Naruto Shippūden Animation Credits

Episode Credits
Note: If an episode has two people listed for a single job, it means that each of them did one half of the episode - or in the rare case of 3 people, one third. However, those with (A) next to their name means that they only assisted the main person with the entire job.

Animation Supervisor (作画監督)
Literally "drawings supervisor". Animation Directors are responsible for leading and co-ordinating the animation team. They may also be involved in the recruitment of that team, to ensure that the selected artists have the appropriate animation and drawing skills for the production. They interpret the brief from the Director, and from other relevant departments, and communicate information to the Animators.

Responsibilities: Animation Directors are responsible for the quality of the animation, for keeping it on brief and for delivering consistent performances by assigning, or casting, the appropriate key animators. They guide, supervise and review the work produced by the animators and assistants, and they must understand the implications of performance, style, quality, continuity, technical, scheduling and budgetary requirements.

Animation Directors are responsible for checking the key animation and drawings and also ensures faces are drawn according to the character design throughout the production, and often provides the main liaison between the animation department and those who are involved in the later stages of the production process. On longer format projects, they are usually responsible to the Production Department for delivering the required quota of animation, on schedule and to budget.

Skills: Animation Directors need solid animation experience, a good eye, effective communication skills and some talent for people and project management, combined with the ability to meet deadlines and to work to a budget. They must be able to work as part of the senior creative team, to interpret decisions and to communicate them to the animation crew. They may need to arbitrate sensitively between creative desires and production requirements. Animation supervisors are usually established and, probably, respected animators themselves.

In addition to their animation talents, they need to demonstrate leadership, management and organisational skills, together with the ability to take responsibility. They are likely to have entered the industry having graduated from an Animation degree, or with a comparable art degree, before progressing through various animation roles. As a result of this kind of apprenticeship, Animation Directors are likely to have first-hand experience of most of the jobs within the department from Runner to In-betweener and upwards. Note that roles such as Key animators, inbetween animators, secondary animators, etc are not listed this page because single episodes can have anywhere between 20-50 of these people.

Storyboard (絵コンテ)
Literally "picture continuity".

Responsibilities: Storyboard Artists illustrate the narrative, plan shots, and draw panels to demonstrate action, and to maintain continuity between scenes. They may need to revise and update their work to reflect a changing script or comments from the Director. They may be required to prepare the storyboards for production, including indications of dialogue, character performance and camera moves, and could be asked to produce their work either as rough or cleaned up drawings, depending on the requirements of a particular production. Storyboard Artists need to be aware of any relevant technical or budgetary restrictions related to the production, and they are responsible for delivering the storyboard on schedule.

Skills: Above all else, Storyboard Artists must be able to tell a good story. To achieve this, they must be film literate, with a good understanding of layout, composition, sequential drawing and editing. They need to be able to work either independently or as part of a team. They should be able to take direction, and also be prepared to make changes to their work. Storyboard Artists need good drawing skills, and must be able to follow an established design style, if required.

Director (演出)
Literally "production (e.g. play) / direction".

Screenplay (脚本)
Literally "Script" or "Screenwriter".