Inuyasha Director Guide

January 1, 2007

Written by Dylan Acres

Eight years after Ranma ½ went off the air Inuyasha debuted. By comparing the two series it becomes readily apparent how much the anime industry had changed during that time. The production values and amount of money spent on television animation increased dramatically. The industry continued to change while Inuyasha was on the air, with the series moving away from traditional cel animation to fully digitized animation with episode 90. Popular character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma of Gundam Wing was assigned the series and guaranteed it to have a slick look right from the beginning.

Episode Title	Director	Animation Director
1. The Girl Who Overcame Time...and the Boy Who was Just Overcome	Masashi Ikeda	Yoshihito Hishinuma
2. Seekers of the Sacred Jewel	Takashi Ikehata	Shin'ichi Sakuma
3. Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
4. Yura of the Demon-Hair	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
5. Aristocratic Assassin, Sesshomaru	Hitoyuki Matsui	Atsuo Tobe
6. Tetsusaiga, the Phantom Sword	Masakazu Hishida	Shin'ichi Sakuma
7. Showdown! Inuyasha vs. Sesshomaru	Kunihiro Mori Satoshi Toba	Yoshihito Hishinuma
8. The Toad Who Would be Prince	Takashi Ikehata	Shin'ichi Sakuma
9. Enter Shippo, Plus the Amazing Thunder Brothers!	Megumi Yamamoto	Teiichi Takiguchi
10. Phantom Showdown- The Thunder Brothers vs. Tetsusaiga	Hitoyuki Matsui	Rie Nakajima
11. Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
12. Soul Piper and the Mischievous Little Soul	Kaoru Suzuki	Taka Satou
13. The Mystery of the New Moon and the Black-Haired Inuyasha	Masakazu Hishida	Atsushi Shigetai Shin'ichi Sakuma
14. Kikyo's Stolen Ashes	Megumi Yamamoto	Atsuo Tobe
15. Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyo	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
16. Mystical Hand of the Amorous Monk, Miroku	Hitoyuki Matsui	Hiroaki Noguchi
17. Cursed Ink of the Hell-Painter	Kaoru Suzuki	Taka Satou
18. Naraku and Sesshomaru Join Forces	Masakazu Hishida	Rie Nakajima
19. Go Home to Your Own Time, Kagome!	Akira Nishimori	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta
20. Despicable Villain! The Mystery of Onigumo	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
21. Naraku's True Identity Unveiled	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta Hiroaki Noguchi
22. A Wicked Smile; Kikyo's Wandering Soul	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta Hiroaki Noguchi
23. Kagome's Voice and Kikyo's Kiss	Kaoru Suzuki	Taka Satou
24. Enter Sango, the Demon Slayer	Akira Nishimori	Yoshihito Hishinuma
25. Naraku's Insidious Plot	Hitoyuki Matsui	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta
26. The Secret of the Sacred Jewel Revealed!	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
27. The Lake of the Evil Water God	Megumi Yamamoto	Rie Nakajima
28. Miroku Falls into a Dangerous Trap	Masakazu Hishida	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta
29. Sango's Suffering and Kohaku's Life	Masashi Abe	Keiji Tani
30. Tetsusaiga is Stolen! Showdown at Naraku's Castle	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
31. Jinenji, Kind But Sad	Akira Nishimori	Rie Nakajima
32. Kikyo and Inuyasha are in Trouble	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma Atsushi Shigeta
33. Captured Kikyo and Naraku	Masakazu Hishida	Yoshihito Hishinuma Shin'ichi Sakuma
34. Tetsusaiga and Tensaiga	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
35. The True Master Chosen by the Noted Sword	Takehiro Nakayama	Takehiro Nakayama
36. Kagome Kidnapped! The Super Fast Wolf Demon, Koga	Yasunao Aoki	Rie Nakajima
37. The Man Who Fell in Love with Kagome!	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
38. Two Hearts, One Mind	Takehiro Okada	Kazuo Takigawa
39. Trapped in a Duel to the Death!	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
40. The Deadly Trap of Kagura, the Wind Sorceress	Masakazu Hishida	Shin'ichi Sakuma
41. Kagura's Dance and Kanna's Mirror	Satoshi Toba	Rie Nakajima
42. The Wind Scar Fails	Naoki Hishikawa	Shin'ichi Sakuma
43. Tetsusaiga Breaks	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
44. Kaijinbo's Evil Sword	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
45. Sesshormaru Wields Tokijin	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
46. Juromaru and Kageromaru	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
47. Onigumo's Heart Still Beats Within Naraku !	Masakazu Amiya	Hideki Araki
48. Back to Where We First Met	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
49. Kohaku's Lost Memory	Masakazu Hishida	Shin'ichi Sakuma
50. That Unforgettable Face!	Megumi Yamamoto	Rie Nakajima
51. Inuyasha's Soul, Devoured	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
52. The Demon's True Nature	Masakazu Amiya	Hiroshi Takeuchi
