Atsushi Nishigori has spent much of his career inside the machinery of others' anime. His years at Gainax — the hugely influential studio behind FLCL and Neon Genesis Evangelion — put him in the orbit of creators like Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuya Tsurumaki. He later worked on The Idolmaster, Darling in the Franxx, and Shin Evangelion. But for all the projects Nishigori helped bring to life, there were always other images the creator wanted to put to screen.