is a Japanese

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

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. After working for Toei Dōga (currently

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

) and then TYO Animations (formerly

Hal Film Maker was a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993 by former Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe n ...

), he joined Twin Engine in 2017. Sato has been active since the 1980s and is a hit maker who, as series director of children's TV animation during his time at Toei Dōga, brought out the first series of long-running popular titles such as ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' and ''

Ojamajo Doremi , alternatively titled ''Magical DoReMi'' in English, is a Japanese fantasy magical girl anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It focuses on a group of elementary school girls, led by Doremi Harukaze, who become wit ...

''. After leaving Toei, he has continued to demonstrate his skills by working on popular series such as ''

Sgt. Frog ''Sgt. Frog'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mine Yoshizaki. It was launched in '' Monthly Shōnen Ace'' in April 1999. The story follows the attempts of a platoon of frog-like alien invaders t ...

'' and ''

Pretty Cure The is a Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and produced by ABC Television, ABC Animation, ADK Emotions and Toei Animation. Each series revolves around a group of magical girls known as Pretty Cures who battle ag ...

''. He won the Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film in 1996 and 2020 for his films.

Early life

Sato was born in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

and moved to Ama, when he entered junior high school, where he stayed until he moved to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

for university.

Career

Sato passed Toei Dōga's trainee recruitment exam while still a student in the animation course of the film department of

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

College of Art, and dropped out of university to join the company in 1981. Shortly before this, he had received an honorable mention for a manga he submitted to

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's call for new manga artists, and was discussing his subsequent work with the editorial department. After working as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

, he passed the director's selection test around 1983. In 1986, he was selected as the youngest series director in Toei Dōga's history for '' Maple Town Stories''. After a minor misunderstanding, he got into trouble with the producer and was demoted to episode director of the sequel, '' New Maple Town Stories''. He was to have directed

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

's 1989 film ''

Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel ''Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), Kiki's Delivery Service''. Animated by Studio Ghibli, the film stars Minami ...

'', produced by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

, but left the project before it started. Negotiations between Toei and Ghibli were difficult, and Sato himself was the point of contact for the trainees in labor-management negotiations between Toei and the trainees, so it was difficult for him to announce that he would quit Toei. Ghibli's Toshio Suzuki told him he could come to Ghibli in the form of a

secondment Secondment is the temporary assignment of a member of one organization to another organization. In some jurisdictions, .g., Indiasuch temporary transfer of employees is called "on deputation". Job rotation The employee typically retains their s ...

, but in the final stages Toei Dōga came to the conclusion that they would not second someone who had been brought up in-house, and he was forced to give up directing the film. Next in line to direct the film was Sunao Katabuchi, who had been involved with Hayao Miyazaki's films since his student days, but the main sponsor balked at this, and Miyazaki ended up directing the film. Sato acted as series director on ''Sailor Moon'' since 1992. He participated in the work from the planning stage and provided input on character settings and changes from the original manga. Sato directed the film '' Junkers Come Here'' (1995). The film was made outside Toei, but the head of the production department had changed from the time of ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', so he was able to direct the film while still working for Toei. Sato joined ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

'' (1995) in return for asking

Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...

, a ''Sailor Moon'' fan, to do key animation and

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

s for it. Sato was asked by junior colleague Kunihiko Ikuhara to storyboard his first post-independent work, ''

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a Japanese anime television series created by Be-Papas, a production group formed by director Kunihiko Ikuhara and composed of himself, Chiho Saito, Shinya Hasegawa, Yōji Enokido and Yūichirō Oguro. The series was produced by ...

'', he drew it under his real name despite it being a non-Toei film, as a pseudonym would not be celebratory. Sato directed his first original work, ''

Magic User's Club is a magical girl/ boy anime created by Triangle Staff and Junichi Sato. It was first released as a six-part OVA in 1996 and then a 13-episode TV series in 1999, which was broadcast by WOWOW, and then by the anime television network An ...

