About

Known credits:
33
Birthday:
1962-02-28
Place of birth:
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Website:
N/A

Kitarou Kousaka

Overview

Kitarō Kōsaka (高坂 希太郎, born February 28, 1962 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese animator and film director.

He began his career in 1979 with the studio Oh! Production. He left the studio in 1986 to become a freelance, and soon went on to work on numerous projects as a key and supervising animation director for the noted animation studio Studio Ghibli, and with the famed director Hayao Miyazaki, of whose work he is himself an acknowledged fan.

In 2003, he directed the cycling anime film, Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, set on the Vuelta a España road bicycle race, adapted from Iō Kuroda's manga Nasu, which Hayao Miyazaki, a fan of cycling, himself recommended to Kōsaka. The film soon went on to become the first Japanese anime film ever to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival.

He has worked on numerous other projects for the studio Madhouse, including adaptations of manga artist Naoki Urasawa's works with the studio, including Yawara, Master Keaton and Monster, and adaptations of two of Clamp's works, including Clover and Double X, both of them being short films.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Kitarō Kōsaka, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Acting
2012 Keigo Higashino Mysteries Actor 69
Fair

Directing
2018 Okko's Inn Directing Director 61
Fair
2007 Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase Directing Director 59
Average
2003 Nasu: Summer in Andalusia Directing Director 59
Average
1999 Clover Directing Director 59
Average
1993 A-Girl Directing Director 59
Average

Writing
2007 Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase Writing Writer 59
Average
2003 Nasu: Summer in Andalusia Writing Writer 59
Average

Visual Effects
2023 The Boy and the Heron Visual Effects Key Animation 71
Good
2021 Belle Visual Effects Key Animation 69
Fair
2015 The Boy and the Beast Visual Effects Key Animation 74
Good
2014 When Marnie Was There Visual Effects Key Animation 74
Good
2013 The Wind Rises Visual Effects Animation Director 75
Good
2013 The Wind Rises Visual Effects Character Designer 75
Good
2011 From Up on Poppy Hill Visual Effects Animation Director 71
Good
2010 Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess Visual Effects Animation Director 59
Average
2004 Howl's Moving Castle Visual Effects Animation Director 82
Very good
2001 Spirited Away Visual Effects Animation Director 84
Very good
2001 Metropolis Visual Effects Key Animation 64
Fair
1998 Master Keaton Visual Effects Character Designer 70
Good
1997 Princess Mononoke Visual Effects Animation Director 81
Very good
1995 Whisper of the Heart Visual Effects Animation Director 74
Good
1995 Whisper of the Heart Visual Effects Character Designer 74
Good
1994 Pom Poko Visual Effects Key Animation 67
Fair
1988 Akira Visual Effects Key Animation 77
Good
1988 Grave of the Fireflies Visual Effects Key Animation 82
Very good
1987 Royal Space Force - The Wings Of Honneamise Visual Effects Key Animation 60
Fair
1986 Castle in the Sky Visual Effects Key Animation 77
Good
1985 Angel's Egg Visual Effects Key Animation 67
Fair
1985 Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Visual Effects Key Animation 59
Average
1985 The Dagger of Kamui Visual Effects Key Animation 59
Average
1984 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Visual Effects Key Animation 76
Good
1982 Gauche the Cellist Visual Effects Animation 60
Fair