Misawa Hiroshi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Misawa Hiroshi (三泽广)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Snakehead Animation Studio; later YUKI Studio 5 106
Occupation / Role	Episode director, storyboard artist, animation-production director, and later YUKI Studio project director 5 84 498
Status	Active 654
First Appearance	Chapter 5: “JK-san”

Background / History

Misawa began as an in-between checker before becoming a key animator, animation director, and eventually an assistant chief animation director. His early key-animation specialty was hand-drawn special effects—particularly explosions—but he later regretted neglecting broader skills such as character drawing. 41

At Snakehead Animation Studio, he served as storyboard artist and episode director for Episode 6 of Ore-sama's Right Leg Lost a Big Toe, but That Wasn't a Toe—It Was the Holy Sword. The production was severely behind schedule and underfunded, forcing him to approve merely passable cuts in order to keep the episode moving. 5

Gu Xue's exceptional action cuts for Episode 6 reignited his creative ambition. Inspired by her work, he revised the Final Episode's storyboards despite the schedule and budget risks; the resulting episode later became a major point of discussion among viewers. 6 11

Misawa was selected to direct Snakehead's Anime Mirai project, initially proposing a space-mecha story before accepting a witch-themed concept developed with Gu Xue and Mihara Chisa. He led the newcomer-training production that became Little Witch Academia, though he gradually ceded many creative decisions to Gu Xue after recognizing her stronger suitability as the project's creative lead. 30 39 84 112

After defending Gu Xue during Snakehead's attempt to remove her over an online controversy, Misawa accepted her invitation to help establish YUKI Studio. He recruited capable former colleagues for the new studio and chose to focus on refining his episode-direction skills rather than immediately pursuing series direction. 98 106 107 114

At YUKI Studio, Gu Xue later entrusted him with directing an original boxing project involving mechanical exoskeletons, informally dubbed the “macho anime.” He also took on the high-pressure role of director for Attack on Titan Season 2, delivering a season whose quality matched the first season despite Gu Xue not participating in its production. 498 511 654

Appearance

Misawa is a balding man who eventually shaves his remaining hair completely after his wife objects to his receding hairline. His reflective bald head becomes a frequent source of teasing among his colleagues. 41 106 215

• Initially had a receding hairline attributed to years spent drawing explosion effects. 41
• Became fully shaved after getting married. 215
• Is self-conscious about his baldness, even while regularly making jokes about it himself. 42 654
• Speaks Cantonese, reflecting his hometown of Yangcheng. 370

Personality

Misawa is passionate, perfectionistic, and highly susceptible to inspiration. Even while working under impossible schedules, he wants his episodes to be as strong as possible; early in his directing career, this led him to revise storyboards without adequately accounting for production limits. 6 10

He is self-aware about his shortcomings. Misawa recognizes that his technical background is narrow, doubts his own directing ability at times, and accepts that Gu Xue is often the more capable creative lead. Nevertheless, he continues seeking opportunities to improve and eventually gains greater confidence through directing major projects. 41 112 512 654

Though easily flustered and prone to dramatic complaints, he is loyal to colleagues he respects. He openly defended Gu Xue against Snakehead's executives, even at personal professional cost, and consistently supports her ambitions at YUKI Studio. 98 100 106

Abilities & Skills

Episode Direction and Production Oversight

Misawa understands the full episode-production pipeline and performs the episode director's role from key-animation review through post-production checks. 5

• Evaluates whether key-animation acting matches the intended emotions and movement. 5
• Approves, rejects, or returns cuts for revisions based on production needs. 5
• Conducts animation meetings and explains shot-specific costumes, movements, emotional beats, and intended effects to animators. 86
• Can identify minor issues during rush checks, though he learns to balance revisions against workload constraints. 30

Storyboarding and Action Direction

Misawa is especially drawn to intense action, close-quarters combat, and exaggerated confrontations. His revised finale storyboards for Ore-sama were motivated by Gu Xue's ambitious Episode 6 animation. 6 177