'', after

Triangle Staff was a Japanese animation studio established in 1987 from former Madhouse staff, producing series such as ''Macross Plus'', '' Serial Experiments Lain'', and '' NieA_7''. The studio ceased operations in 2000, when they were set to do the animat ...

offered him the chance to make an OVA. Because the previous head of the production department had returned, he could not be paid for his work outside the company via Toei. Moreover, out of consideration for Toei, he was nominally the general manager, even though his actual job was a director. Sato worked with Takuya Igarashi as series director on ''Ojamajo Doremi''. He was involved from the very beginning of the project, when it was only decided to do a magical girl story. So he was able to be involved from the stage of deciding what kind of story it would be. He requested a double-headed system with two directors, as he was too busy to concentrate on ''Ojamajo Doremi'' and thought that if it was an original production, it would be better to have as many brains, especially young ones, to come up with ideas as possible. He left Toei in 1998. When he approached the production department to produce a TV series of ''Magic User's Club'', they asked him to do it after he had resigned and was no longer officially affiliated with Toei, so he replied 'Okay'. He then worked as a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

for about a year until the show ended, and then also stepped down from his position as series director of ''Ojamajo Doremi''. He started working for Hull Filmmaker in 2000. Sato directed ''Sgt. Frog'' in response to

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

's offer to make the original manga less manic and sexy and more family-friendly. He has worked on ''

Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

'' series since 2005. The film '' A Whisker Away'' (co-directed with Tomotaka Shibayama), whose release had been postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, was cancelled for theatrical release and distributed worldwide on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on June 18, 2020. The film '' Looking for Magical Doremi'' (co-directed with Halka Kamatani) was released in theaters on November 13.

Style

Sato has directed and supervised a wide range of works for children and adults, many of which have become long-term series. He is also active in the production of original works and is actively involved from the planning stage. During his experience at Toei, he learned a lot about how to make commercial-based animations and the know-how of children's productions. Generally in Japan, not much marketing is done in the production of animation, but in the toy business for children, it is done thoroughly. As a series director, he went to toy manufacturers with producers to discuss and decide on the design and content of the animation, including with people from the manufacturers' planning department. On the other hand, Sato has carefully depicted the struggles children face and their family problems. He has always taken his own approach to what he cares about regarding children, as in his film ''Junkers Come Here'', about a schoolgirl struggling with her parents' divorce. He is a master of animation storytelling, and in robot anime he is more often asked to storyboard the everyday scenes that are the key to the drama than the battle scenes. He is skilled at training and mentoring newcomers, and once the popularity of the series stabilised, he often steps down as director and passes the baton to his successor. During his time at Toei Dōga, many talents studied directing under him, including Kunihiko Ikuhara, Kōnosuke Uda, Takuya Igarashi and Mamoru Hosoda. He recognised Kunihiko Ikuhara's potential from a young age, and promoted him to anime magazines and other publications. Sato considers himself more suited to TV series than films. Although tacitly permitted, Toei Dōga basically did not allow its staff to work for other studios, so Sato used a pseudonym like the rest of the staff when participating without going through the company.

Works

TV series

*'' Queen Millennia'' (1981) (

) *'' Patalliro!'' (1982) (production assistant) *''Bemubemu Hunter Kotengu Tenmaru'' (1983) (storyboard, episode director) *'' Tongari Bōshi no Memoru'' ("Wee Wendy" in the U.S.) (1984) (storyboard, episode director, assistant director) *''

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a 1985 Japanese television anime series, the second installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, and a sequel to the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu ...

'' (1985) (storyboard) *''Hai Step Jun'' (1985) (assistant series director, storyboard, episode director) *'' Maple Town Stories'' (1986) (series director) *''New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter'' (1986) (episode director) *'' Bikkuriman'' (1987-1989) (episode director) *'' Akuma-kun'' (1989) (series director, storyboard, episode director) *'' The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion'' (1989-1990) (storyboard) *'' Mooretsu Atarō'' (1990) (series director) *'' Chibi Maruko-chan (First series)'' (1990) (storyboard) *'' Goldfish Warning!'' (1991) (series director) *''

'' (1992-1993) (series director) *'' Sailor Moon R'' (1993-1994) (series director, episode director) *'' Sailor Moon S'' (1994-1995) (episode director) *'' Macross 7'' (1994-1995) (assistant

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

) *'' Sailor Moon SuperS'' (1995-1996) (episode director) *'' World Fairy Tale Series'' (1995) (episode director) *''

'' (1995-1996) (storyboard) *'' GeGeGe no Kitarō (1996 TV series)'' (1996-1997) (storyboard, episode director) *''

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars ''Sailor Moon Sailor Stars'', or simply ''Sailor Stars'', is the fifth and final season of ''Sailor Moon'', a Japanese magical girl anime series based on the ''Sailor Moon'' manga series by Naoko Takeuchi; the season was directed by Takuya Igar ...

