• Animation Writer and Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, 1950
• Animator Yoshifumi Kondō, 1950

Kawajiri was born on November 18, 1950 and grew up in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. After he graduated from Yokohama High School in 1968 he began working for a few years as an animator at Mushi Production Animation until it closed in 1972. He then joined Madhouse Studio and in the 1970s was promoted to animation director and finally debuted as a film director with 1984's Lensman, directing jointly with the more experienced Kazuyuki Hirokawa (Kawajiri also did the character design along with Kazuo Tomizawa). Gaining an interest in darker animation, he next directed The Running Man. Afterwards, he was instructed to make a 35 minute short based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novels, which was released as Wicked City. After completing it, however, his producers were so impressed, he was asked to make it feature length. Kawajiri enjoyed the dark tone so much he agreed and managed to complete the entire film in under a year.

After Wicked City received such critical and commercial success when released in 1987, Kawajiri gained a lot more freedom and began scripting and designing his own film set in feudal Japan, which was released as Ninja Scroll, about the Japanese folk hero Jubei Yagyu. After the western release in 1996, Kawajiri's status as a director received international recognition and was asked in 2002 to direct a segment of The Animatrix, titled Program, considered as a showcase of the best directors Japanese animation has to offer. Before The Animatrix, he also directed Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust which was based on a novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi.

Kawajiri directed Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. It was released on DVD on 5 June 2007. In an interview with Ain't It Cool News with producer Galen Walker, about 7–8 minutes of added scenes with no opening exposition text sequence were removed when the film was released and Kawajiri did not like it. But the director's cut will include the footage.

He has script approval for Ninja Scroll's sequel, which was listed as being in pre-production with no specific release date as of 2010.

Kondō died of an aneurysm in 1998. His death is said to have been caused by excess work, and seems to be the main reason for Hayao Miyazaki's announcement of retirement in 1998. Although in the end Miyazaki did not retire, Kondō's death seems to have influenced Miyazaki to work at a more relaxed pace.

• March 31, 1950: Kondō is born in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
• April, 1965: Enters Niigata Prefectural Muramatsu High School, where he is a member of the art club. His senpai is the future manga artist Kimio Yanagisawa.
• April, 1968: Moves to Tokyo after graduating from high school, where he enters Tokyo Design College's animation department.
• October 1, 1968: Begins working at A Production (formerly Shin'ei Dōga), participating in the production of such shows as Kyojin no Hoshi and Lupin III.
• June 20, 1978: Moves to Nippon Animation, participating in the production of such shows as Future Boy Conan and Anne of Green Gables.
• 1978: Co-authors a textbook for beginning animators titled Animation Book (アニメーションの本 Animēshon no Hon).
• December 16, 1980: Moves to Telecom Animation Film where he is the character designer for Sherlock Hound.
• March 16, 1985: Kondō resigns his position at Telecom Animation Film, and is hospitalized from June through August for a type of pneumonia (自然気胸 shizen kikyō).
• January, 1986: Becomes a contract worker for Nippon Animation.
• January, 1987: Moves to Studio Ghibli.
• 1995: Directorial debut with the film Whisper of the Heart.
• January 21, 1998: Dies suddenly of an aneurysm in the Tachikawa City Hospital in Tokyo at age 47.