Takahiro Kamitani |best| Review

As Dandadan continues to dominate streaming charts, audiences are falling in love with its chaotic energy. Little do they know that the specific warmth of that chaos has a name: .

He represents a dying breed: the analog purist in a digital industry. When asked why he doesn't switch to digital painting, he famously replied, "The computer doesn't bleed. My pens do." Takahiro Kamitani may not draw the faces of your favorite heroes, but he draws the light that surrounds them. In Dandadan , where the story hinges on the clash between the occult and sci-fi, his effects give shape to the unseen. He reminds us that in anime, even an explosion can have a soul, provided it is drawn by the right hand. takahiro kamitani

Unlike digital effects created in post-production (which can look flat or floaty), Kamitani draws his effects frame-by-frame with colored pencils and markers. His technique involves layering vibrant colors directly on the physical genga (key animation) paper. The result is a tactile, organic glow that seems to vibrate with energy. When a character in Dandadan unleashes a spiritual attack, the blinding white-hot flash you see isn't a Photoshop filter; it is likely Kamitani’s hand-drawn light. Dandadan (2024) Kamitani serves as a key animator and the optical effects specialist for Science SARU’s adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s hit manga. His work is most visible in the battles between Momo Ayase (psychic powers) and the Turbo-Granny. He creates the ethereal, flowing hands of Momo’s psychic abilities—giving them a weight and spectral beauty that the manga’s static panels cannot convey. The show’s vibrant, psychedelic color palette is a perfect canvas for his explosive style. Mob Psycho 100 II (2019) His sequence during the battle against Toichiro Suzuki is considered a modern masterpiece. As Mob enters "100% Courage" mode, Kamitani animated the lightning and energy discharge that tears through the city. He used extreme perspective shifts and raw, unpolished line art to simulate the chaotic release of power, earning praise from director Yuzuru Tachikawa. One Punch Man (2015) While many fans praise Yutaka Nakamura’s physics-defying punches, Kamitani provided the shimmering heat effects and energy auras for Boros and Lord Boros’ ship’s cannon. His work gave the alien overlord’s "Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon" a terrifying, otherworldly texture. The Philosophy of Hand-Drawn Effects In interviews (primarily published in Animestyle and Febri magazines), Kamitani has explained his aversion to digital lighting. He argues that digital glows tend to be uniform and sterile. By using physical media, he can control the "falloff" of light—how a bright yellow center bleeds into a soft red edge. When asked why he doesn't switch to digital