Mamoru Hosoda

Mamoru Hosoda (細田守) was born in 1967.

Pseudonyms Katsuyo Hashimoto, Chiaki Shirai, and Eiho Sakadama. Went from being a minor Toei animator to directing award-winning features at his own studio named Chizu¹.

As a child saw Galaxy Express 999 and Castle of Cagliostro in theaters and in highschool Nobuhiko Obayashi’s bizarre Kenya Boy, all three of which colored his understanding of the medium. In college was interested in all forms of filmmaking, not just animation. Earliest job in the industry was working as an animator at Toei under Takaaki Yamashita but became discouraged when he found his drawing skills lacking. Shifted focus to direction early on, something he evidently had talent for¹.

Unusually candid about his artistic influences. He is a fan of: Filmmakers Shinji Somai, Wim Wenders, Woody Allen, Victor Erice, Nobuhiko Obayashi and Edward Yang, Writers Haruki Murakami, Otsuichi, Kenzaburo Oe, Kojin Karatani, and Takaaki Yoshimoto, Anime directors Kunihiko Ikuhara, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Mamoru Oshii, Hayao Miyazaki, and Gisaburo Sugii, Theater director Shuji Terayama, Artist Takashi Murakami (whom he collaborated with on the Louis Vuitton ad ‘Superflat Monogram’), and Video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto and Hosoda attended the same college and Hosoda has expressed admiration for Miyamoto’s accessible approach to entertainment¹.

As a storyboarder Hosoda is the epitome of the Ikuhara School, both in his debt to Ikuhara and in his embodiment of the traits unique to Ikuhara’s followers. Like Ikuhara, Hosoda often mixes sight gags into otherwise tense or serious scenes and has own unique pool of iconography to draw from (roads, street signs, crossroads, desolate urban locales, clocks for Ikuhara’s elevators, roses, drop-tops, etc.). They also share similar artistic influences in Shuji Terayama and Shigeyasu Yamauchi. However, Hosoda’s storyboards are characterized by the minimalistic/theatrical naturalism that separates Ikuhara’s disciples from their mentor’s extreme Dezakian expressionism. Hosoda avoids camera movement whenever possible, edits scenes based on reusing backgrounds while zeroing in on character acting, and composes shots primarily in an orthogonal/planimetric fashion (he has a fondness for overhead shots and shots from the neck up). His storyboards also have a debt to his other mentor Kazuhiro Furuhashi in their obsession over small details, their liberal use of psychologically probing close-ups, and their general poetic realism¹.

As a solo director Hosoda pioneered the use of digital composition techniques. He was an early proponent of digital coloring for his Digimon: Our War Game film. Hosoda’s characters are almost never shaded (in emulation of the Superflat art of Takashi Murakami) and he’s said that newer technology has allotted him greater control over variations in color than analog could ever provide. During his earlier days at Toei he experimented with CG, most notably in the pilot for Atagoul, but in his solo films it’s usually limited to scenes set inside Murakami-esque fantasy worlds called the “Hosoda sphere” by fans¹.

Has no intention of removing fantasy elements from his films. Claims that he’s inspired by European folk tales ‘reflecting’ reality rather than ‘escaping’ from it. This might explain why he includes talking/anthropomorphic animals in some of his films (although it could be a callback to his earliest storyboarding gig on Eto Ranger)¹.

His first storyboards at Toei had trouble maneuvering around their source material. Hosoda states that his episode 113 of Gegege no Kitaro 4th Series includes references to Victor Erice’s Spirit of the Beehive, but the jokey nature of the setting prevented this tendency from fully surfacing. His storyboards grew in sophistication while serving as an episode director on Rurouni Kenshin under Furuhashi. His episodes 29, 40, and 43 are clearly inspired by Furuhashi’s style and Hosoda even participated in an assistant storyboarding capacity on Furuhashi’s legendary Trust and Betrayal OVA (which Hosoda claims was a formative experience for him). Around the same time, Hosoda joined Ikuhara’s directorial staff for Revolutionary Girl Utena where he became Ikuhara’s right-hand man, storyboarding most of the pivotal plot-driven episodes (7, 14, 20, 23, 29, 33, 39)¹.

After Utena, Hosoda became renowned for his stellar standalone episodes on others’ shows. Hosoda not only brought his storyboarding A-game to all his assigned episodes but they were also noticeably better in animation quality thanks to his industry connections. Oftentimes these episodes would be recycled or remade into larger works, like his Digimon Adventure 21 and One Piece 199 serving as lead-ins to standalone franchise films. The abstract Utenaesque Tenshi ni Narumon 20 was a rare collaboration with a fledgling Kyoto Animation and the studio would later offer Hosoda the opportunity to direct The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (which he declined). His best work during this time undoubtedly was on fellow Ikuhara School director Takuya Igarashi’s shoujo shows at Toei. He storyboarded Ojamajo Doremi Dokkaan 40 & 49 and Ashita no Nadja 5, 12, & 26. Dokkaan 40 was polled as one of the series’s most popular episodes and the Alhambra-set Nadja 26 is likewise considered the show’s high point by fans¹.

