Chances are, most of us here are already Kunihiko Ikuhara fans, and rate him very highly. Who else besides Ikuni-sensei makes creations that never fail to impress you?  Here's some of mine...


Akitaroh Daichi - My comedy hero!  I have yet to see a Daichi series that I did not enjoy immensely.  Jubei-chan (1 and 2) and Animation Runner Kuromi (1 and 2) I have seen.  I own Elf Princess Rane but haven't watched it yet, and my collection is sorely devoid of Fruits Basket and Kodocha.   He's also got a more serious series, Now and Then, Here and There, that I probably ought to see as well.  I can pretty safely say that Daichi is the yin to my Ikuni yang.

Makoto Shinkai - I've only seen Voices of a Distant Star so far, which was an amazing short film.  I need to get my hands on The Place Promised in Our Early Days as soon as possible!

from Studio Ghibli:
Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata - I think they pretty much speak for themselves.

...special mention to the production company of Triangle Staff:
(which I now see also did Boogiepop Phantom, a series which I will be seeing for the first time soon, and am much looking forward to.)
Tomokazu Tokoro - I had to look his name up!   He's responsible for the quirky NieA_7 and the beautiful Haibane Renmei.
Ryutaro Nakamura - Had to look him up too... for Serial Experiments Lain.

(yes, more love for my Yoshitoshi ABe fandom. )

I've also got to make special mention of the director of my second favorite series of all time, Figure 17: Naohito Takahashi.  I haven't seen any more of his work yet, but it takes something special to create a series that threatens to rival Utena as my all-time favorite.

I predict that Satoshi Kon will make my list once I've watched Paranoia Agent in its entirety.