Masahiko Otsuka (Director)

THE ANIME STUDIO

Japan's anime studios have captured the world's attention. In this program, we go behind the scenes for an in-depth look at the most prominent studios — usually closed to the public — to find out the secrets behind their creativity.

Release Date2021-11-13

Charactersd Self - CEO

Episode Count1

Neon Genesis Evangelion

At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind's last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come... but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Watch as Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the mysterious shadow agency Nerv battle to save earth from total annihilation.

Release Date1995-10-04

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count2

Vote Count1884

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Panty and Stocking are nasty angels who were banished from the pearly gates for being foul-mouthed bad girls! Now they spend their days hunting ghosts in the lecherous abyss between Heaven and Earth. Panty likes sex, Stocking likes sweets, and their afro-sporting main man Garterbelt has a fetish we can't mention.

Release Date2010-10-02

DepartmentWriting

JobScenario Writer

Episode Count5

Vote Count74

Gurren Lagann

In the distant future, mankind has lived quietly and restlessly underground for hundreds of years, subject to earthquakes and cave-ins. Living in one such village are 2 young men: one named Simon who is shy and naïve, and the other named Kamina who believes in the existence of a “surface” world above their heads.

Release Date2007-04-01

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count1

Vote Count538

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

In a dystopia riddled with corruption and cybernetic implants, a talented but reckless street kid strives to become a mercenary outlaw — an edgerunner.

Release Date2022-09-13

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count9

Vote Count1555

Delicious in Dungeon

Dungeons, dragons... and delicious monster stew!? Adventurers foray into a cursed buried kingdom to save their friend, cooking up a storm along the way.

Release Date2024-01-04

DepartmentProduction

JobOther

Episode Count24

Vote Count249

Kill la Kill

Honnouji Academy is forcefully ruled by the iron-fisted control of its student council and its president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Transfer student, Ryuko Matoi, arrives on campus carrying a giant sword, that is actually half of a scissor. She is looking for the woman who holds the other half of her sword who killed her father. It is said that Satsuki Kiryuin knows the identity of the killer but when Ryuko confronts her she is beaten by the student council and their powerful "Goku Uniforms" whom she cannot match in strength. However, once Ryuko receives her own "Kamui" by the name of Senketsu, the odds are lifted in her favor.

Release Date2013-10-04

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count2

Vote Count493

DARLING in the FRANXX

The story is set in the distant future. The land is ruined, and humanity establishes the mobile fort city Plantation. Pilots produced inside Plantation live in Mistilteinn, also know as the "birdcage." Children live there knowing nothing of the outside world or the freedom of the sky. Their lives consist of battling to carry out missions. Their enemies are mysterious giant lifeforms known as Kyouryuu, and the children pilot robots called Franxx to face off against them. For the children, riding the Franxx proves their existence. A boy named Hiro is called Code:016, and he was once known as a prodigy. However, he has fallen behind, and his existence seems unnecessary. Not piloting a Franxx is the same as ceasing to exist. One day, a mysterious girl known as "Zero Two" appears before him. Two horns grow out of her head.

Release Date2018-01-13

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count3

Vote Count1827

Star Wars: Visions

This anthology of animated shorts from around the world celebrates the mythos of Star Wars through unique cultural lenses.

Release Date2021-09-22

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count2

Vote Count416

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

Release Date1997-07-19

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count1709

BNA

Morphed into a raccoon beastman, Michiru seeks refuge, and answers, with the aid of wolf beastman Shirou inside the special zone of Anima-City.

Release Date2020-04-09

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count2

Vote Count407

Gunbuster

In the near future, humanity has taken its first steps towards journeying into the far reaches of the galaxy. Upon doing so they discover a huge race of insectoid aliens known as "Space Monsters." These aliens seem dedicated to the eradication of mankind as they near closer and closer to discovering Earth. In response, humanity develops giant fighting robots piloted by hand-picked youth from around the world. Shortly after the discovery of the aliens, Noriko Takaya, the daughter of a famous deceased space captain, enters a training school despite her questionable talents as a pilot. There, she meets her polar opposite, the beautiful and talented Kazumi Amano, and is unexpectedly made to work together with her as they attempt to overcome the trauma of war as well as their own emotions.

Release Date1988-10-07

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count1

Vote Count85

FLCL

Naota is a normal boy who kills some time with a normal girl by a stream that flows underneath a bridge. Nothing unusual happens in this town. The fact that Haruhara Haruko crashes into the main character with her Vespa a short while later and subsequently hits him over the head with her Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar doesn’t really make any difference to any other day here. The at first glance unconnected, bizarre events that don’t seem to follow any pattern whatsoever don’t change anything about Naota’s boring life, either – because nothing incredible ever happens in this town.

