Toshiharu Mizutani

Toshiharu Mizutani (水谷利春) joined Kobayashi Production in 1972. In 1979, he worked in the art department for Hayao Miyazaki’s Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro.

He served as one of the art directors for Osamu Dezaki’s Space Adventure Cobra (1982), with Shinji Kimura as part of his team. In 1983, he left Kobayashi to establish Studio Fuga with his colleagues Hiroshi Ono and Hiromasa Ogura, and was its director from 1983 to 1997. During that period, he served as the art director for Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA (1988).

In 1997, Mizutani left Studio Fuga and established his own studio, Moon Flower, which he runs to this day. His most notable assignments as art director include films in the Soreike! Anpanman series in 2004 and 2006, and the 2007 film adaptation of the Forest of Piano manga series. From 2012, he was the art director for the Little Busters! anime series.