Hosoda has also directed a number of visually distinctive OPs, often with animation staff from his Toei and Utena days, including Alice SOS OP, Spiral OP, Ashita no Nadja OP/ED, Voogie’s Angel OP, Samurai Champloo OP, and Occult Academy ED¹.

Even before branching out as an independent director Hosoda was using OVAs/franchise films as a test of his solo directorial abilities. Hosoda was the director for Digimon Adventure Movie 1 (1999) and Digimon Adventure: Our War Game (2000). Both films displayed remarkable technical sophistication. Movie 1 showcased Hosoda’s mastery of mood and pacing, while Our War Game was unique for its accurate recreation of computer technology circa 1999 and vibrant color work. The films were later reedited and clumsily packaged with another Digimon film for international releases. This is why despite their poor reception overseas, the films are considered classics in Japan. Hosoda also directed the first ga-nime OVA Kono Shihai kara no Sotsugyou: Ozaki Yutaka (2004) about deceased musician Yutaka Ozaki¹.

Based on his growing popularity, Hosoda was invited to direct Howl’s Moving Castle at Studio Ghibli. Hosoda describes the experience as difficult as he was required to assemble staff entirely on his own. Hosoda was later booted from the project and replaced by Miyazaki himself, but much of the staff he had assembled for Howl’s were recycled into the sixth One Piece film, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Isle (2005). From a production standpoint it remains one of the best animated features Toei has ever produced and is generally regarded as the pinnacle of the One Piece anime adaptation. Given the megalomaniac antagonist and similarities between his secret island and the secluded Ghibli, some have interpreted the film as a critique of Miyazaki and Ghibli, but the reality is more nuanced. Hosoda actually appraises his brief stint at the studio as life-changing and has said that the experience of working at the studio taught him the value of clarity over emotional complication (his version of Howl’s was significantly darker than Miyazaki’s). Much of Hosoda’s work post-Omatsuri have been endowed with this clean, uncluttered ethos¹.

The success of Ojamajo Doremi Dokkaan 40 netted him enough attention that he was invited to direct a film at Madhouse, where the ideas latent in that episode would be given fuller expression. A longtime fan of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s film adaptation Yasutaka Tsutsui’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (the lead actress in Obayashi’s film played the glass-blowing witch in Dokkaan 40), Hosoda decided to do animated adaptation of the novel. Hosoda altered the main character’s personality to be more relatable and social, and catered the story to a modern audience. Though the tonal shift in the last third met with some resistance, the film was a critical and commercial success and established Hosoda as a major force in the anime world. The film also marked the first time he collaborated with character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and screenwriter Satoko Okudera, both of whom would figure prominently in his subsequent features¹.

As with his first, Hosoda’s second feature was an expansion of his Toei franchise work produced at Madhouse. Summer Wars (2009) was effectively a big budget remake of Digimon: Our War Game with the same intersection of communication technology and an impending catastrophe. However, family was a much greater focus in Summer Wars as Hosoda had recently married. He says that the experience of meeting his in-laws was an inspiration for the story, as was visiting his bedridden mother in the hospital. Though lavishly produced, financially successfully, and generally critically acclaimed, the crowded script and implausible nature of the computer world OZ (based on the social networking site mixi) made Summer Wars less well-received than The Girl Who Leapt Through Time¹.

At the end of Summer Wars’s production, Hosoda’s mother passed away. For his third film he wanted to focus on the stresses of child rearing and make a movie aimed at young mothers. Wolf Children (2012) tells the story of a woman raising half-human, half-wolf children in seclusion in the countryside. Though narratively Hosoda’s simplest film, it stands as his most complex display of filmmaking ability and has been regarded as a masterpiece since its release. Interestingly, Hosoda started his own studio, Chizu, for the film’s production. Hosoda has expressed discontent that, besides Ghibli, there are no animation studios in Japan solely dedicated to producing feature films. Wolf Children was thus not only an artistic statement on motherhood but also a test of Hosoda’s new production model¹.

