Tomoya Takashima is a Japanese animator, director, and original creator known for his work in the horror and suspense genres, particularly through short-form anime series. He first gained recognition as the director of the first season of Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories in 2013, a series that uses a distinctive animation style to mimic the traditional Japanese storytelling method of kamishibai, or paper drama. This role established his interest in creating atmospheric, folklore-inspired horror.

Takashima is the original creator of the anime series Kagewani, which premiered in October 2015. He first proposed the concept for the series in 2011 while working as a freelancer, but the project did not move forward at that time. In 2014, he founded his own production company, Tomovies, and restarted the Kagewani project as the studio's first original work. The series was broadcast as part of Tokyo MXs Ultra Super Anime Time programming block. He served as the director and original creator for both the first season, Kagewani, and its sequel, Kagewani -II-. The story follows scientist Sousuke Banba as he investigates a series of attacks on humans by mysterious creatures known as UMAs, or Unidentified Mysterious Animals.

Takashima has described his lifelong fascination with monsters and suspense, citing childhood exposure to films such as Jaws and The Twilight Zone as major influences. He has also noted that reading a childrens book about UMAs left a lasting impression on him, which directly contributed to his desire to create a monster-themed narrative like Kagewani. His artistic identity is strongly tied to a unique production style he calls picture-story animation, which blends flash animation with 3DCG effects to preserve an analog feel. For Kagewani, he developed an unconventional storyboarding method using Post-It notes, which allowed for flexible and efficient editing of the approximately seventy cuts per episode to fit the seven-minute-and-fifty-second runtime. To create character movement, the production team would photograph staff members and then have illustrators replace their faces and hands with those of the characters.

Beyond directing, Takashima is credited as the original author for the Kagewani series, with scripts written by his frequent collaborator Hiromu Kumamoto. His industry significance lies in his niche focus on short-form horror anime and his development of a cost-effective yet stylistically distinctive animation process through his studio, Tomovies. His works are noted for their relentless suspense and unique visual presentation, distinguishing him as a creator dedicated to live-action animation techniques within the Japanese anime industry.