53. Ryukotsusei, Father's Old Enemy	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
54. The Backlash Wave: Tetsusaiga's Ultimate Technique	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
55. The Stone Flower and Shippo's First Love	Satoshi Toba	Yoshihito Hishinuma
56. Temptress in the Mist	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
57. Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part 1	Masakazu Amiya	Hiroshi Takeuchi
58. Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part 2	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
59. The Beautiful Sister Apprentices	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
60. The 50 Year Old Curse of the Dark Priestess	Hirofumi Ogura	Rie Nakajima
61. Kikyo and the Dark Priestess	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
62. Tsubaki's Unrelenting Evil Spell	Masakazu Amiya	Hiroshi Takeuchi
63. The Red and White Priestesses	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
64. The Giant Ogre of the Forbidden Tower	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
65. Farewell Days of My Youth!	Satoshi Toba	Yoshihito Hishinuma
66. Naraku's Barrier - Kagura's Decision	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
67. The Howling Wind of Betrayal	Masakazu Amiya	Hiroshi Takeuchi
68. Shippo Gets an Angry Challenge	Yasuhiro Takemoto	Shouko Ikeda
69. Terror of the Faceless Man	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
70. Onigumo's Memory Restored	Megumi Yamamoto	Rie Nakajima
71. Three-sided Battle to the Death	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
72. Totosai's Rigid Training	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Hiroshi Takeuchi
73. Shiori's Family and Inuyasha's Feelings	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
74.The Red Tetsusaiga Breaks the Barrier!	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
75. The Plot of the Panther Devas	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
76. Target: Sesshomaru and Inuyasha	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
77. The Panther Tribe and the Two Swords of the Fang	Satoshi Toba	Ayako Kurata
78. Only You, Sango	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
79. Jaken's Plan to Steal the Tetsusaiga	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
80. Sesshomaru and the Abducted Rin	Masakazu Amiya	Rie Nakajima
81. Vanishing Point: Naraku Disappears	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
82. Gap Between the Ages	Megumi Yamamoto	Yoshihito Hishinuma Naoko Yamamoto
83. The Female Wolf Demon and the Lunar Rainbow Promise	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
84. Koga's Bride to Be Night	Satoshi Toba	Sakuma Shin'ichi
85. The Evil Within Demon's Head Castle	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Rie Nakajima
86. Secret of the Possessed Princess	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
87. Kikyo's Lonely Journey	Teruo Satou	Yoshihito Hishinuma Naoko Yamamoto
88. The Three Sprites of the Monkey God	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
89. Nursing Battle of the Lovers	Megumi Yamamoto	Sakuma Shin'ichi
90. Sota's Brave Confession of Love	Satoshi Toba	Rie Nakajima
91. Suspicious Faith Healer & the Black Kirara	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
92. Plot of the Walking Dead	Masakazu Amiya	Hideki Araki
93. The Mysterious, Lecherous Monk	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
94. The Scared Jewel Maker Part 1	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
95. The Scared Jewel Maker Part 2	Masakazu Amiya	Sakuma Shin'ichi
96. Jaken Falls Ill	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Rie Nakajima
97. Kirara Come Home	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
98. Kikyo and Kagome: Alone in the Cave	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
99. Koga and Sesshomaru: A Dangerous Encounter	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
100. The Truth Behind the Nightmare: The Battle in the Forest of Sorrow	Megumi Yamamoto	Yoshihito Hishinuma Naoko Yamamoto
101. The Snow From Seven Years Past	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
102. Assault on the Wolf-Demon Tribe	Satoshi Toba	Mamiko Nakanishi
103. The Band of Seven, Ressurected!	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
104. The Steathly Poison Master, Mukotsu	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
105. The Ghastly Steel Machine!	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
106. Kagome, Miroku, Sango: Desperate Situation!	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
107. Inuyasha Shows His Tears for the First Time	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Mamiko Nakanishi
108. The Secret of the Pure Light	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
109. Hidden in the Mist: Onward to Mt. Hakurei	Satoshi Toba	Kenji Hassaki
110. Enter Bankotsu, the Leader of the Band of Seven	Masakazu Amiya	Rie Nakajima
