Kazuto Nakazawa

Kazuto Nakazawa
Born	(1968-03-04) March 4, 1968 Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Other names	Takeshi Tsuji (辻 武司)
Alma mater	Tokyo Animator Academy
Occupation	Anime director, animator, illustrator, character designer

Kazuto Nakazawa (中澤 一登, Nakazawa Kazuto, born March 4, 1968) is a Japanese character designer and director of numerous anime series and video games who also goes by the pseudonym Takeshi Tsuji (辻 武司, Tsuji Takeshi). His directorial work includes Parasite Dolls, the anime sequence in Kill Bill: Volume 1, and the Moondrive segment of Genius Party Beyond. He has designed characters for many anime, such as Ashita no Nadja and Samurai Champloo, for which he also served as animation director. In addition to his work with anime, he designed the characters of Tales of Legendia and was the animation director of Devil Kings. Throughout his career, he has worked also as an animator, providing key animations to anime such as The Animatrix's "Kid's Story" and "A Detective Story". He has made two appearances at anime conventions in the United States: at Otakon in 1999 and 2006. He also animated the Joe Hahn-directed music video for the Linkin Park song "Breaking the Habit."

Filmography

TV series

• City Hunter (1987) – in-betweening (ep 5, 11)
• Machine Robo: Battle Hackers (1987) – key animation (ep 29)
• Oishinbo (1988-1992) – animation director (ep 119, 123, 130), key animation (ep 49, 52)
• Idol Densetsu Eriko (1989) – key animation (ep 24)
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990) – animation director (ep 25)
• Yaiba (1993) – animation director (ep 7, 16), key animation (ep 29)
• Brave Police J-Decker (1994) – animation director (ep 29), OP key animation
• El-Hazard (1995) – character design, chief animation director, storyboard & animation director & ending animation (ep 7), key animation (ep 4, 7)
• Tenchi in Tokyo (1997) – character design, chief animation director, animation director (ep 1, 13, 26), mecha animation director (ep 7), key animation (ep 1, 7, 13) (as Takeshi Tsuji)
• Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (1998) – storyboard & direction & animation (OP, ED), animation director (ep 7, 20), layout cooperation (ep 19)
• Black Heaven (1999) – character design, animation director & key animation (ep 8)
• Blue Gender (1999) – OP key animation
• Platinumhugen Ordian (2000) – storyboard & episode director & animation director (ep 5), key animation (ep 24)
• Final Fantasy: Unlimited (2001) – character design
• RahXephon (2002) – key animation (ep 15)
• Ashita no Nadja (2003) – character design, animation director (ep 1, OP)
• Samurai Champloo (2004) – character design, screenplay & storyboard & chief animation director (ep 15), episode director (ep 15, 25), animation director (ep 1, 9, 23, 25), key animation (ep 15, 23, 25), first key animation (11, 20), animation assistant (ep 17)
• Ergo Proxy (2006) – OP key animation
• Yurururu ~Nichijou Hen~ (2007) – director
• House of Five Leaves (2010) – character design, chief animation director (ep 4), animation director (ep 1), key animation (ep 6)
• Kaiji: Against All Rules (2011) – OP key animation
• Bunny Drop (2011) – key animation (ep 9, 11)
• Hunter × Hunter (2011) – key animation (ep 47, 82)
• Kill Me Baby (2012) – key animation (OP, ep 7)
• Kuroko's Basketball (2012) – storyboard & direction & animation (OP1), storyboard (ep 25), main animator (ep 11, 13), action animation director (ep 25), key animation (ED2, ep 14, 17, 24, 25)
• Kids on the Slope (2012) – storyboard & direction & animation (OP), key animation (ep 11, 12)
• Oreshura (2013) – key animation (ep 1, 4, 13)
• Kuroko's Basketball (season 2) (2013) – storyboard & direction (OP1), key animation (OP1, ep 1, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25)
• Wizard Barristers (2014) – key animation (ep 6)
• Terror in Resonance (2014) – character design, chief animation director (ep 1-7), key animation (ep 1, 3, 5, 11), animation director (OP, ep 8)
• Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (2015) – OP key animation
• Death Parade (2015) – OP key animation
• Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (2015) – end card (ep 3)
• Haikyu!! Second Season (2015) – key animation (ep 12)
• Days (2016) – character design
• Attack on Titan (season 2) (2017) – key animation (OP, ep 36)
• Magical Circle Guru Guru (2017) – key animation (ep 14)
• The Ryuo's Work is Never Done! (2018) – OP key animation
• B: The Beginning (2018) – creator, director, character design, chief animation director, storyboard (ep 1, 6, 11, 12), animation director (ep 1, 12), key animation (7, 11, 12)
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (2018) – storyboard (ep 10)

