“Animation Director Keiichi Hara” Yasuki Hamano / Keiichi Hara This book thoroughly analyzes the world of Keiichi Hara, the animation director who captivated not only children but also adults with “Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm of the Dancing Animals: Adults vs. the Empire” and “Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm of Kasukabe: Battle of the Warring States.” It features interviews with Director Hara and staff, storyboards, reviews, and evaluations from overseas. Furthermore, it examines the present and future of Japanese animation through Director Hara's work. After working at a production company for promotional films, he joined an animation production company. He worked on storyboards, direction, and directing for TV anime such as "Esper Mami" (1987-89) and "21 Emon" (91). From 1992, he was involved in "Crayon Shin-chan," and was in charge of the screenplay for the theatrical series. Among them, "Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm of the Dancing Animals: Adults vs. the Empire" (01) and "Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm of Kasukabe: Battle of the Warring States" (02), which he also directed, became a hot topic as anime that could make adults cry, and the latter won the Grand Prize in the Animation Division of the 6th Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival. In 2007, he released the original work "Summer Days with Coo," establishing his position as a master representing the animation world. His subsequent work, "Colorful" (10), won the Special Prize and the Audience Award in the competition section (feature film) of the 35th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. In 2013, he made his first foray into live-action films with "A Road Begins," depicting the early days of director Keisuke Kinoshita as a work commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Keisuke Kinoshita, a leading Japanese film director. His 2015 animated film "Miss HOKUSAI" was also entered in the competition section of the 39th Annecy International Animation Film Festival.