Arifumi Imai

Arifumi Imai(今井　有文) was born in 1982, in Gunma prefecture. He graduated from Musashino Art University. He joined the anime industry by joining studio Production I.G, and after spending some time in WIT Studio he is freelance now, although he is still a regular on WIT's shows.

His cuts for Guilty Crown and Sengoku Basara first got him noticed. When he moved to WIT, his first job was as Action Animation Director for Attack on Titan, where his work stood out as the most consistently exciting on the show. Imai’s animation is highly ostentatious. He moves characters in swooping, exaggerated arcs of motion. His special effects are bright, flashy, and neon colored. His smears are sometimes so extreme he renders characters and objects as abstract shapes. His scenes are marked by high-velocity camera work that frequently incorporates CG backgrounds. However, as ridiculous and over-the-top as his scenes can get, Imai’s character animation is surprisingly solid and weighty¹.

He is very good with Flash and uses it regularly.

Twitter - SakugaBooru - AMV - Japanese Wiki Page

Works

• xxxHOLiC Kei(2008/TV)

1. In-betweens: #1, #2, #5, #12.

• Toshokan Sensou(2008/TV)

1. In-betweens: #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #10, #12.

• World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin(2008/TV)

1. In-betweens: #9.

• Crayon Shin-chan(2008~/TV)

1. In-betweens: #638, #645, #653, #662.

• Batman Gotham Knight(2008/OVA)

1. In-betweens.

• Tales of Vesperia(2008/Xbox360)

1. In-betweens.

• Tales of VS(2009/PSP)

1. In-betweens.

• Sengoku Basara(2009/TV)

1. In-betweens: #1, #11, #12.

• White Album(2009/TV)

1. In-betweens: #2.

• Eden of the East(2009/TV)

1. In-betweens: #1, #2.

• Kimi ni Todoke(2009~2010/TV)

1. Key Animation: #6, #11, #13, #18, #25.

• Shoka(2010/SP)

1. Key Animation.

• Eden of The East the Movie II: Paradise Lost(2010/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Sengoku Basara Two(2010/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP, ED2, #1, #2, #6, #7, #10, #11, #12.

• Toaru Majutsu no Index II(2010~2011/TV)

1. Key Animation: #9.

• Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season(2011/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP, #4, #6.

• Moshidora(2011/TV)

1. Key Animation: #5.

• Momo e no Tegami(2011/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Guilty Crown(2011~2012/TV)

1. Animation Direction: #16(Joint), #19(Joint), #22(Joint).
2. Key Animation: OP, #1, #2, #3, #4, #6, #9, #11, #16, #19, #21, #22.
3. 2nd Key Animation: #11.

• Naruto Shippuden(2007~2017/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP12, #414.
2. Animation Cooperation: #696, #697.

• Uchuu Kyoudai(2012/TV)

1. Key Animation: #14.

• Guilty Crown Lost Christmas Eizou Tokuten DVD(2012/Win)

1. The Void Design.
2. Key Animation.

• Robotics;Notes(2012~2013/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP, #1, #3.
   1. #1: When Yao drinks Skal in the club room.
2. Animation Direction: #3.

• Attack on Titan(2013/TV)

1. Action Storyboard: #3.75(OAD).
2. Action Animation Director: OP1(Joint), #1(Joint), #2, #3, #3.25(OAD), #3.5(OAD), #3.75(OAD), #5, #7, #10, #13, #18, #21(Joint), #24(Joint), #25(Joint).
3. Layout Supervision Assistant: #3.5(OAD).
4. Key Animation: OP1, OP2, #1, #2, #3, #3.25(OAD), #3.75(OAD), #4(NC), #5, #7, #8, #10, #17, #18, #21, #22, #24, #25.
   1. #1: A little bit before the OP(Source).
   2. #2: Armored Titan scene. Only the 2 cuts used in the pv were done by Chiba Takaaki(Source).
   3. #3: The maneuver around the solid object at the end(Source).
   4. #4: When the smoke pushes characters down the wall and they stick to the wall, Eren cut only. They forgot to include his name in the credits(Source).
   5. #13: Levi action.
5. In-betweens: #18.

• Tales of Asteria(2014/Mobile)

1. Key Animation: OP Movie.

• Gundam Reconguista in G(2014/TV)

1. Key Animation: #10.

• Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku(2014/OAD)

1. Action Storyboard: First Part.
2. Action Animation Direction: First Part.
3. Key Animation: First Part.

• Rolling Girls(2015/TV)

1. Effect Setting.
2. Action Key Animation Direction: #1~#12.
3. Key Animation: #1, #2, #8, #11, #12.
4. 2nd Key Animation: #6, #12.
5. In-betweens: #12.

• Naruto The Movie: Boruto(2015/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• One Punch Man(2015/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP, #5, #8, #12.
2. 2nd Key Animation: #6.

• Osomatsu-san(2015~2016/TV)

1. Key Animation: #18.

• Pokemon Generations(2016/WEB)

1. Storyboard: #8(NC/Source).
2. Episode Direction: #8(NC/Source).
3. Animation Direction: #8(NC/Source).

• Flip Flappers(2016/TV)

1. Action Supervision(Direction): #9.

• Shingeki no Kyojin 2nd Season(2017/TV)

1. Action Animation Direction(Joint/Opening Credit).
2. PV Part Storyboard: #29, #32(Joint), #33.
3. Animation Direction Assistant: #37(Joint).
4. Action Animation Direction: #29, #32(Joint), #36(Joint), #37(Joint).
5. Action Animation Direction Assistant: #33(Joint).
6. Key Animation: OP, #26, #29, #32, #33, #36, #37.

• Fate/Apocrypha(2017/TV)

1. Key Animation: #14.

• Cutie Honey Universe(2018/TV)

1. Key Animator: #2.

• Shingeki no Kyojin 3(2018/TV)

1. Action Animation Director(Joint).
2. Storyboard: #39(NC).
3. Animation Director: #39(Joint), #44(Joint).
4. Key Animator: #38, #39.

• Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress – Ran: Hajimaru(2018/Game)

1. POV Animator: Opening Movie.

• Boogiepop wa Warawanai(2019/TV)

1. Key Animator: OP.

• Shingeki no Kyojin 3(2019/TV)

1. Action Animation Director(Joint).