Films

• Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter (1988) – in-betweening
• The Five Star Stories (1989) – in-betweening
• A Wind Named Amnesia (1990) – key animation
• Roujin Z (1991) – key animation
• Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994) – animation director
• Slayers The Motion Picture (1995) – assistant animation director
• Cyberteam in Akihabara: Summer Vacation of 2011 (1999) – layouts
• Digimon Adventure 02 (2000) – assistant animation director
• Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon (2001) – animation director
• Steamboy (2004) – key animation
• Hells Angels (2008) – character design, animation director
• Genius Party Beyond: Moondrive (2008) – director, character design, storyboard, animation director, key animation
• Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai (2009) – character design
• Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (2009) – key animation
• Giovanni's Island (2014) – key animation
• COMEDY SKIT (Hitman) 1989 (2015) – director, screenplay, character design, key animation

OVAs

• God Bless Dancouga (1987) – in-betweening (uncredited)
• Armor Hunter Mellowlink (1988) – key animation (ep 9), in-betweening (ep 3, 5, 6)
• Dominion (1988) – key animation (ep 3)
• Record of Lodoss War (1990) – key animation (ep 4)
• The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor (1989-1990) – key animation (ep 2)
• Hi-SPEED JECY (1989-1990) – key animation (ep 6, 12)
• Mobile Suit SD Gundam: SD Gundam Side Story (1990-1991) – key animation (ep 4)
• Guardian of Darkness (1991-1992) – key animation (ep 1)
• Ys (1991) – key animation (ep 7)
• Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (1992) – animation director (ep 2)
• All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (1993) – key animation (ep 6)
• Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko (1996) – character design
• Ninja Cadets (1996) – key animation (ep 2)
• Hurricane Polymar: Holy Blood (1996) – layouts (ep 1)
• Battle Arena Toshinden (1996) – character design, animation director (ep 1), key animation (ep 1, 2)
• Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (1996) – key animation (ep 1, 2)
• Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko II (1997) – character design, character animation director (ep 3), key animation (ep 1, ED)
• Battle Athletes (1997) – key animation (ep 3)
• Detatoko Princess (1998) – key animation (ep 3)
• Photon (1998) – layout animation director (ep 6), key animation (ep 1, 3)
• Virgin Fleet (1998) – key animation (ep 1)
• Shamanic Princess (1998) – key animation (ep 6)
• Blue Submarine No. 6 (1999) – key animation (ep 3)
• Sol Bianca: The Legacy (1999) – key animation (ep 1), episode director (ep 4)
• Mezzo Forte (2000) – key animation (ep 1)
• COMEDY (2002) – director, animation
• Parasite Dolls (2003) – director
• Tokyo Marble Chocolate (2007) – key animation
• Vassalord (2013) – director, chief animation director, key animation

Video games

• Le Roman de la Reine (1998) – character design, key animation
• Present Play (1999) – character design, key animation (adult game)
• Sakura Taisen V Episode 0: Arano no Samurai Musume (2004) – key animation
• Sengoku BASARA (2005) – animation movie: animation director
• Tales of Legendia (2005) – character design
• Catherine (2011) – opening animation director
• Asura's Wrath (2012) – director & main character design (ep 15.5)

Music videos

• Cyber X Feat. Tomiko Van - Drive Me Nuts (2003) – animation director
• Linkin Park - Breaking the Habit (2004) – director
• Utada Hikaru - Devil Inside (2005) – director, animation director, key animation
• Hitomi Takahashi - Aozora no NAMIDA (2006) – animation
• ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - Atarashii Sekai (2008) – director
• supercell - Utakata Hanabi (2010) – director

External links

• Kazuto Nakazawa at the Internet Movie Database
• Kazuto Nakazawa at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Production IG Interview: "The Making of Asience 5"