Toriumi is a Japanese director and animator of anime films as well as a writer. He studied screenplay writing at a college before joining the production house Tatsunoko in 1966. He directed many anime for television and the most famous among them is Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, 1972-1974) and its adjoining projects such as the film Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, 1978). In 1979, he left Tatsunoko and together with a few colleagues founded his own company Studio Pierrot. He worked on the series Nirusu no fushigi na tabi (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, 1981) together with Mamoru Oshii and Taiyō no ko Esuteban (The Mysterious Cities of Gold, 1982-1983) with Bernard Deyriès. He made several anime for video such as Area 88 (1985), Lily C.A.T. (1987) and Saramandâ basikku saga meiso no Peora (1988). His last film is the anime feature film Kumo no yôni, kaze no yôni (Like the Clouds, Like the Wind, 1990). After finishing his career in animation, he started to write and published several novels.