school, his aunt took him on a tour of Toho Studios, where she worked on commercials. Upon watching Toho's special effects crew at work, Higuchi became inspired and frequently visited the filming sets.[5]

Early career

Higuchi entered the Japanese film industry in 1984, working as an assistant modeler on The Return of Godzilla.[4] Two years later, he directed the special effects for Daicon's tokusatsu fan film Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū.[6]

As a key Daicon/Gainax member, he played an important part in the creation of one of the most popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). He was a writer and art director/storyboarder for the series. He was also the namesake for the show's protagonist, Shinji Ikari.[7] He later voice-acted a musician modeled after himself in two episodes of Karekano.[8]

Higuchi made his directorial debut in 1992 with the disaster film The Day the Sun Fissured: The Great Tokyo Earthquake which he produced for Tokyo Fire Department.[9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	SFX director	Storyboard artist	Miscellaneous	Notes	Ref(s)
1984	The Return of Godzilla	No	No	No	Yes	Assistant modeler	[4]
1985	Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū	No	Yes	No	No		[6]
1987	Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise	No	No	No	Yes	Assistant director	[10]
1988	Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis	No	No	Yes	No		[11]
	Gunbuster	No	No	Yes	No		[12]
1991	Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla	No	Yes	No	No		[13]
1992	The Day the Sun Fissured: The Great Tokyo Earthquake	Yes	No	No	No		[6]
1994	Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still	No	No	Yes	No
1995	Gamera: Guardian of the Universe	No	Yes	No	No		[6]
	Neon Genesis Evangelion	No	No	Yes	Yes	Screenwriter	[14]
1996	Space Ship Remnant 6	No	Yes	No	No		[15]
	Gamera 2: Attack of Legion	No	Yes	No	No		[16]
1997	The End of Evangelion	No	Yes	No	No		[17]
1998	Love & Pop	No	Yes	No	No		[18]
1999	Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris	No	Yes	No	No		[19]
	Betterman	No	No	Yes	No
2000	Sakuya: Slayer of Demons	No	Yes	No	No		[20]
2001	Pistol Opera	No	Yes	No	No		[21]
	The Princess Blade	No	Yes	No	No		[22]
2003	Pokémon: Jirachi—Wish Maker	No	No	Yes	No		[23]
	Dino Crisis 3	No	No	Yes	No
	Dragon Head	No	No	No	Yes	Visual effects designer	[24]
2005	Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean	Yes	No	No	No		[6]
2006	Sinking of Japan	Yes	No	No	No		[6]
	Onimusha	No	No	Yes	No
2007	Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone	No	No	Yes	No		[25]
2008	Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess	No	No	Yes	No		[4]
2009	Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance	No	No	Yes	No		[26]
2010	Monster Magnitude: 9	Yes	No	No	Yes	Also screenwriter
2012	Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo	Yes	No	No	No		[27]
	The Floating Castle	Yes	No	No	No		[28]
	Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo	No	No	Yes	No		[29]
2013	Kill la Kill	No	No	Yes	No
2014	Garm Wars: The Last Druid	No	No	Yes	No		[30]
2015	Attack on Titan	Yes	No	No	No		[31]
	Attack on Titan: End of the World	Yes	No	No	No		[32]
2016	Shin Godzilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	No		[33]
2018	Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan	Yes	No	No	No		[34]
2020	The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8	No	No	No	Yes	Original story	[35]
2021	Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time	No	No	Yes	No		[36]
2022	Ribbon	No	Yes	No	No		[37]
	Shin Ultraman	Yes	No	No	No		[38]
	Kamen Rider Black Sun	No	No	No	Yes	Visual concept designer	[39]
2023	Instigator: Umeyasu Fujieda	No	No	No	Yes	Trailer creator	[40]
	Instigator: Umeyasu Fujieda 2	No	No	No	Yes	Trailer creator	[41]

Accolades

Award ceremony	Year	Work(s)	Category	Result	Note(s)	Ref.
Japan Academy Film Prize	1996	Gamera: Guardian of the Universe	Special Technology	Won		[42]
	2013	The Floating Castle	Director of the Year	Nominated	With Isshin Inudo	[43]
	2017	Shin Godzilla	Director of the Year	Won	With Hideaki Anno	[44]

References

External links

• Shinji Higuchi at IMDb
• 樋口真嗣 (Shinji Higuchi) at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Shinji Higuchi on Twitter

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