Born April 12, 1970 in Gifu Prefecture

Kasai is a Japanese storyboard artist and director best known for his work at J.C.Staff, where he's become one of their most respected names in the industry. He's probably most famous for directing the critically acclaimed Honey and Clover series.

He started out as a production manager early in his career, going by the kanji version of his name—笠井 賢一. Eventually he transitioned into directing at J.C.Staff, and around 2002 with Wagamama: Fairy Mirumo De Pon!, he switched to writing his name in katakana instead. It's a pretty common practice in the industry, though fans sometimes don't even notice the shift.