# Shinichi Omata

Shinichi Omata (Japanese: 小俣 真一, Hepburn: Omata Shin'ichi) is a Japanese director, storyboard artist, and former producer best known for directing Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (2016) and Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2019).

## Career

Omata began his career in the industry in the mid-1990s as a producer at Phoenix Entertainment, which he worked with until 2001. He mainly worked as either an animation producer for hentai series, or as an assistant production manager on series Phoenix Entertainment produced. In 2009, he became an active storyboard artist with Shaft, first serving on the 9th episode of Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chū. During his tenure with Shaft, he worked mainly under the direction of Akiyuki Shinbo and Yukihiro Miyamoto, with whom he directed and storyboarded several episodes to Arakawa Under the Bridge, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl. In 2012, Omata left Shaft's ranks and began working mainly for Studio Deen, where he would make his first series directorial debut with Sankarea: Undying Love under the pseudonym Mamoru Hatakeyama (畠山守, Hatakeyama Mamoru). Shinbo's own style with Shaft is regarded to be a sort of "artistic renaissance" within the anime industry, and Omata's own directorial works after his leave from the studio have also been regarded as such. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, for example, has been praised for its storytelling and direction despite limited and inconsistent animation from the studio's animation team. Following his work with Studio Deen, Omata began a relationship with A-1 Pictures in 2018, where he directed the fantasy war series Record of Grancrest War, and the following year was given directorial responsibilities for Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The series garnered immediate success and was included as a runner-up for Funimation's "Decade of Anime" fan-poll award for "Favorite Romance Series of the Decade" was nominated at the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards for Best Comedy. The second season garnered seven awards at the 2020 Newtype Anime Awards, including Best Director for Omata.

## Works
### Television series

In "Director(s)" column highlights Omata's directorial works.
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | SB | ED | Other roles and notes | Ref(s) |
| 1998 | Princess Nine | Tomomi Mochizuki | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer | |
| 2009 | Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chū (#9) | Akiyuki Shinbo Kenichi Ishikura (series) | Shaft | Yes | No | | |
| 2010 | Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu | Akiyuki Shinbo Kenichi Ishikura (series) | Shaft | Yes | No | | |
| 2010 | Arakawa Under the Bridge | Yukihiro Miyamoto (series) | Shaft | Yes | Yes | | |
| 2010 | Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge | Akiyuki Shinbo Yukihiro Miyamoto (series) | Shaft | Yes | Yes | | |
| 2011 | Puella Magi Madoka Magica | Akiyuki Shinbo Yukihiro Miyamoto (series) | Shaft | Yes | Yes | | |
| 2011 | Lotte no Omocha! | Fumitoshi Oizaki | Diomedéa | Yes | No | | |
| 2011 | Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl | Akiyuki Shinbo (chief) Yukihiro Miyamoto (series) | Shaft | Yes | Yes | Key animator | |
| 2011 | Phi Brain: Puzzle of God | Junichi Sato | Sunrise | No | Yes | | |
| 2011 | The World's Greatest First Love | Chiaki Kon | Studio Deen | No | Yes | | |
| 2012 | Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb | Akiyuki Shinbo Yuki Yase (series) | Shaft | Yes | No | | |
| 2012 | Sankarea: Undying Love | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | Yes | Opening director and storyboard Ending director and storyboard As Mamoru Hatakeyama | [2][25][26] [27][28] |
| 2013 | Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | Yes | | |
| 2013 | Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East | Osamu Yamasaki (chief) Mitsue Yamazaki | Studio Deen | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2013 | Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East 2 | Osamu Yamasaki (chief) Mitsue Yamazaki | Studio Deen | Yes | No | | |
| 2013 | Da Capo III | Kenichi Ishikura | Actas | Yes | No | | |
| 2014 | Sakura Trick | Kenichi Ishikura | Studio Deen | Yes | No | | |
| 2014 | Wake Up, Girls! | Yutaka Yamamoto | Ordet Tatsunoko Production | Yes | No | | |
| 2014 | Dramatical Murder | Kazuya Miura | NAZ | Yes | No | | |
| 2014 | Black Butler: Book of Circus | Noriyuki Abe | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | Ending director and storyboard | |
| 2016 | The Asterisk War | Kenji Seto | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | | |
| 2016 | Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2017 | Hell Girl: The Fourth Twilight | Takahiro Omori | Studio Deen | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2017 | Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju 2nd Season | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | Yes | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2018 | Record of Grancrest War | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | Yes | Opening storyboard Ending storyboard As Mamoru Hatakeyama | [6][46] [47][48][49] |
| 2019 | Teasing Master Takagi-san 2 | Hiroaki Akagi | Shin-Ei Animation | Yes | No | | |
| 2019 | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | Yes | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2020 | I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level | Nobukage Kimura | Revoroot | Yes | No | | |
| 2020 | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War? | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2021 | Visual Prison | Takeshi Furuta (chief) Tomoya Tanaka | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | | |
| 2022 | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – Ultra Romantic | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | Yes | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |
| 2023 | Undead Girl Murder Farce | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Lapin Track | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama | |

