[Milkymagic]

What people in the anime industry really inspire you? Or even earn your appreciation through their efforts, and even the possible witnessing of them? I'm not asking for your idea of what the general list should be, I want your own list, with your own favorites that you possibly admire or connect with in a big way.

Directors, producers, founders, artists, authors, voice actors, soundtrack composers/muscians, etc.

Keep in mind this is my opinion, and not a guideline.

4. Hideaki Anno - You just have to love a guy that's worth...well...loving and hating! Mr. Lovehate himself helped Gainax since their early days as Daicon, and even had a hand in saving Ghibli's Nausicaa of all things. His directing skills, combined with his introspectiveness, gave the studio the success they needed through much of the 90s with the angsty and controversial Neon Genesis Evangelion. If Miyazaki's the name you stamp on Ghibli, then Gainax is stamped with Anno's name.

Anno inspires my psychological side, though I feel much of my destructive tendencies (creatively) flow from his works too.

3. Yoshiyuki Tomino - Would the mecha genre ever get its due with worthy storylines without this guy? Never! Tomino's drama and bitter turmoil with his realistic characters showed mecha with a heart, and characters that didn't work outside a looming toy commercial, but within an actual piece of art. To me, his longstanding achievement to anime will always be the influential Mobile Suit Gundam. Basically, no Tomino in anime history equals no Evangelion or Macross. THE END.

Tomino's flesh and blood portrayals grab at my emotional side a great deal, with hard clenched fists! This guy makes me want to build a log cabin.

2. Mamoru Oshii - A very off the wall director for his time period, and the son of an out of work detective, made his films in a vein that demanded similar detective skills from his viewers to decipher his own messages and symbolism through Avant-garde directing. Aside from Ghibli, Ghost in the Shell broke a nice sound barrier for the mainstream when it hit in the mid 90s, but it was features like Angel's Egg and Patlabor 2 that truly established the troubled mind that was the Yang to Miyazaki's optomistic Yin. I could watch most of his anime over and over again, finding something new to think about, and something new to discover about the director himself.

Ok, so he's my ****ing hero! And he inspires my creative side! I will write ten books, with all of them taking place in each other, to show my appreciation!

And slap him down for fueling my philosophical side as well!

1. Toshio Suzuki - If anyone was certainly a key player in the formation of Studio Ghibli, it was this guy. Toshio Suzuki's pushes for production of Ghibli films have been successful in the company's early history, and it was his involvement with Miyazaki and Takahata that brought about the establishment of the company with his considerable skills. If Ghibli helped bring anime to the mainstream, then Suzuki played a key role in keeping that sort of movement possible. For me, his push for the double-bill featuring Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro in 1988 remains his most memorable achievement.

I just love the guys behind the scenes who make everything work, and producers are definitely people worthy of admiration, especially if you need a confidence booster. Basically, I'd like to have his business sense. More power to Suzuki!

Plus, I really like the foresight he has with taking a chance on Goro Miyazaki, being that the company wouldn't last forever if there wasn't someone to take the place of his father and Takahata. Hope it works out for Ghibli.
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Honorable Mentions: Masamune Shirow, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Shoji Kawamori, Kenichi Sonoda, Kenji Kawai, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Joe Hisiashi, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Masao Maruyama, Takahiro Omori, Akemi Takada, Yukito Kishiro, and Yoko Kanno.

That's my list, hopefully you have some people you wish to share in your most admired anime figures. And yes, it is a coincidence I chose directors (and a producer) to represent my list.

And there's also no need to do your list exactly like I have, text is okay, and you can give off your explanation any way you wish. You don't exactly have to be inspired by them, you can appreciate their work or even be a fanboy/fangirl. It's all good.

Thank you!

[Chimasterwang]

I only recognised 2 names XD
So mine might go like this =P
Hideaki Anno
Masamune Shirow

[Analog]

Shirow and Kia Asamiya for me. XD

[Lord Enigma]

Hmmm? My choices are more of manga writers... because without them, a majority of good anime would not exist today...

