Kenji Kamiyama

Kenji Kamiyama (神山 健治, Kamiyama Kenji, born on March 20, 1966) is a Japanese anime director best known as the creator of Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi (2025-28).

Career
Kamiyama has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise Production I.G, such as his work on Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, and for whom he has directed the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime television series, which was followed on into a second season, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG and a TV movie, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society.

After working as a background artist for productions such as Akira and Kiki's Delivery Service, Kamiyama joined Team Oshii at Production I.G, contributing the screenplay of Blood: The Last Vampire and working as animation director for Jin-Roh. In 2002, Kamiyama made his directorial debut with MiniPato, followed by Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In 2007, after almost six years of work on the Stand Alone Complex world, he directed the TV series Guardian of the Sacred Spirit and Eden of the East.

On November 29, 2018, it was announced that Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki will direct the initial season of Blade Runner: Black Lotus, an anime for Adult Swim and Crunchyroll.

On August 2, 2021, it was announced that Kamiyama, both director and writer of the feature-length anime work, Eien no 831 (The Eternal 831) which will be broadcast in January 2022 on WOWOW.

Filmography

 * DuckTales (1987), backgrounds
 * Patlabor (1988–1989), backgrounds
 * Burn Up! (1991), art director
 * Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors (1990–1991, 1993–1995), art director
 * Roujin Z (1991), assistant art director
 * Genocyber (1994), art director
 * Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1998), unit director
 * Wild Arms: Twilight Venom (1999–2000), scripts for episodes 3, 10 and 21
 * Medabots (1999–2000), storyboards for episodes 19, 34, 41, 48 and episode director for 34, 41, 48
 * Popolocrois Story II (2000), storyboards
 * Blood: The Last Vampire (2000), sreenplay, planning assistance
 * Mini Pato (2002), director
 * Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002–2003), director, series composition, script, storyboard, chief writer
 * Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG (2004–2005), director, series composition, script, storyboard, chief writer
 * Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006), director, script, storyboard
 * Eat and Run: 6 Beautiful Grifters (2007), segment director
 * Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (2007), director, script
 * Eden of the East (2009), director, series composition, script, storyboard, chief writer
 * Eden of the East: Air Communication (2009), director, screenplay
 * Eden of the East: The King of Eden (2009), director, screenplay
 * Eden of the East: Paradise Lost (2010), director, screenplay
 * Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society 3D (2011), director, script, storyboard
 * 009 Re:Cyborg (2012), director, script
 * Mou Hitotsu no Mirai o. (2014), director
 * Cyborg 009 Call of Justice (2016), chief director
 * Napping Princess (2017), director, screenplay
 * Ultraman (2019–present), co-director with Shinji Aramaki
 * Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (2020–2022), co-director with Shinji Aramaki
 * Star Wars: Visions (2021) ("The Ninth Jedi")
 * Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021–2022), co-director with Shinji Aramaki
 * Eien no 831 (2022), director
 * Cosmolina Presents: Diabolical (2022), ("Mr. and Mrs. Dualeh")
 * The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024), director
 * Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi (2025-2028), creator, director, script, storyboard, chief writer