• Revised the Ore-sama finale's storyboards to pursue a stronger visual result. 6
• Contributed storyboards to Episode 11 of Invasion, completing his portion in three days. 52
• Excels at scenes involving brothers turning against one another and action-heavy dramatic confrontations. 177
• Developed the core concept for a boxing anime centered on mechanical exoskeletons, strength, endurance, and competitive resolve. 511

Hand-Drawn Special Effects

Misawa's original key-animation specialty is hand-drawn effects, particularly explosions. 41

• Passed his promotion examination to key animator through his explosion-effect work. 41
• Drew the collision-and-explosion sequence between the Demon King and Hero in the finale of You Are My Hero. 41
• Understands the workload of layered special-effects animation involving smoke, debris, firelight, and flying material. 41
• Admits that his character drawing is comparatively weak due to his specialization. 41

Talent Recruitment

After joining YUKI Studio, Misawa became a key recruiter and organizer for the studio's personnel growth. 107 114

• Identified capable, dissatisfied staff at Snakehead Animation for recruitment. 107
• Successfully brought key personnel into YUKI Studio despite feeling he had not done enough. 114
• Managed inexperienced key animators and outsourced work as the studio expanded. 150

Relationships

• Gu Xue — Colleague, creative partner, and later employer at YUKI Studio. Misawa initially underestimated her, then became one of her strongest professional advocates after witnessing her animation skill. 6 41 98 106
• Mihara Chisa — Frequent collaborator and occasional adversary during Snakehead's productions. Their disagreements stem largely from her strict production management and his creative idealism. 18 39
• Abe Shinichi — Director and senior colleague on Ore-sama. Abe often mediates between Misawa and Mihara and supports Misawa's work on the production. 10 30
• Kigami — Core collaborator on Misawa's boxing/exoskeleton project; the two developed its concept together. 511
• Hiratsuka Yu — Newcomer on the Anime Mirai project. Misawa attempted to de-escalate Hiratsuka's conflict with Gu Xue and later helped manage the incident's fallout. 93 95
• Misawa's wife — His upcoming marriage was a major concern when Gu Xue first invited him to join YUKI Studio; she later persuaded him to shave his remaining hair. 106 215

Story Role / Major Arcs

*Ore-sama* Production

• Served as Episode 6's storyboard artist and episode director during a severely delayed production. 5
• Recognized Gu Xue's talent after reviewing her completed cuts and changed the finale's storyboards in response. 6
• Assigned Gu Xue difficult finale cuts while offering workload flexibility, separate cleanup support, and increased pay. 11

Anime Mirai and *Little Witch Academia*

• Became director of Snakehead's Anime Mirai project, intended to train newcomers. 30 84
• Initially pushed for a space-mecha anime but accepted the witch-themed direction after Gu Xue challenged the proposal's production practicality. 38 39
• Asked Gu Xue to serve as animation director and character designer after the project lost most of its core animators. 41
• Later functioned largely as a nominal director, leaving many decisions to Gu Xue while handling recruitment for the future studio. 112

Founding YUKI Studio

• Joined Gu Xue's independent studio after receiving assurances of creative independence, stable pay, and opportunities to make original works. 106
• Recruited former coworkers and helped build YUKI Studio's initial staff base. 107 114
• Served as deputy director for a later YUKI Studio anime project. 321

Directorial Growth

• Was named director of YUKI Studio's new boxing project while Gu Xue deliberately declined an official role in order to let him lead. 498
• Developed the project around boxing, mechanical exoskeletons, and an overtly masculine aesthetic. 511
• Directed Attack on Titan Season 2 under intense expectations and earned strong audience approval for maintaining the first season's quality. 654

Notable Quotes

“Art is an explosion.” 41

“My dream is to make a robot anime like Pacific Rim: Monster.” 511

“If the anime isn't made well, what use do I have for this hair?” 531

Trivia

• Misawa's coworkers frequently associate his baldness with his former obsession with drawing explosions. 41 42
• Gu Xue once described bald staff such as Misawa as YUKI Studio's most reliable employees. 215
• He publicly pulled out his own hair to demonstrate his determination to make Tomorrow's Joe successful. 531
• The PV for his boxing project ends by crediting him as its director. 540