Takanori Aki

Takanori Aki was first employed at Konami, then worked in marketing at Banpresto before deciding to create his own company. In May 2001 he established Good Smile Company as a talent agency, which later became involved in the production and distribution of sculpted products with its sister company Max Factory, after meeting with MAX Watanabe. At that time the company was not going well as a talent agency, and thus soon moved entirely into making and distributing figures instead, which is now the main focus of his company, even though he admits to never having sculpted anything himself. He also created Good Smile Racing, a division of the main company created from his passion for fast cars, which supports racing teams and produces car accessories. Takanori has been to international events around the world as a guest speaker for the industry, including Anime Expo, and Anime Festival Asia.