ぱにぽに
During the mid-to-late 2000s, a number of new directors joined the studio as emmployees or associates, including Ryouki Kamitsubo, Naoyuki Tatsuwa, Kenichi Ishikura, Yukihiro Miyamoto, Shinichi Omata, Tomoyuki Itamura, and Gekidan Inu Curry. Kamitsubo and Oonuma, however, left by the end of the decade, with the latter joining Silver Link where he established a similar role to Shinbo's. "Pani Poni Dash!" and "Negima!?" character designer Kazuhiro Ōta left the same year.