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Works

• Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi(1991~1992/TV)

1. In-betweens.

• Kamen Rider SD Kaiki?! Kumo Otoko(1993/OVA)

1. In-betweens.

• 3x3 Eyes(1991~1992/OVA)

1. In-betweens: #2.

• Hikari no Kaze no Arma

1. In-betweens.

• Magical Taruruuto-kun: Sukisuki Takoyaki!(1992/Movie)

1. In-betweens.

• Crying Freeman(1988~1994/OVA)

1. Key Animator: #5, #6.

• Dragonball Z(1989~1996/TV)

1. Key Animator: #173.

• Dragon Ball Z Movie 08: Moetsukiro!! Nessen, Ressen, Chougekisen(1993/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Coo: Tooi Umi kara Kita Coo(1993/TV)

1. Assistant Animation Director.

• Dragon Ball Z Movie 10: Kiken na Futari! Super Senshi wa Nemurenai(1994/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Slam Dunk(1993/TV)

1. Key Animator: #29, #70.

• Slam Dunk: Zenkoku Seiha Da! - Sakuragi Hanamichi(1994/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• GS Mikami: Gokuraku Daisakusen!!(1994/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• 地獄童子 Pilot Film

1. Key Animator.

• Slam Dunk: Shouhoku Saidai no Kiki! Moero Sakuragi Hanamichi(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Slam Dunk: Hoero Basketman-damashii! Hanamichi to Rukawa no Atsuki Natsu(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Gokinjo Monogatari(1995~1996/TV)

1. Key Animator: #1.

• Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho: Meikai Shitou-hen - Honoo no Kizuna(1994/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Emblem Take 2(1993~1995/OVA)

1. Key Animator: #2.

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS Gaiden: Ami-chan no Hatsukoi(1995/OVA)

1. Key Animator.

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS: Sailor 9 Senshi Shuuketsu! Black Dream Hole no Kiseki(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Dragon Ball Movie 4: Saikyou e no Michi(1996/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Gegege no Kitarou: Daikaijuu(1996/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Gegege no Kitarou(1996/TV)

1. Assistant Episode Director: #38, #41, #45, #51, #56, #60, #64, #69, #71, #74, #77, #80, #84, #89, #94, #105, #113.
2. Episode Director: #94, #105, #113.

• Rurouni Kenshin(1996~1998/TV)

1. Storyboard (PEN NAME): #8, #18, #24, #29, #40, #43.

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars(1996~1997/TV)

1. Key Animator: #173.

• Shoujo Kakumei Utena(1997/TV)

1. Key Animator: #7, #14(NC), #18, #23, #29(NC), #31.
2. Storyboard (Pen Name Katsuyo Hashimoto): #7, #14, #20, #23, #29, #33, #39.

• Dennou Sentai Voogie's★Angel(1997~1998/TV)

1. Episode Director: OP.

• Ginga Tetsudou 999: Eternal Fantasy(1998/Movie)

1. Key Animator.

• Himitsu no Akko-chan 3(1998~1999/TV)

1. Episode Director: #6, #14, #20, #30.

• Alice SOS(1998~1999/TV)

1. Episode Director: OP.

• Gegege no Kitarou: Kitarou no Yuurei Densha(1999/Movie)

1. Director.

• Tenshi ni Narumon!(1999/TV)

1. Storyboard: #20, #22.

• Digimon Adventure(1999~2000/TV)

1. Episode Director: #21.

• One Piece(1999~/TV)

1. Episode Director: #199.

• Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku(1999/Movie)

1. Storyboard (Pen Name Katsuyo Hashimoto).

• Digimon Adventure Movie(1999/Movie)

1. Director.

• Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!(2000/Movie)

1. Director.

• Fushigi Sekai Atagoul Monogatari(2000/Short)

1. Director (Pen Name Katsuyo Hashimoto).

• Ojamajo Doremi Dokkaan!(2002~2003/TV)

1. Episode Director: #40, #49.

• Superflat Monogram(2003/Short)

1. Director.

• Ashita no Nadja(2003~2004/TV)

1. Key Animator: #26.
2. Storyboard: OP, ED.
3. Episode Director: OP, ED, #5, #12, #26.

• Kono Shihai kara no Sotsugyou: Ozaki Yutaka(2004/Short)

1. Director.

• Samurai Champloo(2004~2005/TV)

1. Episode Director: OP.

• One Piece Movie 6: Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima(2005/Movie)

1. Director.

• Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo(2006/Movie)

1. Director.

• Sumemr Wars(2009/Movie)

1. Director.
2. Original Work.

• Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin(2010/TV)

1. Photos: ED.

• Ookami Kodomo Ame to Yuki(2012/Movie)

1. Director.
2. Original Work.
3. Scenario.

• Bakemono no Ko(2015/Movie)

1. Director.
2. Scenario.
3. Original Work.
4. Theme Song Lyrics.

• Mirai no Mirai(2018/Movie)

1. Director.
2. Scenario.
3. Original Work.