Kenji Kamiyama

is a Japanese director and writer, best known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Career

After working as a background artist for productions such as Akira and Kiki's Delivery Service, Kamiyama joined Production I.G, contributing the screenplay of Blood: The Last Vampire and working as an animation director for Jin-Roh. In 2002, Kamiyama made his directorial debut with MiniPato, followed by Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Stand Alone Complex was produced with an 800 million yen investment, and Kamiyama decided to make the series as a "relative" to the manga and film, serving as a separate parallel world from both. The series was followed by Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In 2007, after almost six years of working on the Stand Alone Complex world, he directed the TV series Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. In 2008, it was announced that Kamiyama would direct and write Eden of the East. The series ran in 2009 from April 9 to June 18.

Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki directed Blade Runner: Black Lotus, an anime for Adult Swim and Crunchyroll, which was released in 2021 and 2022. On August 2, 2021, it was announced that Kamiyama would act as both director and writer of the feature-length anime work, Eien no 831 . The movie was broadcast in January 2022 on Wowow. Kamiyama directed The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which released on December 13, 2024. Kamiyama described the film as an unprecendented opportunity despite the challenges that come from developing such project and being different from the thematic approaches he took on his other works. For the main character, Héra, Kamiyama suggested the writers take inspiration from the historical female leader Æthelflæd as she played a similar role, and Tolkien was inspired by such historical figures.

Filmography

Television series and OVA Year Title Role 1987 DuckTalesbackgrounds 2021Star Wars: Visions director, script short The Ninth Jedi 2021–2022 Blade Runner: Black Lotus director 2026 Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi supervising director, stories writer 2027 Mobile Suit Gundam RG: XARX-ZERO director, series composition

Film Year Title Role 1991 Roujin Z assistant art director