Tag Archives: studio trigger

Hiroki Arai is coming to Otakon 2025

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Hiroki Arai

Hiroki Arai will be a guest at Otakon 2025. He is an animator and animation director at Studio Trigger.

Born in 1992 in Tokyo, he graduated from Tokyo University of Technology. He joined Studio Trigger in 2015 as an animator on “Ninja Slayer.” He continued his career as an animator on “Space Patrol Luluco,” “Kiznaiver,” “Little Witch Academia (TV series),” “Darling in the Franxx,” “SSSS.Gridman,” and “Promare.”

His first role as an animation director was for “BNA: Brand New Animal.” He subsequently worked as animation director and key animator on “SSSS.Dynazenon,” “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,” “Gridman Universe,” and “Dungeon Meshi.”

He also participated as an animator in the short films “Star Wars: Visions, ‘The Twins'” and “Star Wars: Visions, ‘The Elder.'”

His latest work is “New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt,” where he is an animator and animation director.

Otakon 2025 will be held from August 8-10, 2025 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Masahiko Otsuka to Return as Guest to Otakon 2024

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Masahiko Otsuka

Masahiko Otsuka, the president of Studio Trigger, will return as a guest to Otakon 2024. He will be bringing with him animators Aoi Abe and Sae Otani, beknown recently for their work on “Delicious in Dungeon!”

Initially working in the live-action film industry, Otsuka joined the animation industry as assistant director for Studio Ghibli’s “Pom Poko” in 1992. He then moved on to Studio GAINAX, participating in many acclaimed titles such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (episode director) and “GURREN LAGANN” (co-director).

In 2011, Otsuka and Hiroyuki Imaishi left GAINAX to establish their own animation company, Studio TRIGGER. Otsuka has taken part in many of TRIGGER’s flagship titles such as “KILL la KILL,” “Little Witch Academia,” “PROMARE,” and most recently “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.”

Otakon 2024 will be held from August 2 to August 4 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Masahiko Otsuka has been added to the Otakon 2023 guest roster

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Masahiko Otsuka

The president of Studio Trigger, Masahiko Otsuka, will be a guest at Otakon 2023, according to Otakorp Inc. He’s also an accomplished director and script writer.

Initially working in the live-action film industry, Otsuka joined the animation industry as assistant director for Studio Ghibli’s “Pom Poko” in 1992. He then moved on to Studio GAINAX, participating in many acclaimed titles, such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (episode director) and “GURREN LAGANN” (co-director).

In 2011, Otsuka and Hiroyuki Imaishi left GAINAX to establish their own animation company, Studio TRIGGER. Otsuka has taken part in many of TRIGGER’s flagship titles, such as “KILL la KILL,” “Little Witch Academia,” “PROMARE,” and most recently “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.”

Otakon 2023 will be held from July 28 to July 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Hiromi Wakabayashi will be a Guest at Otakon 2022

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Hiromi Wakabayashi

Hiromi Wakabayashi of Studio Trigger will be a guest at Otakon 2022.

Previously a member of Studio Gainax, Wakabayashi has been involved in several works with Hiroyuki Imaishi, most notably “Gurren Lagann” on design production. He also contributed to “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” as co-creator, writer, and episodic director.

After making the transition to Studio Trigger, Wakabayashi has been actively involved in the production of “Kill la Kill,” “Space Patrol Luluco,” and “Promare” as creative director and music producer. He has also filled in roles as script and art director for the “Star Wars: Visions” episode, “The Twins.”

Wakabayashi is taking part in the production as creative support for Trigger’s most recent project, “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.”

Otakon will be held from July 29-31 in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Anime Expo Lite 2021 Announces Studio Trigger Online Panel

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Anime Expo Lite Trigger

Anime Expo Lite 2021 presents a special Studio Trigger panel as part of this year’s two-day, livestream convention running Saturday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 4th.

Come join “Doodle with Studio Trigger” stream with creatives, including Lead Designer, Shigeto Koyama, who brought fans beloved anime series such as PROMARE and KILL la KILL!, and Sushio, the renowned Character Designer for KILL la KILL!. Make a request! Ask some questions! Or simply chill out with us… There may even be some sneak peeks of current productions!!

Studio Trigger renowned for its work on popular series such as Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, SSSS.Dynazenon, SSSS.Gridman and, most recently, the highly anticipated Netflix series, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, based on the bestselling Cyberpunk 2077 video game.

Tickets to access this year’s Anime Expo Lite programming are $5 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Hate Is A Virus commUNITY Action Fund. After the stream concludes on July 4th, ticketholders can re-watch the content, as well as access additional programming, on a VOD basis from July 5th-16th, 2021.

Anime Expo Lite 2021 marks the 30th Anniversary of the long-running annual convention.

Anime Expo is the biggest North American fan celebration for Japanese pop culture including anime, TV & film, fashion, video games, manga, dance, live concerts, collectibles, and exclusive convention merchandise, presented as an unforgettable experience for fans of all ages.

Registration information:

  • Dates – July 3-4, 2021 / 12pm – 8pm (PST)
  • Ticket Registration
  • Registration $5 (+ processing fees) – all proceeds to benefit the Hate Is a Virus commUNITY Action Fund

Hiromi Wakabayashi of Studio Trigger Heads to Otakon 2019

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Studio Trigger‘s Hiromi Wakabayashi, who has fulfilled a number of roles at the studio, will appear as a guest at Otakon 2019.

Formerly staff at the prolific Studio Gainax, Hiromi Wakabayashi has served a variety of roles on Gainax’s greatest works, including “Gurren Lagann” and “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.”

Since 2011, when Wakabayashi joined Studio Trigger, he has been involved in a variety of roles on several works with director Hiroyuki Imaishi, including scripting the fourth episode, directing the second ending sequence, and overseeing the design team for “Kill la Kill” as the series’s creative producer. He has additionally been involved in Studio Trigger works, including the hit series “Little Witch Academia,” and “Inferno Cop.” Most recently, he has served as the creative director for Studio Trigger’s latest works, “Space Patrol Luluco” and “Promare.”

Otakon 2019 will be held July 26-28, 2019 at the Walter Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Studio Trigger President Masahiko Otsuka to Be Otakon Guest

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Otakorp Inc. has announced that the president of Studio Trigger, Masahiko Otsuka, will be a guest at Otakon 2018.

Initially working in the live-action film industry, Otsuka joined the animation industry as assistant director for Studio Ghibli’s “Pom Poko” in 1992. He then moved on to Studio Gainax; participating in many acclaimed titles such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (episode director) and “Gurren Lagann” (co-director).

In 2011, Otsuka and Hiroyuki Imaishi left Gainax to establish their own animation company, Studio Trigger. Otsuka’s most recent works include “Kill la Kill” and the “Little Witch Academia” series.

Otakon 2018 will be held August 10-12, 2018 at the Walter Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Animator Yoh Yoshinari to Be Otakon Guest

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Animator Yoh Yoshinari of Studio Trigger will be a guest at Otakon 2018.

Yoh Yoshinari made his debut as chief key animator in the critically-acclaimed animation series “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” He has participated in many other popular titles such as “Gurren Lagann” as mechanical design, and “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” as a concept artist. Upon becoming a full-time staff of Studio Trigger, he produced his first full-length anime, Little Witch Academia, and participated in Trigger’s first television series “Kill la Kill” as main set design.

Otakon 2018 will be held August 10-12, 2018 at the Walter Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.