Draft:Vincent Chansard
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 4 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 4,490 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
Vincent Chansard | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | Gobelins, l'École de l'image CalArts |
| Occupations | Animator, storyboard artist, animation director |
| Known for | Action choreography for One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations |
| Movement | Sakuga (Webgen) (Traditional animation) |
Vincent Chansard is a French key animator, storyboard artist, and animation director. His work is primarily in the field of Japanese animation, and he also makes adult animation for Western countries. He is well known for creating quick-paced and thrilling action in iconic popular shōnen animation. Chansard is a non-Japanese animator working in the modern anime industry. He works for major studios and is associated with the ‘Webgen’ animation movement, including his work with the animation studio Toei Animation.
Early Life and Education
[edit]Chansard is a native of France. He felt a fascination with animation as a kid. This was because classic anime was popular on television in Europe, and he read imported manga. Since his early childhood, he was inspired by anime. Some of his greatest inspirations include the series Sailor Moon and the pirate tale One Piece, he said in an interview with Arab News[1].
He has been a student of art at Les Gobelins, a very famous school of visual arts in Paris. During his final year in school, he participated in a student exchange program that enabled him to study at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the United States. He graduated in June 2019[2]. At first, Chansard aspired to be a character designer. Later, he discovered that he only wanted to do 2D effects animation and draw fast movements. He frequently put his own hand-drawn animation videos on the internet to practice. The videos featured popular characters from anime shows.
Career
[edit]Early Career and the League of Legends PV
[edit]Chansard never intended to get into the Japanese anime industry at first. Conditions of employment and salaries in Japan differed greatly from Europe. Early in his career, he did a lot of work creating storyboards and layouts for French companies.
The primary way he was introduced into the Japanese industry was via the internet. Chansard got noticed by people in the online "sakuga" (animation fans) group. Then, he was discovered by a knowledgeable Japanese director, Shingo Yamashita. Yamashita has a reputation for discovering new artists on the internet. He requested Chansard to produce key animation for the 2019 promotional video of the video game League of Legends. During college, Chansard executed key animation on this project. He noted it was a wonderful means of learning how to draw complicated Japanese characters, such as intricate dragon scales.
Soon he became a known name in Western animation. He served as a storyboard artist for Genndy Tartakovsky's hugely popular adult cartoon Primal. He also contributed to the animation of the Netflix dark fantasy movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. Chansard has said he splits his work time: he works his normal hours for Western and French studios, and uses his free time to work for Japanese studios[3].
Studio Bones Controversy and Ufotable
[edit]Chansard developed a reputation for his strong creative ideas as he worked more in anime. Every now and then, his ideas did not match the standard rules used in traditional anime. He has expressed that he will not work for the studio Ufotable on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He explained that the studio has very strict rules for their drawing style. He felt these rules would prevent him from exhibiting his own unique style.
For Episode 109 of My Hero Academia Season 5, Chansard shared his original, untouched layout to social media. The director of the episode, Masatoyo Takada, had changed a lot of it before it was on TV. Angry fans around the world directed their wrath against studio Bones. The fans felt that the studio was hampering the animator's creativity. Chansard said after the incident that he was sorry for the issue. He explained that he had the studio's permission to post his video, and that he didn't want any of his fans to attack the studio. He maintained good ties with them and subsequently worked on Mob Psycho 100 III as well as the final season of My Hero Academia.
The "One Piece" Era and Toei Animation Contract
[edit]Chansard's most talked about and largest endeavors have been for the television anime One Piece. He started his regular animation career there during the "Wano Country" arc. In 2023, this partnership reached its peak. He signed a special contract with Toei Animation. This contract stated he would only work for the One Piece series for a specific amount of time. In this highly esteemed studio, the chance of getting such a dedicated job for a non-Japanese freelance animator is very uncommon[4].
Animation Style and Technique
[edit]Chansard is noted for his quick, smooth, action-packed scenes and his extremely detailed 2D hand-drawn animation. He is regarded as one of the top artists in the "webgen" (web generation) style of digital animation.
One unique thing about his work is the high number of key frames (main drawings) that he draws. Roughly speaking, Chansard draws many of the keyframes himself without relying heavily on in-between animators (people who draw the frames in the middle). This ensures that he retains his personal art style and makes his movement appear really smooth[3].
His special animation techniques include:
- Background Animation (Haikei Douga): He often sketches out elaborate camera movements by hand, such as revolving around a character with a complete 360-degree turn. This makes the viewer believe that they are looking at 3D CGI.
- Dynamic Camera Angles: He employs strong camera perspectives that look like the lens distortion effect of a high-speed camera in real live action films.
