Person: Takano Dai

Mashimo Kouichi is a known anime director famous for directing the "girls with guns" anime (Noir, Madlax, El Cazador de la Bruja) and other series depicting ambiguous relationships between female leads (.hack//SIGN, Avenger).

Mashimo Kouichi started his career in 1975 in Tatsunoko Pro where he worked until mid-80s when he founded a small freelance studio called Mashimo Jimusho that was mainly producing in-between animation for larger companies. It was his idea to make a "hospital for animators", an animation studio whose primary goal would be fostering and self-actualization of talented artists rather than commercial success and money. In 1997 he founded together with Horikawa Kenji Bee Train which acted as a subsidiary of Production I.G, this relationship ended in 2006 when Bee Train became independent. Mashimo has directed the majority of or otherwise participated in nearly every Bee Train production. He generally storyboards all the anime he directs and is known to hire Kajiura Yuki to compose music for his projects.