Here they are...
CLAMP- They are the masterminds behind Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer, Tsubasa Chronicle, and xxxHolic...

Rumiko Takahashi- She is the creator of Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikokku, Urusei Yatsura, and Inuyasha... Excluding Inuyasha, her works were marvelous!

Ken Akamatsu- Don't know much about him, but I do think he deserves some credit for coming up with Mahou Sensei Negima (the manga, I mean)... Excluding all the fanservice, that is...

*yawn* These are probably the only 3 authors I've even bothered knowing the names of...

[Chimasterwang]

How could you forget X/1999 XD
Ok so ive heard of CLAMP to =P

[Milkymagic]

CLAMP is definitely overlooked, their style was unique, and they even had some great manga (X/1999 was easily their best).

Kia Asamiya was cool too, my bro loves Silent Mobius and Steam Detectives.

Rumiko Takahashi has a solid resume, though I've only been exposed to Urusei Yatsura, which is always hilarious

I've got some volumes of AI Love You and Negima from Akamatsu, given I've seen the Love Hina anime enough times to wait on buying the manga.

Masamune Shirow's stories are certainly ahead of their time, and they look darn nice to boot. Arguably the best manga author ever, at least in my opinion.

Good to see Hideaki Anno get some love too!

Good selections everyone!

[Lord Enigma]

Nice to see some people who share an appreciation for CLAMP... Few people seem to appreciate it these days...

I would also like to add Satoshi Kon to my list...

[PJ-Animation]

I'm gonna go with CLAMP, and Ken Akamatasu myself as well.

Personally, I've been reading both of their manga for seven years if I remember correctly. They published the first two manga that I ever read (Cardcaptor Sakura and Love Hina).

[Damatee]

Without a doubt Masamune Shirow.

[Black Howling]

Same as Damatee, though i also like the guy who did King of hell cant remember his name

[Milkymagic]

Well, just in case you guys are curious, here's some more of my favorites!

7. Mari Iijima - Many voice actors that turn singers go through some ups and downs, and most dodge some rather close bullets. But unlike those better said stars, Mari took one of those bullets, and its name was "Lynn Minmay." In her teens she would gain widespread acceptance for her portrayal of the said character in Super Dimensional Fortress Macross in '82, and after an appearance at a con, realized her role as Lynn would be a stigma she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Thankfully, Iijima was strong and started up her music career without letting her Macross character get in the way, and the accomplished artist would come to terms with her past after deciding to dub her original character in AD Vision's re-release of the series. Here's hoping the best to her latest release, Uncompomising Innocence.

Mari inspires me to be more focused, never to let other people dictate who I should be, and I admire her ability to accept that sort of burden with grace.

6. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - One of the founding members of Gainax alongside Hideaki Anno, Sadamoto was the company's main character designer. His style was very unique, his characters were widely expressive, and their figures were noticably anemic in some cases. But his contributions to the visual style of Gainax's products cannot go unnoticed, like with the deep portrayals behind The Wings of Honneamise, the adventurous Nadia series, or even the darkened nature of Neon Genesis Evangelion's designs. His work on .hack is also quite popular, and he's even a co-creator!

Sadamoto definitely has me think about expression, and I can't help but appreciate the visual aspect of life through his artwork.

5. Isao Takahata - Miyazaki's mentor was around well before his time, making films since the 60s, as his first feature "Horus: Prince of the Sun" failed financially, but garnered artistic success. Eventually, him and Miyazaki would leave the newly formed Toei Animation Studio and pursue their careers elsewhere. But Takahata's social edge helped him establish not just the quality of anime from around his time, but also helped his protege Miyazaki gain that same sensibility when their founding studio, Ghibli, was around. Takahata was certainly a director ahead of his time, and arguably more influential in his storytelling than meets the eye. A one of a kind commentary, I think Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday speak for themselves.

Takahata makes me want to be socially conscious, to reach around myself and discover what's happening in the world. He also makes me very reflective of myself too.