# Kenji Kamiyama

Kenji Kamiyama (神山 健治, Kamiyama Kenji, born on March 20, 1966) is a Japanese director and writer, best known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

## Career

After working as a background artist for productions such as Akira and Kiki's Delivery Service, Kamiyama joined Production I.G, contributing the screenplay of Blood: The Last Vampire and working as an animation director for Jin-Roh. In 2002, Kamiyama made his directorial debut with MiniPato, followed by Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Stand Alone Complex was produced with an 800 million yen investment, and Kamiyama decided to make the series as a "relative" to the manga and film, serving as a separate parallel world from both. The series was followed by Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In 2007, after almost six years of working on the Stand Alone Complex world, he directed the TV series Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. In 2008, it was announced that Kamiyama would direct and write Eden of the East. The series ran in 2009 from April 9 to June 18.
Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki directed Blade Runner: Black Lotus, an anime for Adult Swim and Crunchyroll, which was released in 2021 and 2022. On August 2, 2021, it was announced that Kamiyama would act as both director and writer of the feature-length anime work, Eien no 831 (transl. Eternal 831). The movie was broadcast in January 2022 on Wowow. Kamiyama directed The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which released on December 13, 2024. Kamiyama described the film as an unprecendented opportunity despite the challenges that come from developing such project and being different from the thematic approaches he took on his other works. For the main character, Héra, Kamiyama suggested the writers take inspiration from the historical female leader Æthelflæd as she played a similar role, and Tolkien was inspired by such historical figures.

## Filmography
### Television series and OVA

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1987 | DuckTales | backgrounds |
| 1988–1989 | Patlabor | backgrounds |
| 1990–1991 | The Hakkenden | art director |
| 1991 | Burn Up! | art director |
| 1993–1995 | The Hakkenden: A New Saga | art director |
| 1994 | Genocyber | art director |
| 1999–2000 | Wild Arms: Twilight Venom | scripts for episodes 3, 10 and 21 |
| 1999–2000 | Medabots | storyboards for episodes 19, 34, 41, 48 and episode director for 34, 41, 48 |
| 2002 | Mini Pato | director |
| 2002–2003 | Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | director, series composition, script, storyboard, chief writer |
| 2004–2005 | Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG | director, series composition, script, storyboard, chief writer |
| 2007 | Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit | director, script |
| 2009 | Eden of the East | director, series composition, screenplay, storyboard, chief writer |
| 2014 | Mou Hitotsu no Mirai O. | director |
| 2019–2023 | Ultraman | director |
| 2020–2022 | Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 | director |
| 2021 | Star Wars: Visions | director, script short The Ninth Jedi |
| 2021–2022 | Blade Runner: Black Lotus | director |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1991 | Roujin Z | assistant art director |
| 1998 | Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | unit director |
| 2000 | Blood: The Last Vampire | screenplay, planning assistance |
| 2006 | Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society | director, script, storyboard |
| 2007 | Eat and Run: 6 Beautiful Grifters | segment director Dandelion: Mabu of the Dining Hall |
| 2009 | Eden of the East: The King of Eden | director, screenplay |
| 2010 | Eden of the East: Paradise Lost | director, screenplay |
| 2012 | 009 Re:Cyborg | director, script |
| 2016 | Cyborg 009: Call of Justice | chief director |
| 2017 | Napping Princess | director, screenplay |
| 2022 | Eien no 831 | director, screenplay |
| 2024 | The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim | director |