12 Female Directors Who Are Creating Your Favorite Anime 

12 Female Directors Who Are Creating Your Favorite Anime

It's no secret that Japan is sexist (ranked 104 worst out of 142 countries for gender equality) and this spills over into anime, most prominently in the lack of ladies that have directed anime.

Fortunately, things have been changing in the industry. We have seen a small increase in female directors and many of them are some of the most talented young directors in the industry who have been at the helm of some of your favorite recent shows (Blood Blockade, anyone?)

Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

Sayo Yamamoto is one of anime's raising stars. She has directed two critically acclaimed works, and won the New Face award at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2012 for her 

. While Yamamoto is new to leading a whole series, she has worked 

Yoshimura Ai has been making waves, having directed 

. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Ai has worked as an episode director on 

Atsuko Ishizuka is one of the more respected female directors, but she never intended to enter that industry. Reportedly to have never watched anime while growing up, Ishizuka was planning on joining the music industry, but an animated short she made caught the attention of Madhouse. Since then, she has directed the acclaimed 

Naoko Yamada is one of KyoAni's youngest directors. 

 netted a New Face Award for Yamada at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2014.

Another one of KyoAni's young female talents, Hiroko Utsumi has only directed 

 so far. She has appeared as an episode director on 

Chiaki Kon has been in the anime industry since 1998, and has built up a diverse portfolio. She's directed horror (

Fans of stylized anime should keep an eye on Rei Matsumoto. Matsumoto's first major work was directing the 

Kiyoko Sayama is one of the most successful female anime directors, and has been in the industry since 1993. Starting out as a storyboard artist on the long-running 

. Since then, she has frequently appeared as an episode director on

Soubi Yamamoto is known for directing yaoi OVAs and for making the best of a small budget. 

is her first mainstream series, but she has not forgot her yaoi roots and is still directing yaoi.

Kotono Watanabe made her directorial debut in 2012 with 

Mitsuko Kase is one of the more important female directors you have never heard of. She has worked on 

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory as an episode director, and 

as a script writer before making her directorial debut in 2002 with 

Noriko Takao started her career at KyoAni as an inbetween artist of 

 (back when KyoAni was an outsource company). She quickly became an episode director on 

before joining A-1 Pictures to make her directorial debut in 2012 with 

Aaron Magulick has been a fan of anime ever since being exposed to it in the late '90s. A fan of nearly all genres, he is not afraid to explore the creepier side of the industry. Feel free to connect with him on GoBoiano Social.

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