- Impact Frames: He overlays colorful, sharp, contrasting frames (typically black and white or with text added) right at the moment a character is struck. This gives the hit an extremely solid and heavy feeling.
- Expressive Character Acting: He extends and flexes the character models in ways not found on standard reference sheets. This smear expression is strong in emotion and power.
Industry Advocacy and MAPPA Boycott
[edit]Chansard is well known for speaking up to improve working conditions in the anime industry. He frequently tries to advocate for better wages and healthier working hours that are more in line with European rules.
He was highly vocal regarding his time working on Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 in late 2023. In Episode 41 (the big fight between Ryomen Sukuna and Mahoraga), Chansard provided some great key animation. This season ran very poorly on schedule during its production at studio MAPPA. Following the broadcast of this episode, Chansard made his intentions public that he would never work with that studio again. He criticized their bad working environment, very short deadlines, and their attitude of not caring for the health of the animators[5][6].
Filmography
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Primal | Key Animator | Western animated television series[3] |
| 2020 | Gleipnir | Key Animator | Episode 9[3] |
| 2020 | Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia | Key Animator | Episode 14[3] |
| 2020–2021 | Boruto: Naruto Next Generations | Action Animation Director, Key Animator | Important work on Episodes 204, 217; OP 8, 10, 11[3] |
| 2021 | Black Clover | Key Animator | Episode 167[3] |
| 2021 | Castlevania | Key Animator | Western animated television series[3] |
| 2021 | Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood | Key Animator | 3 Episodes[3] |
| 2021 | Magia Record (Season 2) | Key Animator | Episodes 4, 5, 7; OP[3] |
| 2021 | Jujutsu Kaisen | Key Animator | Season 1, Episode 17[3] |
| 2021–2022 | My Hero Academia | Key Animator | Season 5, episode 109 (Uncredited)[3] |
| 2021–Present | One Piece | Key Animator, Storyboard Artist | Special contract with Toei; Important work on Episodes 957, 1017, 1062, 1074, 1127[3] |
| 2022 | RWBY: Ice Queendom | Key Animator | 2 Episodes[3] |
| 2022 | Engage Kiss | Key Animator | Episodes 3, 7[3] |
| 2022 | Do It Yourself!! | Key Animator | 4 Episodes[3] |
| 2022 | Mob Psycho 100 III | Key Animator | Episodes 5, 8[3] |
| 2023 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 2) | Key Animator | Episode 41 (Sukuna vs. Mahoraga)[3] |
| 2024 | Suicide Squad Isekai | Key Animator | Episode 1[3] |
| 2024 | The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse | Key Animator | Season 2 OP[3] |
| 2025 | Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World (Season 3) | Key Animator | Episode 63[3] |
| 2025 | Gachiakuta | Key Animator, Storyboard Assistant | Episode 21[3] |
Film and Web Animation
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | League of Legends (Season 2019) | Key Animator | Promotional Video[2] |
| 2021 | The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf | Storyboard Artist | Animated film[3] |
| 2022 | One Piece Film: Red | Key Animator | Animated film[3] |
| 2023 | Fate/Grand Order - Memorial Movie 2023 | Key Animator | Promotional Video[3] |
| 2024 | Persona 3 Reload | Key Animator | Video game opening[3] |
| 2025 | Star Wars: Visions (Season 3) | Key Animator | Web series[3] |
References
[edit]- ^ French animator Vincent Chansard works on major Japanese anime projects. (2021, December 3). Arab News Japan. https://www.arabnews.jp/en/arts-culture/article_60741/
- ^ a b Exclusive interview with Vincent Chansard – Part 1. (2021, December 23). Artist Unknown. https://artistunknown.info/2021/12/23/exclusive-interview-with-vincent-chansard-part-1/
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Vincent CHANSARD. (n.d.). Anime News Network. Retrieved May 20, 2026, from https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=284783
- ^ One Piece's legendary animator openly criticizes the anime and hopes for change. (n.d.). AS USA / Meristation. https://en.as.com/meristation/news/one-pieces-legendary-animator-openly-criticizes-the-anime-and-hopes-for-change-f202510-n/
- ^ Paul, A. (2023, November 22). One of the best animators of 2023 will never work with MAPPA again after Jujutsu Kaisen. DailyO. https://www.dailyo.in/entertainment/one-of-the-best-animators-of-2023-will-never-work-with-mappa-again-after-jujutsu-kaisen-42569
- ^ Nazru, A. (2024, January 8). Animator Chansard Vincent Declares He’ll Never Work For Mappa Again; Reveals Reason. AnimeHunch / IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64390391/