Shinji Higuchi

Shinji Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 真嗣 , Hepburn: Higuchi Shinji , born September 22, 1965) is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his tokusatsu blockbusters, Higuchi is considered one of Japan's leading filmmakers of the 21st century.

Higuchi became known for his work on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, for which he won the Special Technology Award at the 19th Japan Academy Film Prize. In 2005, he made his feature directorial debut on Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean. His second feature film, Sinking of Japan (2006), was second place at the Bunshun Kiichigo Awards. His 2015 live-action two-part film adaptation of Hajime Isayama's manga series, Attack on Titan, won the Excellence in Theatrical Live Action Film award at the 2016 VFX-JAPAN Awards. In 2017, Higuchi and Hideaki Anno won the Director of the Year award at the 40th Japan Academy Film Prize, for their work on the 2016 kaiju film, Shin Godzilla. His 2022 film, Shin Ultraman, was a major success in Japan, and has received generally positive reviews from critics internationally.

Higuchi was born on September 22, 1965, in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. When Higuchi was in junior high school, his aunt took him on a tour of Toho Studios, where she worked on commercials. Upon watching Toho's special effects crew at work, Higuchi became inspired and frequently visited the filming sets.

In 2019, Higuchi told French interviewers about his education: "At the end of high school, when I had to pass the entrance examinations to universities, I failed everything. But since I was in a very popular high school, the school leaders refused to let me leave empty-handed! [laughs] So they said to me: 'you have to pass an exam, any!' I ended up passing my entrance examination for the Japanese Post Office, as a civil servant. I was sorted, locked up in a warehouse."

Higuchi entered the Japanese film industry in 1984, working as an assistant modeler on The Return of Godzilla. Two years later, he directed the special effects for Daicon's tokusatsu fan film Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū.[10]

As a key Daicon/Gainax member, he played an important part in the creation of one of the most popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). He was a writer and art director/storyboarder for the series. He was also the namesake for the show's protagonist, Shinji Ikari.[11] He later voice-acted a musician modeled after himself in two episodes of Karekano.[12]

Higuchi made his directorial debut in 1992 with the disaster film The Day the Sun Fissured: The Great Tokyo Earthquake which he produced for Tokyo Fire Department.[13]

Higuchi supports Japan's whaling and consumptions of whale meats in general, and have appeared in the 2023 pro-whaling documentary film by Keiko Yagi, the director of the 2015 film Behind The Cove.[14] The 2023 documentary featured the pro-whaling claim to highlight the necessity of whaling to control the marine ecosystem to prevent declines of fish stocks by whales, which largely affected public opinion regards the issues in Japan. The Fisheries Agency of Japan withdrew the claim in 2009 at the annual meeting of International Whaling Commission, but didn't correct it domestically afterwards.[14][15] Yagi and Higuchi remarked that "Godzilla is closely connected to whales and environmental issues in naming of the character and other aspects",[a] and expressed their supports for whaling and skeptical views towards veganism.[14][26]