### OVAs/ONAs

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | SB | ED | Other roles and notes |
| 1995 | Giant Robo Gaiden Ginrei (#3) | Takeshi Mori | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Production assistant |
| 1996 | Shin Kaitei Gunkan | Mitsuo Fukuda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Production assistant |
| 1998 | Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still (#7) | Yasuhiro Imagawa | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Production manager |
| 1999 | Mechiku | Mitsuhiro Yoneda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Production manager |
| 1999 | Ikenie | Teruaki Murakami | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 1999 | Kiss Yori... | Rion Kujou | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 1999 | MeiKing | Teruaki Murakami Sougetsu Mimura | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 1999 | Shimai Ijiri | Mitsuhiro Yoneda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | Ai Doll (#3–4) | Rion Kujou | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | Bondage Mansion | Norihiko Nagahama | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | Endless Serenade | Teruaki Muruakami | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (#3–5) | Various | A.P.P.P. | No | No | Production desk |
| 2000 | Tonari no Onee-san | Teruaki Murakami Sougetsu Mimura | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | Dark | Norihiko Nagahama | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2000 | Campus | Haruo Oogawara Yoshiki Ozu | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2001 | Holy Virgins | Kansaburou Oda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2001 | Private Sessions | Yuuji Yanase | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2001 | Punishment | Teruaki Murakami Mitsuhiro Yoneda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2001 | Sex Ward | Kuboyama 1862 | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2001 | Slaves to Passion (#1) | Kansaburou Oda | Phoenix Entertainment | No | No | Animation producer |
| 2011 | Starry Sky | Kiyoko Sayama | Studio Deen | No | Yes | |
| 2012 | Sankarea: Undying Love | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | Yes | Opening director and storyboard Ending director and storyboard As Mamoru Hatakeyama |
| 2013 | Hetalia: The Beautiful World | Hiroshi Watanabe | Studio Deen | Yes | No | |
| 2015 | Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: Yotaro Hourou-hen | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Studio Deen | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama |
| 2021 | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama |
| 2022 | Onna no Sono no Hoshi | Mamoru Hatakeyama | Lapin Track | No | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama |

### Films

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | SB | ED | Other roles and notes |
| 2011 | Mahou Sensei Negima! Anime Finale | Akiyuki Shinbo | Shaft Studio Pastoral | Yes | No | |
| 2012 | Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Beginnings | Akiyuki Shinbo (chief) Yukihiro Miyamoto | Shaft | Yes | No | |
| 2017 | Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic | Noriyuki Abe | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | |
| 2022 | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends | Mamoru Hatakeyama | A-1 Pictures | Yes | No | As Mamoru Hatakeyama |