is a Japanese

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, storyboard artist, and director, best known for directing the acclaimed

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'' and ''

Made in Abyss is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akihito Tsukushi. It has been serialized online in Takeshobo's digital publication ''Web Comic Gamma'' since October 2012, and has been collected into eleven ''tankōbon'' volumes. T ...

''. He was born on March 11, 1961 in

Yamanashi, Yamanashi file:Yamanashi City Center from Fuefuki River, Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.jpg, 270px, Yamanashi city center from the Fuefuki River is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,73 ...

, Japan.

Career

Kojima first got his start in the animation business in the 1980s, where he worked primarily project-to-project for a number of different companies, including

Knack Productions , formerly known as or simply until August 2008, is a Japanese anime and film production company. History Knack Productions was founded on September 25, 1967, by a group of former employees of Toei Animation and Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production ...

and

Tatsunoko Production and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and " sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are ...

. During this time, his involvement was in television products mostly as an episode director. After joining Madhouse in the 1990s, he took part in dozens of productions as an animator, as well as helming several TV series, two movies, a theatrical short, and a TV special. He has since left the studio and joined

Kinema Citrus is a Japanese animation studio, founded on March 3, 2008, by former Production I.G and Bones members and based in Suginami, Tokyo. Its business directors are Muneki Ogasawara, Yuichiro Matsuka and Masaki Tachibana. Notable works include '' Tokyo ...

in 2011.

Style

Since coming to work for Madhouse, Kojima has been primarily a drama director, and one who specializes in lengthy series. He has directed two adaptations of

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese manga artist and musician. He has been drawing manga since he was four years old, and for most of his professional career has created two series simultaneously. The stories to many of these were co-written in collaboration with his ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, ''

Master Keaton is a Japanese manga series created by Hokusei Katsushika, Naoki Urasawa, and Takashi Nagasaki. It was serialized in '' Big Comic Original'' from 1988 to 1994, with the 144 chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. An ...

'' and ''

'', both of which have received critical acclaim. His first full-length theatrical film, ''

Piano no Mori ''Forest of Piano'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Isshiki. It was serialized by Kodansha from 1998 to 2015, initially in ''Young Magazine Uppers'' before transferring to '' Weekly Morning'' ...

'', was released in Japan on July 21, 2007.

Filmography

Director

*''

Azuki-chan is a manga series about a young student, schoolgirl named Azusa Noyama, nicknamed Azuki-chan because when she was in first grade, Ken Takayanagi, a boy in her class, accidentally reads her name, "Azusa(あずさ)", as "Azuki(あずき)". O ...

'' (1995–1998) - Series Director, Storyboard, Animation Director *''DNA Sights 999.9'' (1998) - Director, Storyboard *''

'' (1998–1999) - Series Director, Storyboard (eps. 1–2, 4, 13), Episode Director (eps. 2, 13) *'' Leave it to Kero! Theatrical Version'' (2000) - Director *''

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is a Japanese anime television series created by Gainax, with animation produced by Gainax and Madhouse, and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was broadcast for thirteen episodes on Kids Station from April to June 2002. The series was licensed ...

'' (2002) - Series Director, Storyboard (eps. 2, 10, 12), Episode Director (ep. 2) *'' Hanada Shōnen Shi'' (2002) - Director *''

'' (2004–2005) - Director, Storyboard (eps. 1–2, 6, 8, 38, 67, 73-74), Episode Director (eps. 1, 73), Key Animation *'' A Spirit of the Sun'' (2006) - Director, Storyboard *''

'' (2007) - Director, Storyboard *''

The Tibetan Dog ''The Tibetan Dog'' (; ) is a 2011 Chinese/Japanese animated film directed by Masayuki Kojima, co-produced by Madhouse, China Film Group Corporation and Ciwen Pictures. It is based on the novel ''Mastiffs of the Plateau'' by Yang Zhijun. It pre ...

'' (2011) - Director, Storyboard *'' Busou Shinki: Moon Angel'' (2011-2012) - Director, Storyboard, Episode Director *'' Bottom Biting Bug'' (2012-2013) - Director (eps. 1-52) *''

Black Bullet is a Japanese light novel series written by Shiden Kanzaki and illustrated by Saki Ukai, published under ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story takes place during a parasitic epidemic, and follows Rentarō Satomi and Enju Aiha ...

'' (2014) - Director, Key Animation (ep. 13) *''

'' (2017–2022) - Director, Storyboard (eps. 1–3, 5, 8-10, 12-13), Episode Director (ep. 12)

Other

*''

Cybot Robotchi , known in the United States as ''Robby the Rascal'', is a 39-episode anime television series created by Ken Ishikawa and produced by Knack animation studio. The series aired on TV Tokyo in Japan from October 1982 to June 1983. The series fea ...

'' (1982–1983) - Episode Director *''

Okawari-Boy Starzan S , or simply ''Starzan S'', is an anime created by Tatsunoko Productions from an idea by veteran studio director Hiroshi Sasagawa. The series is a "mixture of Star Wars and Tarzan". Canceled at only 34 episodes due to low ratings, the series w ...

'' (1984) - Storyboard, Episode Director *''Aru Kararu no Isan''

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

(1993) - Storyboard *''

Cardcaptor Sakura , abbreviated as ''CCS'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from May 1996 to June 2000, it was also published in 12 ''tankōbon'' ...

'' (1998) - Storyboard (ep. 2) *'' Reign: The Conqueror'' (1999) - Storyboard *''

Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. It is focused around a series of cross-genre video games. The first game in the series was released in 1996, with five sequels and numerous spin-off titles being ...

'' (2000) - Animation Director *'' Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars'' (2001) - Storyboard *'' Space Pirate Captain Herlock The Endless Odyssey'' OVA (2002) - Storyboard (eps. 7-8) *'' Trava: Fist Planet'' OVA (2003) - In-Between Animation *''

Texhnolyze ''Texhnolyze'' (stylized as ''TEXHNOLYZE'') is a Japanese experimental film, experimental anime television series animated by Madhouse (company), Madhouse and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, with screenplay by Chiaki J. Konaka, with original char ...

'' (2003) - Storyboard (ep. 7) *''

Gungrave is a 2002 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Red Entertainment (Sega in North America and Activision in Europe) for the PlayStation 2. ''Gungrave'' follows its main character through a variety of stages on a path of rev ...

'' (2003–2004) - Key Animation (eps. 1–2, 8, 18) *''

Gunslinger Girl ''Gunslinger Girl'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series by Yu Aida. It began serialization on May 21, 2002 in '' Dengeki Daioh'' and ended on September 27, 2012. The chapters were also published in 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes by ...

'' (2003–2004) - Storyboard (ep. 3) *''

Gokusen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozueko Morimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''You'' from 2000 to 2007, with its chapters collected in fifteen '' wideban'' volumes. The story follows Kumiko Yamaguchi, the grand ...

'' (2004) - Storyboard *''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete ai ...

'' (2004–2005) - Key Animation (eps. 5, 22) *''

Trinity Blood is a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in ''The Sneaker''. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the ...

'' (2005) - Storyboard *''

Black Lagoon ''Black Lagoon'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe. It has been published in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Sunday Gene-X'' since April 2002, with its chapters coll ...

'' (2006) - Key Animation

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kojima, Masayuki Anime directors 1961 births People from Yamanashi Prefecture Japanese animators Japanese animated film directors Living people Madhouse (company) people