Sayaka Kobayashi made her directorial debut with A Star Brighter Than the Sun. Inspired by
Life Is Beautiful and the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Osamu Dezaki, she pursued anime
direction. She started at Madhouse in 2012, contributing to Chihayafuru 2 and No Game No
Life. After gaining experience at various studios, she directed episode 23 of Active Raid. Since
2020, she has worked freelance on Doraemon, My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999, and
Captain Tsubasa Season 2: Junior Youth.