Known for Visual Effects
Birthplace
Kumamoto, Japan
Filmography
64 films, 21 shows


The Boy and the Heron
2023 · 2h 4m · JP
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."


Belle
2021 · 2h 1m · JP
Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.


Mirai
2018 · 1h 38m · JP
Four-year-old Kun struggles with jealousy after his newborn sister, Mirai, begins receiving most of his family’s attention. Retreating to the garden, he encounters Mirai as a teenager from the future and embarks on extraordinary journeys across his family’s past, gradually discovering new perspectives on love, belonging and what it means to become an older brother.


Mary and The Witch's Flower
2017 · 1h 43m · JP
Mary Smith, a young girl who lives with her great-aunt in the countryside, follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest where she finds a strange flower and an old broom, none of which is as ordinary as it seems.


Your Name.
2016 · 1h 46m · JP
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.


The Boy and the Beast
2015 · 1h 59m · JP
Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.


When Marnie Was There
2014 · 1h 43m · JP
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.


The Wind Rises
2013 · 2h 6m · JP
A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.


Wolf Children
2012 · 1h 57m · JP
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.


A Letter to Momo
2012 · 2h · JP
A shy 11-year-old's life takes a strange turn when she discovers three hungry goblins living in the attic of her new house. She misses her old life. She misses her father so very much. Until she makes some new ghoulish friends.


From Up on Poppy Hill
2011 · 1h 31m · JP
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.


Legend of the Millennium Dragon
2011 · 1h 38m · JP
A spectacular journey of an unwilling young hero thrust into a mysterious past full of monsters, dragons, and strange hidden powers. Through a series of out of this world battles and adventures, Jun, a shy middle school boy, is transformed into a hero destined to battle evil and ensure harmony and tranquility in the world.


Arrietty
2010 · 1h 35m · FR
14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.


Ponyo
2008 · 1h 40m · JP
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.


Genius Party
2007 · 1h 42m · JP
The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.


Paprika
2006 · 1h 30m · JP
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.


Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
2006 · 1h 35m · JP
Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, and Rock Lee are assigned to protect the prince of the Land of the Moon, Michiru, during his world trip; other escorts had been hired, but quit due to being treated poorly. The Land of the Moon is a very wealthy nation, so Michiru tends to buy whatever he wants, and has a very materialistic worldview. His Hikaru, also acts in much the same manner.


Tales from Earthsea
2006 · 1h 56m · JP
As crops dwindle and dragons reappear, mankind stands on the verge of total chaos. Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a powerful wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, search for the force behind this mysterious imbalance that threatens to destroy the land of Earthsea.


Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur
2006 · 1h 47m · JP
After bringing a fossilized egg back to life with the Time Cloth, Nobita finds himself the owner of a baby dinosaur. Everything is fine until it grows up. Nobita and friends use Doraemon's time machine to return it back to its own time.


Space Station No.9
2005 · 5m · JP
A young fashion fan gets her revenge on the super model who hit her while shopping on the glorious Space Station No. 9.


One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island
2005 · 1h 31m · JP
The Straw Hats visit a recreational island, run by Baron Omatsuri, who asks them to complete a series of ordeals if they wish to stay on the island. Luffy accepts and the Straw Hats work together to complete them, but as the island's mysteries unfold, their lives and friendships are put to the test. It's up to Luffy to stop the Baron's plot and keep his crew together.


Howl's Moving Castle
2004 · 1h 59m · JP
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.


Tokyo Godfathers
2003 · 1h 32m · JP
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.


Kid's Story
2003 · 15m · US
A high school student is haunted by thoughts of "The Matrix" and a person named "Neo".


A Detective Story
2003 · 10m · JP
A private detective is hired to find the elusive computer hacker "Trinity." Part of the Animatrix collection of animated shorts in the Matrix universe.


Millennium Actress
2002 · 1h 27m · JP
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.


A Tree of Palme
2002 · 2h 16m · JP
A Tree of Palme is an interpretation of the Pinocchio tale. It concerns a small puppet, Palme, who was tasked by his creator to look over his ailing wife, Xian. After her passing, Palme is visited by a mysterious woman who he mistakenly believes to be Xian. Shaken out of his sadness, Palme accepts her request to deliver something special to a far-off place known as Tama. This sets Palme off on a journey to discover his own emotions, and what it truly means to be human.


