Takahiro Kamitani -

Unlike digital effects created in post-production (which can look flat or floaty), Kamitani draws his effects frame-by-frame with colored pencils and markers. His technique involves layering vibrant colors directly on the physical genga (key animation) paper. The result is a tactile, organic glow that seems to vibrate with energy. When a character in Dandadan unleashes a spiritual attack, the blinding white-hot flash you see isn't a Photoshop filter; it is likely Kamitani’s hand-drawn light. Dandadan (2024) Kamitani serves as a key animator and the optical effects specialist for Science SARU’s adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s hit manga. His work is most visible in the battles between Momo Ayase (psychic powers) and the Turbo-Granny. He creates the ethereal, flowing hands of Momo’s psychic abilities—giving them a weight and spectral beauty that the manga’s static panels cannot convey. The show’s vibrant, psychedelic color palette is a perfect canvas for his explosive style. Mob Psycho 100 II (2019) His sequence during the battle against Toichiro Suzuki is considered a modern masterpiece. As Mob enters "100% Courage" mode, Kamitani animated the lightning and energy discharge that tears through the city. He used extreme perspective shifts and raw, unpolished line art to simulate the chaotic release of power, earning praise from director Yuzuru Tachikawa. One Punch Man (2015) While many fans praise Yutaka Nakamura’s physics-defying punches, Kamitani provided the shimmering heat effects and energy auras for Boros and Lord Boros’ ship’s cannon. His work gave the alien overlord’s "Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon" a terrifying, otherworldly texture. The Philosophy of Hand-Drawn Effects In interviews (primarily published in Animestyle and Febri magazines), Kamitani has explained his aversion to digital lighting. He argues that digital glows tend to be uniform and sterile. By using physical media, he can control the "falloff" of light—how a bright yellow center bleeds into a soft red edge.

He often uses a technique called zurashi (offset printing) in his animation: drawing the same beam of light across three different layers of paper, slightly offset, to create a chromatic aberration effect (like a 3D movie without the glasses). This gives his beams a chaotic, unstable feeling, as if the energy is barely contained. Because he works primarily in effects rather than character acting, Kamitani rarely tops "favorite animator" polls. However, his influence is profound. Young animators at studios like Science SARU, Bones, and Kyoto Animation study his sakuga (animation) compilations to learn how to draw fire, electricity, and light. takahiro kamitani

In the landscape of modern anime, where computer-generated imagery (CGI) often replaces hand-drawn passion, certain names rise as beacons of traditional craftsmanship. Takahiro Kamitani (神谷孝浩) is one such name. While not a household name like Hayao Miyazaki or Makoto Shinkai, Kamitani has become a legendary figure among animation enthusiasts and industry insiders, specifically for his mastery of one of the most difficult visual effects in anime: optical effects (glows, beams, lightning, and explosions). Unlike digital effects created in post-production (which can

Kamitani is best known as the "go-to" animator for the science fiction supernatural series Dandadan , but his influence stretches back over a decade, shaping the visual identity of some of the most acclaimed action anime of the 2010s and 2020s. If you have watched Mob Psycho 100 (specifically the iconic 7th Division arc), Space Dandy , One Punch Man , or Fate/Apocrypha , you have seen Kamitani’s work. He is famous for animating "psychic" and "energy" effects—the purple auras, the shimmering heat waves, and the blinding flashes of light that accompany super-powered battles. When a character in Dandadan unleashes a spiritual