Person: Yuasa Masaaki

Yuasa Masaaki is one of the more unique animators to have come to prominence in the 1990s. He is mainly known for his work as a designer and key animator in the Crayon Shin-chan TV series and movies, in which he was involved throughout the 1990s. Right from the start he had proven that he was a unique creator with the various short pieces he animated for Chibi Maruko-chan.

His first major achievement outside of this genre came with his stint as animation director of iconoclast Shinya Ohira's Hamaji's Resurrection episode of the Hakkenden OVA series, which many in the industry consider to be one of the most important anime films of the 90s. From that point on he was involved in interesting projects like Noiseman and Nekojiru-So (aka Cat Soup) every few years, though earning little recognition for his work in the west.

In early 2004 he finished production on his feature directing debut Mind Game, his first utterly and truly personal creation, something his fans have long been waiting for, which promises to be a visionary masterpiece that will finally get the world to stand up and take notice of this one-of-a-kind artist.

In the aftermath of Mind Game he got through Maruyama Masao a chance to direct with Kemonozume his first tv series at Madhouse in 2006. In 2008 he got another chance to create a tv series at Madhouse. Kaiba cemented his progress as a creator and earned him an Excellence Prize at the 12th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.