Chiaki Kon
Japanese anime director
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Chiaki Kon (Japanese: 今 千秋, Hepburn: Kon Chiaki) is a Japanese anime director. She is known for directing Higurashi When They Cry, The World's Greatest First Love, the third season and the Eternal films of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal series, and You and Idol Pretty Cure.
Chiaki Kon | |
|---|---|
今 千秋 | |
| Born | September 29 Chiba Prefecture, Japan |
| Occupation | Anime director |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Notable work | |
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | 今 千秋 |
| Hiragana | こん ちあき |
| Romanization | Kon Chiaki |
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 Advancement | |
| 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) | |
| Devils and Realist | 1 | 1-12 | Director, Series Composition (eps. 4, 6, 10), Storyboard (OP, ED; eps. 1, 9, 11), Unit Director (OP, ED) | ||
| 2013–14 | 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) | a | |
| 2014–15 | HappinessCharge PreCure! | 1 | 24 | Storyboard (eps. 24) | a |
| 2016 | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III | 1 | 1-13 | Series Director, Episode Director & Storyboard (OP, ED; eps. 1, 7, 13) | 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] |
| 2021–22 | Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure | 1 | 21, 30 | Storyboard (eps. 21, 30) | |
| 2022–23 | Play It Cool, Guys | 1 | 1-24 | Director, Script (eps. 10, 18), Episode Director (eps. 1-2, 9-10, 24), Storyboard (OP1-2; eps. 1-11, 24) | [14] |
| 2023 | Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts | 1 | 1-24 | Director, Storyboard (OP1-2, ED1-2) | [15] |
| 2023–24 | Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure | 1 | 21, 36, 41 | Storyboard (eps. 21, 36, 41) | |
| 2024–25 | Wonderful Pretty Cure! | 1 | 4, 10, 18 | Storyboard (eps. 4, 10, 18) | |
| 2025–26 | You and Idol Pretty Cure | 1 | Series Director, Episode Director (eps. 1, 28, 42, 49), Storyboard (OP; eps. 1, 3, 49), Script (eps. 3), Unit Director (OP), Script (eps. 3, 14, 22, 27, 39, 41) | [16]a | |
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 | [17] |
| 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 | ||