Toshio Hirata

平田敏夫

Hirata Toshio is an animator and a graduate of Musashino Art University. After graduation in 1961 he joined Toei Douga, but left it soon after. Since then he has worked for Mushi Production, Zuiyo, Group Tac, and currently resides in Madhouse. Like many of the figures of this period, Hirata started his career as an animator at Toei Doga as an inbetweener in the features made from 1960 to 1963: Journey to the West, Anju, Sinbad, Little Prince. Specifically, he was under the tutelage of Yasuji Mori. Hirata still speaks extremely highly of the experience and of Mori in particular, going so far as to say that if it hadn't been for Mori, he probably wouldn't be in animation today. Mori was a major influence on Hirata -- as well as many of those who worked with him like Miyazaki and Takahata -- not only because he was a great teacher and animator himself, but also because he was a gentle person who, legend has it, never got angry at anyone. He took animation seriously, and approached it with rigor and love. Mori's legacy is clearly at the root of Hirata's pliant, honest, soulful approach to animation. One of the things that is unique about this early period is the variety of origins of

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