Takami Akai (赤井 孝美, Akai Takami, born November 21, 1961) is an illustrator, game creator, character designer and animator born on November 21, 1961, in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, Japan.
Takami Akai | |
|---|---|
 Takami Akai at the Connichi 2008 in Kassel | |
| Born | November 21, 1961 Yonago, Tottori, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | Illustrator, video game creator, character designer and animator |
Career history
edit"There are so many shoot-out games. You kill the bad guys and score points. It's been done, and people expect something totally different. This is a long-term game where you make a commitment and create your own world."
Akai attended Osaka University of Arts majoring in fine art . While studying there, Akai created the character designs for the Daicon III opening animation. The main staff for the Daicon III and Daicon IV opening animations went on to create the animation studio Gainax. Akai was in the same class as Hiroyuki Yamaga and Hideaki Anno.
He was a board member of Gainax. His wife is Kimiko Higuchi. He stepped down from Gainax board after an incident in which he and another employee made disparaging remarks about fan criticisms made on the Japanese Internet forum 2channel.[2] He runs his own company titled NineLives.
He is portrayed by actor Tomoya Nakamura in the 2014 TV Drama Aoi Honō based on the autobiographical manga by his fellow Osaka University of Arts alumnus Kazuhiko Shimamoto. Akai himself cameos in the series as a bathhouse manager in Episode 10.
Works
edit- Aikoku Sentai Dai-Nippon
- Akai Takami Works
- Banner of the Stars (anime, character designs)
- Crest of the Stars (anime, character designs)
- Dennō Gakuen
- Magical Pop'n (package artwork)[3]
- Kaettekita Ultraman (Daicon Film)
- Petite Princess Yucie (anime, original story, character design)
- Princess Maker (game, character design, director)
- Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Eastham, Kim (August 1994). "The Virtual Brat". Wired. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- ^ "Co-Founder Takami Akai Steps Down From Gainax's Board". Anime News Network. 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
- ^ "It Came From Japan! Magical Pop'n". destructoid. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
External links
edit
- Takami Akai at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- NineLives Official Site
- Gainax Net
- (in French) Akai interview
- (in French) Gurren Lagann interview
- (in French) Lagann Archived 2015-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Daicon interview