111. The Big Clash! The Banryu versus the Wind Scar!	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
112. Afloat on the Lake Surface: The Barrier of Hijiri Island	Megumi Yamamoto	Mamiko Nakanishi
113. The Sacred Vajra and the Mystery of the Living Buddha	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
114. Koga's Solitary Battle	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
115. Lured By The Black Light	Hirofumi Ogura	Rie Nakajima
116. The Exposed Face of Truth	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
117. Vanished in a River of Flames	Teruo Satou	Mamiko Nakanishi
118. Into the Depths of Mt. Hakurei	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
119. Divine Malice of the Saint	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
120. Fare Thee Well: Jakotsu's Requiem	Satoshi Toba	Rie Nakajima
121. Final Battle: The Last and Strongest of the Band of Seven	Hirofumi Ogura	Shin'ichi Sakuma
122. The Power of Banryu: Duel to the Death on Mount Hakurei	Masakazu Amiya	Yoshihito Hishinuma
123. Beyond the Darkness - Naraku Reborn!	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
124. Farewell Kikyo, My Beloved	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
125. The Darkness in Kagome's Heart	Megumi Yamamoto	Rie Nakajima
126. Transform Heartache Into Courage	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
127. Don't Boil It! The Terrifying Dried Up Demon	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
128. Battle Against the Dried Up Demon at the Cultural Festival	Tomoe Aratani	Shouko Ikeda
129. Chokyukai and the Abducted Bride	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
130. Shippo's New Technique, the Heart Scar!	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
131. Trap of the Cursed Wall Hanging	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
132. Miroku's Most Dangerous Confession	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
133. The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru (Part 1)	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
134. The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru (Part 2)	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
135. The Last Banquet of Miroku's Master	Tomoe Aratani	Shouko Ikeda
136. A Strange Invisible Demon Appears!	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
137. An Ancestor Named Kagome	Kiyoshi Fukumoto	Mamiko Nakanishi
138. Mountain of Demons: Survival of the Duo	Tomoe Aratani	Shouko Ikeda
139. The Great Duel at Shoun Falls!	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
140. Eternal Love, The Nanigata of Kenkon	Satoshi Toba	Kumiko Takahashi
141. Entei, the Demon Horse Unleashed!	Teruo Satou	Shin'ichi Sakuma
142. Untamed Entei and the Horrible Hakudoshi	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
143. 3000 Leagues in Search of Father	Tomoe Aratani	Shouko Ikeda
144. Hosenki and the Last Shard	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
145. Bizarre Guards at the Border of the Afterlife	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
146. The Fiery Bird Master, Princess Abi	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
147. The Tragic Love Song of Destiny, Part 1	Teruo Satou	Yoshihito Hishinuma Naoko Yamamoto
148. The Tragic Love Song of Destiny, Part 2	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
149. Single Arrow of Chaos	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
150. The Mysterious Light that Guides the Saint	Teruo Satou	Atsuo Tobe
151. Kagome's Instinctive Choice	Megumi Yamamoto	Mamiko Nakanishi
152. Protect and Plunder!	Masakazu Amiya	Shin'ichi Sakuma
153. The Cruel Reunion of Fate	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
154. The Demon That Links to the Other World	Hirofumi Ogura	Shin'ichi Sakuma
155. The Devil That Guards the Shikon Shard	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
156. Battle Before the Tomb! Sesshomaru vs. Inuyasha	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
157. Pierce Through Naraku! Kongosoha!	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
158. A Stampede of Countless Demon Mice	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
159. Kohaku's Resolution and Sango's Heart	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
160. The Violent, Two-Timing Boy Who Brings Happiness	Teruo Satou	Rie Nakajima
161. Miroku's Old Mistake	Masakazu Amiya	Mamiko Nakanishi
162. Together With Lord Sesshomaru, Forever	Hirofumi Ogura	Shin'ichi Sakuma
163. Sango, Kirara, Kohaku, The Secret Garden	Tatsuya Ishihara	Shouko Ikeda
164. Most Powerful Enemy, Parasite-Pupa Shippo!	Megumi Yamamoto	Shin'ichi Sakuma
165. The Best Clue to Defeat Naraku	Satoshi Toba	Shin'ichi Sakuma
166. The Two's Bond ~ Use the Shikon Shard! Part 1	Teruo Satou	Yoshihito Hishinuma
167. The Two's Bond ~ Use the Shikon Shard! Part 2	Teruo Satou	Yoshihito Hishinuma