Release Date2000-04-26

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count3

Vote Count388

Fruits Basket

Tohru Honda is 16 year old orphaned girl who gets invited to live in the house of her classmate, the handsome boy Sohma Yuki, and his cousins, 16 year old Kyo and 27 year old Shigure. However, these young men and parts of the rest of their family (both close and distant) hold a curse; if they are hugged by the opposite gender, they transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Everyday is an adventure for sweet Tohru, as she gets to know everyone in the large family better (especially Yuki and Kyo), in both common and bizarre situations. But, the Sohma Family curse is certainly no laughing matter... it also holds horrible cruelty and heartbreak.

Release Date2001-07-05

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count1

Vote Count68

Whisper of the Heart

Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'.

Release Date1995-07-15

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count2124

Little Witch Academia

When she was a little girl, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari saw a magic show performed by a witch named Shiny Chariot. From that day on she wanted to be just like her. Enrolling at Luna Nova Magical Academy and having no magical background, can she become a witch like her idol Shiny Chariot?

Release Date2017-01-09

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Episode Count25

Vote Count138

Petite Princess Yucie

Yucie, is a 17-year-old who is trapped in a 10-year-old's body, her and her friends are all designated as Platinum Princess candidates and compete to receive the Eternal Tiara which grants any wish.

Release Date2002-09-30

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count26

Vote Count5

Pom Poko

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

Release Date1994-07-16

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count1110

Den-noh Coil

Den-noh Coil, Coil — A Circle of Children, is a Japanese science fiction anime television series depicting a near future where semi-immersive augmented reality technology has just begun to enter the mainstream. The series takes place in the fictional city of Daikoku, a hotbed of AR development with an emerging city-wide virtual infrastructure. It follows a group of children as they use AR glasses to unravel the mysteries of the half real, half Internet city, using a variety of illegal software tools, techniques, and virtual pets to manipulate the digital landscape. Den-noh Coil, in development for over a decade, is the series director debut of Japanese animator Mitsuo Iso. It premiered on NHK Educational TV on May 12, 2007. Due to the animators involved in its production and its unusually high-profile television broadcast time slot, Den-noh Coil was highly anticipated.

Release Date2007-05-12

DepartmentArt

JobStoryboard Artist

Episode Count1

Vote Count34

His and Her Circumstances

In His and Her Circumstances, like a drug, Yukino Miyazawa was addicted to admiration and praise from those around her. She worked hard to become the perfect student, the perfect girl. But that was before… him. Souichirou Arima. The instant she met him, she hated him. Without even trying, he snatched the very glory from her hands by easily acing the high school entrance exam that should have made her the class representative. To take back what is rightfully hers, Yukino is putting all her efforts into plotting her revenge – but was love part of the plan?

Release Date1998-10-02

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count4

Vote Count150

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control

Kimimaro works two jobs to make ends meet. He could go from pauper to prince in a parallel world called the Financial District—if he’ll invest his future as collateral in a dangerous game. Winning gets you more wealth, but losing could erase you from existence. When the destructive forces at play compel Kimimaro to confront the most powerful player, can he save the real world from total collapse?

Release Date2011-04-15

DepartmentWriting

JobStoryboard

Episode Count1

Vote Count81

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Two kids whose families own businesses in a shopping arcade that's scheduled to shut down are thrown into a series of dimensions, each one a parody of some form of anime or video game, and try to find their way home.

Release Date2002-04-04

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count2

Vote Count47

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace

A group of five boys and girls suddenly acquire supernatural powers. Ready to fight in galactic battles to defend human cause… they are struck by the realization that there are no wars, no conspiracies, no evils empires, no nothing in their high school life. They instead decide to idly have fun by wasting their powers away.

Release Date2014-10-07

DepartmentDirecting

JobSeries Director

Episode Count12

Vote Count39

新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (2003)

Release Date2003-03-26

DepartmentCreator

JobCreator

Vote Count2

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth

Originally a collection of clips from the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, Death was created as a precursor to the re-worked ending of the series. Rebirth was intended as that re-worked ending, but after production overruns Rebirth became only the first half of the first part of The End of Evangelion, with some minor differences.

Release Date1997-03-15

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count465

Gurren Lagann the Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars

Seven years after the defeat of the spiral king, Simon and the Dai-Gurren brigade must set out to the vastness of space to defeat a new threat and save the universe.

Release Date2009-04-25

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count111

Promare

Galo and the Burning Rescue Fire Department face off against BURNISH, a group of mutants who are able to control and wield flames, and the fire disaster they have unleashed on Earth.

Release Date2019-05-24

DepartmentDirecting

JobSecond Unit Director

Vote Count291

Kiznaiver

The anime's setting is a fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City. One day, Noriko Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira Agata, "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers. Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land, but as the years go by, the city's population is decreasing. The story is set in this town where Katsuhira and the others live.

