World Fandom May 30th 2025
Studio Chizu - Making of Mirai
Panel Discussion INDUSTRY
Following the screening of Mirai, the five creators from Studio Chizu will share their stories and approach on creating this Academy Award nominated film. Make sure you watch the Mirai screening happening just before this session!
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Yoshiko
Moderator
AnimeFest Assistant Director of Guest Services
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Yuichiro Saito
Panelist
Producer Yuichiro Saito helped found Studio Chizu.
Yuichiro Saito, producer at Studio Chizu, was born in 1976 in Ibaraki prefecture.
He joined Madhouse in 1999 following his study in the US. He was mentored by producer Masao Maruyama and has been involved in various animation, co-productions with overseas studios and anime collaborated with live action. He left Madhouse in 2011 to form Studio Chizu with Director Mamoru Hosoda.

He served as a producer on Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) and Summer Wars (2009). At Studio Chizu, his focus has been planning and producing films for the director including Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015) and the Oscar-nominated Mirai (2018) .

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Yohei Takamatsu
Panelist
Art Director and Background Artist Yohei Takamatsu has contributed to many Studio Chizu works.

After joining Studio Ghibli, he worked on background on The Cat Returns (2002), Ghiblies episode 2 (2002), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Tales from Earthsea (2006), Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). He served as art director on the short animation The Day I Harvested a Star (2006) exclusively shown at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. He was co-art director on From Up On Poppy Hill (2011) and worked on art for When Marnie Was There (2014). For Director Hosoda, he was in charge of background art on Wolf Children (2012) and art director on The Boy and The Beast (2015) and Mirai (2018).

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Tatsuzo Nishita
Panelist
Animation Director and Key Animator Tatsuzo Nishita has contributed to many Studio Chizu works.

Mr. Nishita Born in 1979. He used to work for Toei Animation and is currently a freelance animator. He was a key animator on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) and Wolf Children (2012). He was animation director on action sequences for Summer Wars (2009) and animation director on The Boy and The Beast (2015). He was also involved in many other theatrical animations including Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).

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Takaaki Yamashita
Panelist
Animation Director, Animator, and Character Designer Takaaki Yamashita has contributed to many Studio Chizu works.

Mr. Yamashita was born in 1967. He joined Toei Animation (then Toei Doga) and worked as an animator on many projects. He had worked on many of Director Hosoda’s works before Studio Chizu was founded. He left Toei Animation in 2014 and currently works for Studio Chizu. He was a key animator on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) and worked on layout setting for Summer Wars (2009). He served as animation director on Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and The Beast (2015) and as screen designer on Mirai (2018).

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Hiroyuki Aoyama
Panelist
Animation Director, Animator, and Character Designer Hiroyuki Aoyama has contributed to many Studio Chizu works.

He’s been involved in anime production as an employee at Telecom Animation Film and as a freelance animator before joining Studio Chizu. He was a key animator on From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) and animation director on Space Dandy (2014). Among Hosoda’s work, Aoyama was a key animator on Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005), Wolf Children (2012), and The Boy and The Beast (2015). He served as animation director for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009) and the Oscar-nominated Mirai (2018).