Chiaki Kon
今 千秋
BornSeptember 29
Chiba Prefecture, Japan
OccupationAnime director
Years active1998–present
Notable work

Chiaki Kon (Japanese: 今 千秋, Hepburn: Kon Chiaki) is a Japanese anime director. She started her career in 1998 after joining Pierrot.

Biography

Chiaki Kon was born on September 29, at Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As a child, she used to watch and was a fan of Toei Animation's anime adaptation works, such as Saint Seiya, and Sailor Moon.[1]

After graduating from Yoyogi Animation Academy, Kon interned at Pierrot, under anime director Jun Kamiya. She provided production advancement, and assistant storyboard episode 28 of Neo Ranga for Kamiya.[2]

Kon then directed the anime adaptations of Higurashi When They Cry series at Studio Deen from 2006-2008 (including Higurashi When They Cry: Kai and Umineko When They Cry). She then directed the anime adaptation of Junjō Romantica series, and the spin-off series, The World's Greatest First Love series from 2008-2011.

At J.C. Staff, Kon directed two of the Nodame Cantabile series (Nodame Cantabile: Paris arc and Nodame Cantabile: Finale) in 2008 and 2011. She then directed Golden Time in 2013.

At Toei Animation, Kon directed the HappinessCharge PreCure! movie, titled HappinessCharge PreCure! the Movie: The Ballerina of the Land of Dolls in 2014, Kon was a fan of the previous Pretty Cure series, and had a dream of directing Pretty Cure, and so she asked producer Hiroaki Shibata that she wanted to direct, and became the film's director.[3] In 2016, Kon took Munehisa Sakai's position as a series director for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal series after his departure, and directed the third season of the series, which covered the Infinity arc of the manga (known as Death Busters in Japan), titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III.[4][5]

Kon then directed the Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise arc of Naruto Shippuden at Pierrot in late 2016. Then, she directed Back Street Girls at J.C. Staff, and Tokimeki Restaurant: Miracle 6 film at Production I.G in 2018.

Kon was initially set to direct the new Sanrio anime, titled Mewkledreamy for J.C. Staff, but later stepped down as a project consultant for unknown reasons, and her role was taken over by Hiroaki Sakurai.[6]

In 2017, it was announced that Kon had returned to direct the fourth season of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal series, covering the Dream arc of the manga (known as Dead Moon in Japan). The fourth season was produced as a two-part theatrical anime film, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie. The two-part film was animated with Toei Animation and Studio Deen, and was released in Japanese theaters in 2021, with the first film on January 8, and the second film on February 11.[7][8][9][10] That same year in 2021, Kon directed The Way of the Househusband at J.C. Staff, and was released on Netflix.[11]

Filmography

TV series

Year Show Season Episodes Credit Note
1998 Neo Ranga 1 1-2, 11-12, 21-22, 35-36, 43-44 Production Adavncement
2004 Midori Days 1 1-13 Storyboard, Dramatization
Bleach 1 15, 33 Storyboard, Episode Director
2006 Higurashi When They Cry 1 26 Series Director, Storyboard (eps. 1, 3, 15, 25-26), Episode Director (1, 11, 26)
Shōnen Onmyōji 1 1 Opening Animation
2007 Higurashi When They Cry Kai 2 24 Series Director, Unit Director, Storyboard (eps. 2, 11, 24), Episode Director (eps. 2, 19, 24)
2008 Junjō Romantica 1 1-12 Director
Nodame Cantabile: Paris 1 1-11 Director, Episode Director (ED; eps. 1–2, 10), Storyboard (OP,ED; eps. 1, 10)
2009 Youth That Can Bloom 1 1-23 Director, Storyboard (eps.1)
2010 Maiden Spirit Zakuro 1 1-13 Director, Storyboard (OP; eps. 1, 6), Episode Director (OP,ED; ep. 1)
Nodame Cantabile: Finale 1 1-11 Director, Episode Director (OP,ED; eps. 3, 8, 11), Storyboard (OP,ED; eps. 3, 11)
2011 The World's Greatest First Love 1 1-12 Director, Storyboard & Unit Director (OP,ED)
The World's Greatest First Love 2 1 1-12 Director, Script (eps. 12)
Chihayafuru 1 23 Storyboard (eps. 23)
2013 Hetalia The Beautiful World 1 1–4, 11-13 Episode Director (1-4), Storyboard (1-4, 11-13)
Golden Time 1 1-24 Director, Episode Director (eps. 6, 22, 24), Storyboard (OP 1 and 2; eps. 20, 22, 24)
DokiDoki! PreCure 1 3, 9, 16 Episode Director (eps. 3), Storyboard (eps. 3, 9, 16)
Devils and Realist 1 1-12 Director, Series Composition (eps. 4, 6, 10), Storyboard (OP, ED; eps. 1, 9, 11), Unit Director (OP, ED)
2014 HappinessCharge PreCure! 1 24 Storyboard (eps. 24)
2016 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III 1 1-13 Series Director, Episode Director & Storyboard (OP, ED; eps. 1, 7, 13) TV anime (Death Busters arc)[4][5]
Naruto: Shippuden 1 484-488 Director, Episode Director & Storyboard (eps. 484, 488) 17th season (Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise)
2017 Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode 1 17, 34 Storyboard (eps. 17, 34)
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1 3, 9, 11, 16, 23, 25 Storyboard (eps. 3, 9, 11, 16, 23, 25)
2018 Back Street Girls 1 1-10 Director, Episode Director (eps. 1-10), Storyboard (OP; eps. 1-10) [12]
2020 Mewkledreamy 1 1–2, 10 Project Consultant, Episode Director & Storyboard (eps. 1-2), Script (eps. 10) [13]
2021 The Way of the Househusband 2 1–10 Director, Episode Director (eps. 1-5), Storyboard (ED; eps. 1-5), Unit Director (ED), Insert Song Performance (Crimecatch Policure) [11]
Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure 1 21, 30 Storyboard (eps. 21, 30)
2022 Play It Cool, Guys 1 1-6 Director, Episode Director (eps. 1-2), Storyboard (eps. 1-6) [14]
2023 Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts TBA TBA Director [15]

