Meet Takuya Igarashi, Your Next Favorite Anime Director

gamerant.com:

Fans of anime from the Tumblr days will no doubt rejoice at the nostalgia of watching Ouran High School Host Club, a quirky school comedy about a girl dressing as a boy as part of her academy's host club to pay a debt. But less might be quite as familiar or enamored with the man whose keen sense of style defined what Ouran was in animation, Takuya Igarashi.

Igarashi has worked in the industry since 1990 with his start as Assistant Director on Mouretsu Atarou, where he soon became embroiled in the Sailor Moon series as an episode director. Nowadays, he's know for his wildly successful work as the director of not only Ouran, but also Soul Eater, Star Driver, and Bungo Stray Dogs. All directors have their own quirks and signatures, but sometimes it's hard to put into words what their style is and how it enhances their work. With Igarashi, putting aside the complex analysis, any fan could tell you that their greatest strength is the blending of humor and drama, with either element rarely cheapening the other. The visual comedy and the way the art style changes in Igarashi's shows is so consistent, that it feels like a bold signature from a seasoned artist.

Anime Directors You Should Know (That Aren't Hayao Miyazaki)

It doesn't take long to see how Igarashi makes his style known even in adapted works of his. Just look at the first episodes of Ouran and Bungo and notice how Igarashi almost breaks the fourth wall with visual gags that direct the audience's attention towards subjects that will be important later. In Ouran, the vase that Haruhi is going to break is pointed at comically with an arrow.

Similarly, in Bungo Stray Dogs' first episode, an arrow directly in between Dazai and Atsushi points right at Kunikida, standing on the