Born in Osaka Prefecture, Tomoyuki Tanaka was head man at Toho Studios and one of its most prolific producers. He is most famous for creating Godzilla, producing every film till 1995, as well a several of Akira Kurosawa's most notable films. Years after graduating from the Economic Department at Kansai University, Tanaka joined Toho in 1940. In 1954 Tanaka would spearhead the original Godzilla film with director Ishiro Honda. After Godzilla's monumental success, executive producer Iwao Mori instructed Tanaka to "make another one". Tanaka would produce every Toho monster film up until Godzilla vs Destoroyah. Tanaka was also a heavy supporter of Toshiro Mifune, producing his films with Kurosawa as well as Mifune's own directorial effort in Legacy of the 500,000. Tanaka would champion Godzilla's return in 1984 and be heavily involved in the series until his death in 1997. In his near 60 year career Tanaka would go on to produce over 200 films.