Films

Year Film Credit Note
2014 The World's Greatest First Love: The Case of Takafumi Yokozawa Director, Screenplay
The World's Greatest First Love: Valentine Arc Director
HappinessCharge PreCure! the Movie: The Ballerina of the Land of Dolls
2018 Tokimeki Restaurant: Miracle 6 Director, Screenplay
2020 The World's Greatest First Love: Proposal Arc Supervisor
2021 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Director 2-Part Film,
Season 4 of Sailor Moon Crystal (Dead Moon arc)[7][8][9][10]

OVAs

Year OVA Credit Note
2007 When Cicadas Cry Extra - Cat Killing Chapter Director Co-Directed with Shunji Yashida
2012 Junjo Romantica Director

Theme Park attraction

Year Attraction Credit Note
2018 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D Director, Storyboard [16]
2019 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D ~Moon Palace arc~
2022 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D ~Moon Palace Edition~ Deluxe

References

  1. ^ "セーラームーンCrystal、AJで拍手喝采のOP＆ED披露！今監督のコスプレ姿も". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  2. ^ @junkamiya (June 13, 2013). "Jun Kamiya confirms Chiaki Kon's help" (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ 『エンタミクス』2014年11月号P106,KADOKAWAエンターブレインBC,2014年9月20日発行
  4. ^ a b "アニメ『美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal』第3期 ＜デス・バスターズ編＞今春スタート！ キャスト発表は1/27ニコ生で！". Sailor Moon Official (in Japanese). January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 8, 2016). "3rd Season of Sailor Moon Crystal Spring Premiere, New Staff Revealed". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "サンリオ新作アニメ「ミュークルドリーミー」追加キャストに豊崎愛生、釘宮理恵ら". Comic Natalie. January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "「美少女戦士セーラームーンCrystal」 第4期＜デッド・ムーン編＞". Sailor Moon Official (in Japanese). June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 30, 2017). "Sailor Moon Crystal Anime's 4th Season Revealed as 2-Part Film Project". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 30, 2019). "Sailor Moon Eternal 2-Part Anime Film Project Opens in 2020". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 18, 2020). "1st Sailor Moon Eternal Film Delayed to January 8 with 2nd Film Scheduled for February 11". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Way of the Househusband Manga Gets 2021 Anime Series Starring Kenjiro Tsuda". Anime News Network. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (May 28, 2018). "Back Street Girls TV Anime Reveals Main Cast, July 3 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  13. ^ "サンリオ新作アニメ「ミュークルドリーミー」追加キャストに豊崎愛生、釘宮理恵ら". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  14. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 22, 2022). "'Play It Cool, Guys' Manga Gets TV Anime in October". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 19, 2022). "Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts Anime Reveals Main Cast, Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  16. ^ @RalateMoon (April 1, 2018). "Chiaki Kon was the director of the Sailor Moon USJ attraction!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

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