Yusuke Hirota

Yusuke Hirota (廣田 裕介, Hirota Yūsuke) is a Japanese anime director best known for his directorial debut film, Poupelle of Chimney Town.

After studying fluid mechanics at Keio University Faculty of Science and Engineering, he decided not to pursue a career in this field and instead entered Digital Hollywood University to study CGI.[1] As a child, he had fallen in love with anime after watching Dragon Ball and Gundam,[2] and the success of Pixar's computer-animated film Toy Story later convinced him that it was possible to make a living from CGI animation.[1] Hirota then submitted his portfolio to several companies that used CGI, among which Studio 4°C was the only anime company.[1]

Hirota started working at Studio 4°C as CG animator and was made the chief of the studio's CGI section.[3] He worked on the CGI of various anime series and films, including the 2019 film Children of the Sea. At Studio 4°C, he had always said that he wanted to be a director,[3] and in 2017 he was asked by Eiko Tanaka, producer of Poupelle of Chimney Town, to become the director of this film.[1] At that time, Hirota was aware of the picture book on which the film was to be based, but had never read it; however, he agreed to direct the film, partly because he was sympathetic to the idea of adapting a children's book as he had just become a father to a child himself.[1]

The book's author, Akihiro Nishino, had actually wanted to make a film out of the story of Poupelle of Chimney Town even before publishing it as a picture book, and started writing a completely new script for the film. Hirota met with Nishino once every two weeks and worked on the scenario for a total of about half a year.[1] They finally finished the manuscript after about 15 drafts.[1]

Poupelle of Chimney Town premiered in Japan on December 25, 2020. A sequel titled "Poupelle of Chimney Town – The Promised Clock Tower", to be released on March 27, 2026, is also directed by Hirota.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "大ヒット絵本をアニメ化した「映画 えんとつ町のプペル」の廣田裕介監督にインタビュー". Gigazine (in Japanese). 2020-12-31. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  2. ^ Hiroshi Kōno (2022-01-14). "コロナ禍と重なる世界観 プペルと少年が導く未来とは「えんとつ町のプペル」西野亮廣/廣田裕介". Yomitime (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "映画監督・廣田裕介（スタジオ4°C）絵本を描く前にシナリオがあった家族の絆をしっかり描きたい". Ameba (in Japanese). 2021-03-28. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  4. ^ Reiya Suzuki (2025-11-07). "プペル役窪田正孝続投決定！『映画 えんとつ町のプペル ～約束の時計台～』圧倒的な映像美で贈る特報映像も". Movie Walker Press (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 November 2025.
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