Atsushi Nishigori was born on September 14, 1978, in Tottori, Japan. He is an animator and character designer who graduated from Tottori Yonago East High before attending Toeis Animation Laboratory. His passion for animation led him to join Gainax, where he made his debut as a key animator on Mahoromatic. At the age of 24, Nishigori also worked as a storyboarder and animation director on Puchi Puri Yuushii.
Nishigori's work on Top wo Nerae! 2 OVA earned him recognition as the character designer for Gainax's next big project, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. In 2008, he received the Best Character Design award at the 7th Tokyo Animation Fair for his work on this series.