'' (1996-1997) (episode director) *'' The Vision of Escaflowne'' (1996) (storyboard) *'' Saber Marionette J'' (1996-1997) (storyboard) *''

'' (1997) (storyboard) *'' Yume no Crayon Oukoku'' (1997–1999) (series director) *''

Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series that aired on TV Tokyo and Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, led by a production team of director Shinichirō Watanabe, ...

'' (1998–1999) (storyboard) *'' Saber Marionette J to X'' (1998–1999) (storyboard) *''

Kare Kano is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in ''LaLa'' from 1995 to 2005 and collected in 21 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa a ...

'' (1998) (storyboard) *'' Ojamajo Doremi (season 1)'' (1999–2000) (series director) *''

'' (1999) (original creator, director, sound director) *'' Ojamajo Doremi Sharp'' (2000–2001) (storyboard) *'' UFO Baby'' (2000–2002) (storyboard) *'' Strange Dawn'' (2000) (planner, original creator, general director, sound director) *'' Gate Keepers'' (2000) (general director) *''

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 bein ...

'' (2000) (general director) *''

Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi is the third season of '' Ojamajo Doremi''. The series was directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Toei Animation. It is a direct sequel to the previous series, '' Ojamajo Doremi Sharp'' and was broadcast on TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), ...

'' (2001–2002) (storyboard) *'' Prétear'' (2001) (original creator, general director) *'' Ojamajo Doremi Dokkān!'' (2002–2003) (ED theme song lyrics)) *'' Seven of Seven'' (2002) (storyboard) *'' Princess Tutu'' (2002–2003) (general director, storyboard, episode director) *''

The Big O is a Japanese mecha-anime television series created by designer Keiichi Sato and director Kazuyoshi Katayama for Sunrise. The writing staff was assembled by the series' head writer, Chiaki J. Konaka, who is known for his work on '' Se ...

'' (2003) (storyboard) *'' Kaleido Star (First Season)'' (2003) (original creator, director) *'' Kaleido Star: New Wings'' (2003–2004) (original creator, director) *''

'' (2004–2011) (general director, storyboard, Insert song lyrics) *'' Fushigiboshi no Futagohime'' (2005) (general director, storyboard) *'' Aria the Animation'' (2005) (director, head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *'' Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu!'' (2006) (general director, storyboard) *'' Aria the Natural'' (2006) (director, head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *'' Romeo × Juliet'' (2007) (Sound Supervisor, storyboard) *'' Sketchbook ~full color'S~'' (2007) (supervisor, storyboard) *'' Night Wizard!'' (2007) (storyboard) *''

Aria the Origination ''Aria'' (stylized as ''ARIA'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozue Amano. The series was originally titled ''Aqua'' (stylized as ''AQUA'') when it was published in Enix's ''Monthly Stencil'' magazine in 2001, ...

'' (2008) (director, head writer, storyboard, sound director) *'' Hakaba Kitarō'' (2008) (storyboard) *'' Shugo Chara!! Doki'' (2008) (supervisor) *'' Vampire Knight'' (2008) (storyboard) *''

Skip Beat! , abbreviated as ''Sukibi'', is a Japanese shōjo manga by Yoshiki Nakamura. It is the story of , a 16-year-old girl who discovers that her childhood friend and romantic goal, Shotaro Fuwa, only keeps her around to act as a maid and to earn ...

'' (2008) (storyboard) *'' Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~'' (''Sea Story: That You Were There For Me'') (2009) (director, storyboard, sound director) *'' Kiddy Girl-and'' (2009–2010) (storyboard, sound director) *'' Mayoi Neko Overrun!'' (2010) (director, storyboard) *'' Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth'' (2011) (head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director, insert song lyrics) *'' Phi Brain: Puzzle of God'' (2011) (director, storyboard) *'' Tamayura: Hitotose'' (2011) (original creator, director, head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *''Phi Brain: Puzzle of God (2nd series)'' (2012) (head writer, storyboard) *'' Tamayura: More Aggressive'' (2013) (original creator, director, head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *'' Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199'' (2013) (storyboard) *''Phi Brain: Puzzle of God (3rd series)'' (2013) (head writer) *'' M3 the dark metal'' (2014) (original creator, director, storyboard) *'' Amanchu!'' (2016) (general director, storyboard, sound director) *'' Amanchu! Advance'' (2018) (general director, storyboard, sound director) *'' Hugtto! PreCure'' (2018–2019) (series director) *'' Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure'' (2021) (storyboard) *'' Waccha PriMagi!'' (2021–2022) (general director, storyboard)

