Chikashi Kubota

Kubota brought significant technical expertise to Dragon Ball Daima as chief animation director on the opening episode, setting the visual tone for the series before contributing key animation throughout. His most prominent role came with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, where he served as chief animation director, overseeing character animation and visual consistency across that theatrical feature. He also contributed key animation to Dragon Ball Super: Broly, adding to the kinetic energy of that film's combat sequences.

Beyond Dragon Ball, Kubota has built a formidable career as a character designer and animation director on major titles including One Punch Man, Gurren Lagann, and Space Dandy. His work spans across direction, key animation, and character design roles, demonstrating the technical depth needed to maintain both action intensity and character consistency across long-form productions.

Born in Katsushika, Tokyo in 1978, Kubota joined Toei Animation and gradually moved from inbetween animation and key animation into supervisory and design roles. His early work included contributions to foundational shows like Attack on Titan and FLCL. He became known for his ability to drive animation quality on action-heavy series, with standout credits on One Punch Man where he served as chief animation director across both the TV series and OVA releases. His design and direction work reflects a modernist approach that has influenced contemporary anime character animation.