Shinji Higuchi

Template:Nihongo is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his tokusatsu blockbusters, Higuchi is considered one of Japan's leading filmmakers of the 21st century.

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. 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, and has received generally positive reviews from critics internationally.

Biography

Early life

Higuchi was born on September 22, 1965, 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.

In 2019, Higuchi told French interviewers about his education: "At the end of high school, when I had to pass the entrance examinations to universities, I failed everything. But since I was in a very popular high school, the school leaders refused to let me leave empty-handed! [laughs] So they said to me: 'you have to pass an exam, any!' I ended up passing my entrance examination for the Japanese Post Office, as a civil servant. I was sorted, locked up in a warehouse."

Early career

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

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. He later voice-acted a musician modeled after himself in two episodes of Karekano.

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.

Personal affairs

Higuchi supports Japan's whaling and consumptions of whale meats in general, and have appeared in the 2023 pro-whaling documentary film by Keiko Yagi, the director of the 2015 film Behind The Cove. The 2023 documentary featured the pro-whaling claim to highlight the necessity of whaling to control the marine ecosystem to prevent declines of fish stocks by whales, which largely affected public opinion regards the issues in Japan. The Fisheries Agency of Japan withdrew the claim in 2009 at the annual meeting of International Whaling Commission, but didn't correct it domestically afterwards. Yagi and Higuchi remarked that "Godzilla is closely connected to whales and environmental issues in naming of the character and other aspects",Template:Efn and expressed their supports for whaling and skeptical views towards veganism.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	SFX director	Storyboard artist	Miscellaneous	Notes	Ref(s)
1984	The Return of Godzilla	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Assistant modeler
1985	Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1987	Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Assistant director
1988	Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Gunbuster	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
1991	The Cat	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	With Kazuo Sagawa; uncredited
	Mikadroid	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1992	The Day the Sun Fissured: The Great Tokyo Earthquake	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
1994	Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
1995	Gamera: Guardian of the Universe	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
	Neon Genesis Evangelion	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Screenwriter
1996	Space Ship Remnant 6	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
	Gamera 2: Attack of Legion	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1997	The End of Evangelion	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1998	Love & Pop	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1999	Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
	Betterman	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2000	Sakuya: Slayer of Demons	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2001	Pistol Opera	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
	The Princess Blade	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2003	Pokémon: Jirachi—Wish Maker	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Dino Crisis 3	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
	Dragon Head	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Visual effects designer
2005	Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
2006	Sinking of Japan	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
	Onimusha	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2007	Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2008	Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2009	Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2010	Monster Magnitude: 9	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Screenwriter
2012	Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
	The Floating Castle	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
	Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2013	Kill la Kill	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2014	Garm Wars: The Last Druid	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2015	Attack on Titan	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
	Attack on Titan: End of the World	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
2016	Shin Godzilla	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
2018	Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
2020	The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Original story
2021	Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No
2022	Ribbon	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
	Shin Ultraman	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
	Kamen Rider Black Sun	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Visual concept designer
2023	Baian the Assassin, M.D.	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Trailer creator
	Baian the Assassin, M.D. 2	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Trailer creator
	Kyrie	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Actor
2024	Brush of the God	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Actor
TBA	The Bullet Train	Template:Yes

Accolades

Award ceremony	Year	Work(s)	Category	Result	Note(s)	Ref.
Japan Academy Film Prize	1996	Gamera: Guardian of the Universe	Special Technology	Template:Won
	2013	The Floating Castle	Director of the Year	Template:Nom	With Isshin Inudo
	2017	Shin Godzilla	Director of the Year	Template:Won	With Hideaki Anno
Line News Awards	2022		Cultural Person	Template:Won
46th Japan Academy Film Prize	2023	Shin Ultraman	Director of the Year	Template:Nominated

External links

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