Spirited Away
2001 · 2h 5m · JP
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.


Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon
2001 · 30m · JP
The DigiDestined go up against Diaboromon again. Tai and Matt head back to the Internet to deal with him with Omnimon, while the younger Chosen Children go to deal with the rampage of a swarm of Kuramon (Diaboromon's Fresh form). With the help of Angemon and Angewomon (with T.K. and Kari), Omnimon was able to destroy Diaboromon again, but it turned out to be a trap, as his destruction allowed many more Kuramon to go to the Real World. Things go out of control when the Kuramon in the Real World merge to create a Mega level called Armageddemon, an alternate Mega in Diaboromon's evolutionary line. It is so powerful that neither Omnimon nor Imperialdramon were able to defeat it on their own.


Digimon: The Movie
2000 · 1h 29m · JP
When a powerful new Internet Digimon hatches and begins to consume data at an alarming rate, the Digidestined - kids chosen to save the digital world - must put an end to the destruction before the damage becomes irreversible and worldwide communication halts forever. As computer-based missiles are launched, and a wayward Digimon kidnaps the Digidestined, only the combined efforts of a worldwide network of kids and a new group of "Digidestined" can rescue the others and stop global disaster.


Our War Game
2000 · 41m · JP
Spring break turns into a summer war when the evil Diaboromon wreaks havoc on the internet, and Tai and Matt must achieve a new Digivolution to defeat him! Will Tai and the Digidestined save the world, and will Sora ever forgive Tai for giving her a hair clip?


Kindaichi Case Files : Deep Blue Massacre
1999 · 1h 32m · JP
Kindaichi, Miyuki and Fumi are invited to the resort of the Deep Blue Island by their senpai Akane, the daughter of the president of the Aizawa Group. A group of criminals infiltrate the hotel diguised as waiters to kill the members of the Aizawa Group. The criminals don't know their boss in person, and they don't know either that he's in the hotel with the members of the Aizawa Group.


My Neighbors the Yamadas
1999 · 1h 44m · JP
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.


Digimon Adventure
1999 · 20m · JP
Two children receive a strange egg that hatches into their very first Digimon, leading to the night that would change their lives forever.


Catnapped!
1998 · 1h 17m · JP
The story involves a boy and his younger sister whose dog Papadoll is missing. They find out that he has been abducted by anthropomorphic cats to be brought to a world called Banapal Witt, which is built on top of a giant sleeping cat. There the sun turns poor Papadoll into a bizarre giant monster. He becomes the weapon and beloved pet of a spoiled Princess who turns everything she touches into balloons. She plans to use Papadoll and a giant inflatable mouse to control the sleeping cat and thus Banapal Witt itself.


Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy
1998 · 55m · JP
Tetsuro believed he was freeing the Earth from the clutches of the Metanoid Empire’s tyranny. Yet one year after his return, Tetsuro is a prisoner of a new tyrant, and this one’s human! However, Maetel and the 999 swoop into the boy’s rescue. With his freedom, gun, and trusty hat returned to him, Tetsuro reaffirms his desire to save his home. But a new darkness is rising to swallow the light, and one of its agents has him in her sights. Before the train can depart for a new destination, Tetsuro will have to face the deadly knight Helmazaria!


Ghost in the Shell
1995 · 1h 23m · JP
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.


Gunsmith Cats
1995 · 1h 30m · JP
Rally Vincent and Minnie May Hopkins are just a pair of gun shop owners who do a bit of bounty hunting to make ends meet when a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms agent comes to them. Using the threat of arresting them for their lack of a retail license for their merchandise and the resulting unpaid taxes, he forces them to agree to cooperate in a sting to break a gun running ring. They have an initial success, but that brings new problems as the ring's leader brings in a merciless assassin to eliminate these new enemies. It will take all their skill, allies and some luck to come out this crisis alive.


