Hiroaki Gouda is an anime director and character designer who gained recognition for his work on the "Ah My Goddess" series. He began his career as a part-time animator while in high school and later joined Anime International Company (AIC) around the 1980s. In 1993, Gouda made his directorial debut with the original video animation (OVA) version of "Ah My Goddess". Despite initial opposition from the series' sponsors, Kōsuke Fujishima, author of "Ah My Goddess", advocated for AIC and Gouda to adapt the series.
Gouda continued his work as a character designer in 2002 with "Onegai ☆ Teacher" and again in 2010 with "Amagami SS". In 2012, he was the character designer for "Love Election And Chocolate". In 2015, Gouda founded Will Palettte with Naoto Kasahara. The studio later merged with TROYCA, a studio founded by former AIC employees, in 2018.