Abel Góngora

Abel Góngora (born July 30, 1983) is a Spanish animator and director based in Japan who is known for his work with the Japanese animation studio Science SARU. Having joined the studio as one of its first employees, Góngora serves as the head of Science SARU's digital animation department and has specialized in the use of Adobe Animate. In addition to his work as an animator, Góngora has also served as an episode director for promotional episodes of the American series OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, and as the director of T0-B1, a short film segment of the Disney+ anthology project Star Wars: Visions.

Early life Góngora was born in Barcelona, Spain, and grew up in the town of Elche. As a child, he developed a love of drawing comics and aspired to someday own a shop where he could sell them. He studied animation and graduated from the Technical University of Valencia.

Career Work with European studios Góngora began his career in Europe, joining the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon in 2006. He initially served as a location designer and later became an animator, working on the television series Skunk Fu! (2007–2008). In 2007, Góngora moved to the French animation studio Ankama, Góngora was one of the animators who temporarily moved to Tokyo; while there, he worked with director Masaaki Yuasa, who would later co-found Science SARU. Góngora returned to the main Ankama studio in France. However, he remained in touch with Yuasa and his producer associate Eunyoung Choi, and following the foundation of Science SARU in 2013, joined the new company. Góngora was eager to work with him due to his distinctive artistic aesthetic and directorial style.

Góngora began his work with Science SARU on the studio's first project, an episode of the American Adventure Time animated series entitled Food Chain (2014); he served as one of three animators on the episode. He next served as a digital animator on the television series Ping Pong the Animation (2014); while Tatsunoko Production served as the primary studio. Góngora made his directorial debut with a trio of promotional episodes for the American animated series OK K.O.!: Let's Be Heroes (2015–17). which subsequently inspired internet memes, received over 10 million views on Crunchyroll's official YouTube channel, and was nominated for Best Opening Sequence at the 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2021.

In July 2021, Góngora was announced as the director of T0-B1, a short film segment of the animated anthology project Star Wars: Visions (2021). The film centers on a droid who dreams of becoming a Jedi, and pays homage to the classic art style of Osamu Tezuka, the innovative manga creator, director, and artist who helped define the look of Japanese animation. Upon joining the project, Góngora was presented with a unique opportunity: the ability to create, with "almost no limitation," a story within the Star Wars universe that could represent his visual and narrative interests. Ultimately, Góngora settled on merging the visual style and sensibility of Japanese animation of the 1960s with the live-action feature film traditions of the 1970s, which the original Star Wars Trilogy represented. The film was released worldwide on Disney+ on September 22, 2021. The Star Wars: Visions anthology as a whole received universal acclaim, and T0-B1 was the subject of particularly strong praise, with Juan Barquin of The A.V. Club heralding the film as "charming, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once, and proof that a short film can hold more weight than some of Star Wars’ features themselves."

In January 2022, it was announced that Góngora would serve as director for an anime series adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels for Netflix. Góngora along with Fūga Yamashiro, were nominated in Best Director for its second season of Dandadan at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2026.

Works Year Title Format Director Storyboard Artist Digital Animation Supervisor Digital Animator Location Designer Notes 2007–08 Skunk Fu! TV series (episodes 14-26) (episodes 1-11, 13-26) Crayon Shin-chan: My Moving Story! Cactus Large Attack! Feature Film (animation assistance) 2016–17 OK K.O.!: Let's Be Heroes TV seriesPromotional Episodes (episodes 1, 4, 8) 2025 Dandadan (season 2) TV series (Co-directed with Fūga Yamashiro) 2026 Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia TV series (Co-directed with Naoko Yamada)