Shinji Higuchi

Shinji Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口真嗣), born September 22, 1965, Tokyo, is a writer, director, storyboard artist and a prominent special effects figure in Japanese film and television. As a teenager he was one of the four founding members of (originally established as Daicon Films), working on many anime and  productions. He played an important part in the creation of the popular anime series , serving as writer, assistant director, and art director/storyboarder. His previous work on the anime  led the show's director and fellow Gainax member to name Evangelion's protagonist,  after him as an inside joke. Higuchi initially started his career in the mid 80s working within special effects on several films, and by the mid 90's had established himself as a master within the field with the release of the acclaimed  trilogy of films. During this time, he continued to be a storyboarder for anime such as ' and ', his wife also providing the namesake for the former's heroine, Noriko Takaya.

In addition to his special effects direction, Higuchi branched into CG animation for several tokusatsu films in the early 2000s, and has since directed a number of live-action films. Higuchi became involved within the Pokémon franchise during the production of Jirachi: Wish Maker as a storyboard artist in 2004. He was later commissioned to produce the artwork for the new TCG Pokémon LEGEND cards that first appeared in the TCG HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and went on to co-illustrate all subsequent Pokémon LEGEND cards released in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Series. He was also involved in the art direction of two cards from the TCG Undaunted expansion in collaboration with 3D illustrator Kent Kanetsuna.

Games
Shinji Higuchi 樋口真嗣