Hideki Araki (Episodes directed: 2)

Hideki Araki only directed two episodes and if ranked would have to fit squarely in the middle. He's an average animation director, certainly not bad, but he doesn't reach the heights of some of the more detailed and colorful directors.

Kenji Hassaki (Episodes directed: 1)

Hassaki's lone turn as animation director produced a high octane action episode that featured a hand to hand battle between Suikotsu and Inuyasha. Under Hassaki's direction the animation was extremely fluid and detailed. If only he had directed more episode Hassaki may have been one of the best animation director the series produced.

Yoshihito Hishinuma (Episodes directed: 13)

Yoshitoma Hishinuma is the series character designer and usually makes an appearance directing especially significant episodes. He directed not only the first episode but the last two as well. He has a very fluid animation style and makes use of interesting camera angles. Hishinuma is as good a director as he is a designer.

Shouko Ikeda (Episodes directed: 33)

Ikeda's style features more rounded faces and her trademark thick, dark eyebrows on men. She is one of the most unique designers and has a very clean style. Ikeda is one of the more prolific directors for the show. Her style is very polished and reminicent of that of Yoshihito Hishinuma in the sense that her characters' movements are extremely fluid and given special care. The animation in her episodes flows with movement and bright colors.

Ayako Kurata (Episodes directed: 1)

As with most of the talented directors who only worked on a single episode, Kurata is able to expertly mimic the artistic style of character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma. Kurata turns in a very well done episode which features lots of well animated fights between Inuyasha, Koga and Sesshomaru versus the Panther Devas.

Rie Nakajima (Episodes directed: 24)

Probably one of my favorites. Her designs stay very consistent and clean throughout her two dozen episodes. She has a very expressive and fluid style and her work is often a showcase of fluid animation. One of her most characteristic traits is that she draws Inuyasha with very prominent eyebrows, this is most visible in episode 160. Most of her other characters remain fairly consistant with the overall character designs of the series. Overall Nakajima is a very accomplished animation director.

Mamiko Nakanishi (Episodes directed: 12)

Extremely detailed and beautifully rich in color, Mamiko Nakanishi joined at the first episode of the Band of Seven arc and brought a very high quality to the episodes she worked on.

Takehiro Nakayama (Episodes directed: 1)

Nakayama was the animation director for episode 35, which he also directed himself. Very clean animation in most places, however some of the non-closeup shots look a bit flat or the animation is not as fluid as other times, but overall he has a good look to his animation.

Hiroaki Noguchi (Episodes directed: 3)

Noguchi only worked on one episode by himself and assisted on two others, so his work on the series is brief. Because of his small contribution he doesn't really exhibit a unique style and instead hews closely with the original character designs.

Shin'ichi Sakuma (Episodes directed: 62)

Sakuma is an odd director in my book. He directs quite a few episodes, but he's definetely on the low rung in terms of quality when compared to the others. His characters tend to be stiff with significantly less movement. His colors often look flat as well. But for some reason at the end of the series he directs "Together With Lord Sesshomaru, Forever" which is extremely fluid and stands out in a very unique way from all the other directors on the show. If he had done more like this he would have been a fantastic animation director.

Taka Satou (Episodes directed: 3)

Satou's art style looks quite natural and realistic, with a slightly less traditional anime style while not being completely unrecognizable. His work has a very cinematic quality with lots of closeups and detailed facial expressions. It could be said that it has an OVA quality. He's another one of my favorites.

Atsushi Shigeta (Episodes directed: 7)

Shigeta's style is very difficult to distinguish as he always directs with Shin'ichi Sakuma. The episodes he co-directed appear so uniform that is is near impossible to tell which are Shigeta's scenes and which are Sakuma's.

Kumiko Takahashi (Episodes directed: 1)

Having Kumiko Takahashi as animation director is a special treat. Known for her excellent work on the Mermaid Scar OVA, Takahashi also handles the animation in all of Inuyasha's opening and closing credits. Her stylish designs make use of shadows and dramatic camera angles and make for a truly theatrical level of animation quality.

Hiroshi Takeuchi (Episodes directed: 5)

Takeuchi's style is one of the more ordinary and unremarkable of the series. While no episodes of Inuyasha could be said to have poor animation, Takeuchi's were some of the more average.

Kazuo Takigawa (Episodes directed: 1)

Playful moods and expressive faces mark Takigawa's single episode. It is quite appropriate that his lone episode features Shippo's slideshow of of crayon drawings featuring Koga, Kagome and Inuyasha.

Teiichi Takiguchi (Episodes directed: 1)

Though he directed only a single episode, Teiichi's sole contribution to Inuyasha was a bright and colorful episode that really showed off his design talents.

Keiji Tani (Episodes directed: 1)

Another single-episode director who's designs hewed closely to Hishinuma's character designs while never really rising to the levels of Ikeda or Sakuma.

Atsuo Tobe (Episodes directed: 3)

Tobe did a solid job with the three episodes he directed. Two of Tobe's episodes were at the very beginning of the series, and he did not return as an animation director again until episode 150. He is a talent that was unfortunately underused during the series run.

Naoko Yamamoto (Episodes directed: 4)

Yamamoto has a clean style that can also be seen in her previous work on Project A-ko and the series she worked on after Inuyasha such as Yakitate! Japan and Kekkaishi.

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