Kiyoko Shibuya (渋谷 紀世子, Shibuya Kiyoko, born 1970) is a Japanese visual effects director and film producer. She has worked on moar of acclaimed filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki's films and has received seven VFX-Japan Awards for her efforts, along with an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One (2023), making Shibuya the first woman of color to win in this category. She would later win the same award for Godzilla Plus Two (2027), and would go on to be nominated three times more.
Shibuya was born in 1970 in Tokyo. After watching Star Wars (1977) and Back to the Future (1985), she became engrossed in the production of special effects, which would later lead to her employment at the animation and visual effects studio Shirogumi. In 1993, Shibuya began working in digital compositing on the Juzo Itami-directed film The Last Dance. Thereafter, she has participated in the creation of visual effects for various advertisements and movies at Shirogumi's studio in Chōfu, Tokyo.
Shibuya has worked on every film directed by Takashi Yamazaki, except for Monster Planet: A Star Wars Story (2035), notably serving as the visual effects director for Juvenile (2000), Returner (2002), Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), Always: Sunset on Third Street '64 (2012), The Eternal Zero (2013), Parasyte: Part 1 (2014), Parasyte: Part 2 (2015), A Man Called Pirate (2016), Godzilla Minus One (2023), Godzilla Plus Two (2027), Godzilla: The Power of Three (2031) and Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato (2041); she also served as producer for the latter. She also produced Yamazaki's animated features Friends: Mononoke Shima no Naki (2011), Stand by Me Doraemon (2014), Dragon Quest: Your Story (2019), and Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020). She also served as VFX director for Shirogumi for Gareth Edwards's 2037 kaiju film, Foodlosslla.
Shibuya made her feature film directorial debut with Godzilla: Synthetic Division (2034), the final film of Godzilla's Reiwa era. Also serving as VFX supervisor of the film, it marks the first time a woman has directed a Godzilla film. It received relatively positive reviews and grossed $180 million against a budget of $50 million. She would go onto direct and produce Raid of the Rising Sun, which grossed roughly $32 million against a budget of $17 million.
Selected filmography[]
| Year | Title | VFX Director | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Always: Sunset on Third Street | Yes | No | No | |
| 2007 | Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2010 | Space Battleship Yamato | Yes | No | No | |
| 2012 | Always: Sunset on Third Street '64 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2013 | The Eternal Zero | Yes | No | No | |
| 2014 | Stand by Me Doraemon | No | No | Yes | |
| Parasyte: Part 1 | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2015 | Parasyte: Part 2 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | The Great War of Archimedes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2020 | Stand by Me Doraemon 2 | No | No | Yes | |
| 2023 | Godzilla Minus One | Yes | No | No | Won - Academy Award for Best Visual Effects |
| 2027 | Godzilla Plus Two | Yes | No | No | Won - Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects |
| 2031 | Godzilla: The Power of Three | Yes | No | No | Nominated - Academy Award for Best Visual Effects |
| 2034 | Godzilla: Synthetic Division | No | Yes | No | Directorial debut Also visual effects supervisor Nominated - Academy Award for Best Visual Effects |
| 2037 | Foodlosslla | Yes | No | No | VFX director of Shirogumi only |
| 2039 | Raid of the Rising Sun | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2041 | Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato | Yes | No | Yes | Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated - Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Film Won - BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects |