Masayuki Miyaji

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Upon graduating from Nihon University's art department's school of film, Miyaji took part in Studio Ghibli's Higashi-Koganei Sonjoku training program in 1998. The promise he showed in the program led him to be selected as assistant director to Hayao Miyazaki in Spirited Away.

In 2008, he made his full directorial debut with Bounen no Xamdou. In an interview to The Japan Times, Miyaji stated that he believed anime was a part of the film industry, and said in respect to Xamdou's "theatrical dimension," he had wished to use an "almost documentary style" for certain parts and listed directors Ken Loach and Jean-Luc Godard as his inspirations. He also felt he could reach a different kind of an audience with the series' unique Playstation Network release.