Release Date2016-04-09

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count1

Vote Count147

Love & Pop

Tokyo schoolgirl Hiromi and her friends engage in a practice known as enjo kosai, or "compensated dating", where older men pay young girls for dates. Hiromi plunges deeper into this world to raise money for an expensive ring.

Release Date1998-01-10

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count78

Revival of Evangelion

Revival of Evangelion is a re-edit of the Neon Genesis Evangelion films , released in 1998. It consists of Evangelion: Death (which was essentially a clip show that summarized the entire regular series) and The End of Evangelion , re-edited together to make a version that tells the entire story of Evangelion. It is considered to be the final form of the Evangelion films.

Release Date1998-03-07

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count55

Now and Then, Here and There

Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but has an unbeatable, optimistic and determined attitude. However, when he sees a mysterious girl with strange eyes named Lala-Ru up on a smokestack, he is soon pulled into a strange desert world. Shu soon discovers the true terrors of war, which includes genocide, brutal torture, hunger, thirst, and child explotation. Now Shu is trying to save Lala-Ru, as well as his hard earned, and often relunctant, new friends from the insane dictator, Hamdo. Whether Shu can possibly accomplish saving those he cares about while still holding up to his values remains to be seen.

Release Date1999-10-14

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count1

Vote Count43

Little Witch Academia

Inspired by a magician named Shiny Chariot, the lively Akko Kagari enters the Little Witch Academy with the dream of one day becoming as cool as her idol.

Release Date2013-03-02

DepartmentWriting

JobScreenplay

Vote Count171

Gurren Lagann the Movie: Childhood's End

Simon and Kamina live in an underground city monitored by the village chief. When Simon stumbles upon an artifact and beastmen invade from the surface, Simon and Kamina rebel against them.

Release Date2008-09-06

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director

Vote Count110

Evangelion: Death (True)²

A highly experimental film presenting a story out of chronological order taking place 15 years after a near-apocalyptic catastrophe, about four traumatized 14 year olds who are tasked with piloting massive humanoid decisive weapons called Evangelion, the psychologically maladjusted adults who handle and command them, and the events and forces that affect them or which they take part in as they engage massive hostile invaders known as "Angels."

Release Date1998-03-07

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count105

Voogie's Angel

In the year 2020,​ Earth is conquered by a malevolent alien life form.​ The last remnants of humankind barely escape death by hiding in the oceans and creating underwater ."Aqua-bases.​" One hundred years later,​ they are attempting to retake their world.​ The human survivors create a deadly strike force composed of one human and four,​ cybernetically enhanced,​ voluptuous young women: the motherly Midi,​ the spirited Voogie,​ the hard-hitting Rebecca,​ the innocent Merrybell,​ and the pensive Shiori.​ Specially trained and armed with the latest weaponry,​ they carry out guerrilla attacks against the alien invaders!

Release Date1997-10-24

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Episode Count1

Vote Count3

Diebuster: The Movie

Nono is a clumsy waitress who dreams of becoming a space pilot. One day, she meets Lal'C Melk Mark, a member of the elite psychic pilot team "Topless." But when space monsters appear from out of nowhere to wreak havoc on Mars, Lal'C calls out her Buster Machine—codenamed "Dix-Neuf"—to subdue the threat. During a battle with a Space Monster, Lal'C gets the surprise of her life when she sees Nono use her super-strength to help Dix-Neuf destroy the alien. From that point, Nono hangs along with Lal'C in hopes of becoming a member of Topless.

Release Date2006-10-01

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count12

Gunbuster vs Diebuster: Aim for the Top! The GATTAI!! Movie

This double feature comprises of "Gunbuster" and "Diebuster" (aka "Gunbuster 2") condensed into a single theatrical release told in two parts with a musical intermission in between. The 95-minute "Aim for the Top! Gunbuster" movie is a compilation of the original 6-episode Gunbuster OVA, where man first meets the insect aliens and builds fighting robots and huge battleships to combat them. Takaya Noriko and Amano Kazumi lead the fight, doing massive damage to the insect's world. The 100-minute "Aim for the Top 2! Diebuster" movie completes the series, with country girl Nono leading the "Topless" fighters to protect Earth from the invading insects.

Release Date2006-10-01

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Vote Count7

KY Kei JC Kuuki-chan

Release Date2013-08-05

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Episode Count6

GAMERA 1999

Hideaki Anno's documentary about the making of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. From concept to film, the documentary is a video diary of the film's production. Not included in the Arrow Video collection.

Release Date1999-02-20

DepartmentCamera

JobDirector of Photography

Vote Count3

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Theatrical Edition #26 Live Action Part (Special Rush Edit Version)

A live-action short film following Asuka and Misato from "Evangelion" as ordinary people outside of the universe of Evangelion.

Release Date2003-06-25

DepartmentDirecting

JobAssistant Director