Anime films

*''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' (1983) (director) *'' Tongari Bōshi no Memoru'' (1985) (director) *'' Bikkuriman'' (1987) (director) *''Akuma-kun the Movie'' (1989) (director) *''Akuma-kun Yōkoso Akuma Land e!!'' (1990) (director) *''Goldfish Warning! the Movie'' (1992) (director) *''Osawaga! Super Baby!'' (1994) (director) *'' Junkers Come Here'' (1995) (director) *''GeGeGe no Kitarō Obake Naitā'' (1997) (director) *''

The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese anime Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, apocalyptic science fiction film written by Hideaki Anno, directed by Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, and animated by Gainax and Production I.G. It serves as an alternate ending to ...

'' (1997) (storyboard) *'' Slayers Premium'' (2001) (director, screenplay,) *'' Keroro Gunso the Super Movie'' (2006) (general director) *'' Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 2: The Deep Sea Princess'' (2007) (general director) *''Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel'' (2008) (general director) *'' Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors'' (2009) (general director) *'' Evangelion: 2.0'' (2008) (storyboard) *'' Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel'' (2008) (general director) *'' Short Peace episode4: A Farewell to Weapons'' (2013) (story advisor) *'' Penguin Highway'' (2014) (creative advisor) *'' A Whisker Away'' (2020, Netflix) (director, storyboard, episode director, sound director) *'' Penguin Highway'' (2022, Netflix) (creative advisor) *'' Looking for Magical Doremi'' (2020) (Director, storyboard) *'' Aria the Crepusculo'' (2021) (general director, scriptwriter) *'' Aria the Benedizione'' (2021) (general director, scriptwriter)

Original video animation

*'' Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket'' (1989) (storyboard) *''TOKUMA Anime Video Ehon Hana Ichimonme Episode 3'' (1990) (director) *''TOKUMA Anime Video Ehon Hana Ichimonme Episode 6'' (1990) (director, scriptwriter) *''Kimama ni Idol'' (1990) (director, Scriptwriter) *''Little Twins'' (1992) (storyboard, episode director) *''

'' (1996) (original creator, storyboard, executive producer) *''Jigoku-dō Reikai Tsūshin'' (1996) (general director, episode director) *''

Sorcerer Hunters is a Japanese light novel and manga series, written by Satoru Akahori and illustrated by Ray Omishi. Akahori and Omishi also published ''Sorcerer Hunters Special'', a one-volume story set sometime after the series' conclusion. In the ...

'' (1997) (storyboard)) *''Gate Keepers21'' (2002) (storyboard, episode director) *'' Kaleido Star: New Wings -Extra Stage-'' (2004) (original creator, director) *'' Ojamajo Doremi Na-i-sho'' (2004) (supervisor, storyboard.) *'' Kaleido Star: Legend of phoenix 〜Layla Hamilton Monogatari〜'' (2005) (original creator, director, sound director) *'' Kaleido Star: Good da yo! Goood!!'' (2006) (original creator, supervisor, sound director) *'' Aria the OVA: Arietta'' (2007) (director, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *'' Tamayura'' (2010) (original creator, director, head writer, scriptwriter, storyboard, sound director) *'' One Off'' (2012) (original creator, director) *'' Zetsumetsu Kigu Shōjo Amazing Twins'' (2014) (original creator, director) *'' Tamayura: Sotsugyō Shashin'' (2015) (original creator, director, head writer, sound director)

Web animation

*''Gate Keepers21'' (2009) (supervisor, sound director) *''Pure Dragon'' (2011) (director) *'' Akuma-kun'' (2023, Netflix) (general director)

Awards and honours

* The 50th Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film ('' Junkers Come Here'') * The 75th Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film ('' Looking for Magical Doremi'') * The 24th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

Animation Division Excellence Award ('' A Whisker Away'')

Notes

References

External links

* *
Junichi Sato on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Junichi Anime directors Japanese animated film directors Japanese television directors 1960 births Living people People from Ama, Aichi