Ghost Sweeper Mikami
1994 · 1h · JP
Meet Mikami - the SEXY leader of one of Japan's most successful independent ghost-busting agencies. Together with her eclectic team of exorcists, she's prepared to do battle with any supernatural adversary - but only for the right price! When an ancient spirit enlists her aid to deal with a re-incarnated foe, Mikami gets more than she bargained for. As the wicked Nosferatu - a vampire lord able to absorb the very life essence of his victims - begins to turn the city's inhabitants into mindless zombies, Mikami's team must race against time to save Tokyo from destruction. Watch The Ultimate Vampire Slayer in this fast, fun and furious supernatural action-adventure!


Slam Dunk: The Movie
1994 · 30m · JP
Sakuragi and the Shohoko team takes on Oda and Takezono High School. This is Sakuragi's second match as he faces Oda, a basketball player who went to the same junior high.


Sailor Moon R: The Movie - The Promise of the Rose
1993 · 1h 1m · JP
While enjoying the flower gardens, Sailor Moon and friends encounter an old childhood friend of Mamoru's: an alien! He's come back to give Mamoru a special flower but doesn't like Usagi and the rest of the planet's inhabitants. Sailor Moon must defend the earth from the evil Kisenian Flower he's brought back... before the evil vines and blossoms overrun the planet!


Sangokushi: The Yangtze Is Burning!
1993 · 2h 29m · JP
Covering roughly 13 years, from Cao Cao's victory over Lu Bu in 198 CE, through the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 CE, and the aftermath up until 211 BCE. As other players are swept from the board, the story focuses on Liu Bei and his increasingly desperate attempts to prevent Cao Cao from seizing all of China. The turning point is Liu Bei's recruitment of the best strategic mind of that generation, Zhuge Kongming, the Crouching Dragon.


Run, Melos!
1992 · 1h 47m · JP
The movie tells the story of Melos, a Greek country man that gets arrested and accused of conspiracy against the king. He gets three days to travel to his sister's wedding while Selinentius (Selinae), a genius sculptor that Melos just met stays as a hostage.


Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!
1992 · 46m · JP
Dr. Gero's Androids #13, #14, and #15 are awakened by the laboratory computers and immediately head to the mall where Goku is shopping. After Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta defeat #14 and #15, #13 absorbs their inner computers and becomes a super being greater than the original three separately were. Now it is up to Goku to stop him.


Psychic Wars
1991 · 1h · JP
When brilliant surgeon Ukyo Retsu removes a cancer from a mysterious old woman, he doesn't realize that the cancer is a 5000 year-old demon. Ukyo must then assume the role of protector of the Earth.


Vampire Wars
1990 · 50m · JP
The rural American west is the setting for this OVA, in which a bizarre and brutal attack on a NASA base in Arizona attracts the attention of a French secret service agent, Monsieur Lassar, when a dead CIA agent is found floating on the Seine in Paris. Lassar is convinced that these two events are related, and sets out to prove it. His investigation leads him to film star Lamia Vindaw and a vampire cult that may be far more vicious and dangerous than its eccentric exterior makes it seem.


Crying Freeman 1: Portrait of a Killer
1988 · 1h · JP
Emu Hino, a 29-year-old virgin, witnesses a mob hit and fears that the killer will now find her and kill her. Indeed, he sets out to do so; he's Yo Hinomura, a talented potter and artist who's been conscripted against his will to be the prime hitman for the 108 Dragons, a gang within the Chinese Mafia, who are determined to push aside Tokyo's local crime lords. He breaks into her house, and she asks that he make love to her before he kills her; she connects to his inner self, and he becomes her protector. Now he must defend her against the local crime gang, who have connections with corrupt Tokyo police. Will Yo and Emu make it out alive, and will the 108 Dragons triumph?


Akira
1988 · 2h 4m · JP
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.


My Little Pony: The Movie
1986 · 1h 26m · US
The first day of Spring is on its way and the Little Ponies are preparing for it with a big festival. But all the fun may come to an end if the witch Hydia has her way! Can the Ponies defeat Hydia and her evil daughters, Reeka and Draggle? More importantly, can they save Ponyland from the witches’ concoction, the strange purple goo called Smooze, that’s threatening to bury the whole town?


The Three-Eyed One: The Prince of Devil Island
1985 · 1h 25m · JP
Sharaku and Wato investigate a mysterious old ship, only to find themselves getting involved in a sea voyage around strange islands.