Biography
Keiji Gotou is a Japanese anime director, character designer, and manga artist born November 4, 1968 [1]. He is one of three members of gímik, a small production collective that has shaped the visual identity of several early-2000s anime, including Kiddy Grade and Uta Kata [2]. He built his reputation first as a character designer, credited on titles such as Sorcerer Hunters (1995), Martian Successor Nadesico (1996), Those Who Hunt Elves (1996), Gate Keepers (2000), and Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School (2001), before moving into series direction [2]. His directing credits include Kiddy Grade (2002) and its 2007 films (-Ignition-, -Maelstrom-, -Truth Dawn-), Uta Kata (2004-2005), Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula (2007), a 2013 Assassination Classroom OVA, Kiddy Girl-and (2009), Chou Jikuu Robo Meguru (2014), the mecha series Endride (2016), and both seasons of the mystery series In/Spectre (2020 and 2023) [2]. Along the way he has also worked extensively as a storyboard artist and episode director on other studios' productions, including Fruits Basket, D.N.Angel, and Aria the Animation and its sequel Aria the Natural [2]. That mix, character designer, director, and jobbing storyboard artist, is fairly typical of gímik's collaborative approach, where the same small circle of collaborators rotates through different roles from project to project [2]. Gotou remains active in the industry, with In/Spectre's second season among his most recent directing credits [2].