Yamashita Hiroyuki 山下宏幸 is an anime director, storyboard artist, animator and animation director. Displaying initial interest in becoming a background artist after viewing Princess Mononoke (1998) in a theater, he later decided on becoming an animator after watching Naruto (2002). Hiroyuki started his career at AIC before joining Studio Pierrot in 2007. He is a prominent animator and director in the Naruto series. His work involves sharp detailed drawings and animation that is both snappy and fluid; he is known for his well choreographed action animation.