Sunao Katabuchi

Director

August 10, 1960 (65 years)

Hirakata, Osaka, Japan

Biography

Sunao Katabuchi is a Japanese animation director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. He is director of Contrail Co. Ltd. He has been a part-time lecturer at Nihon University College of Art since 2006, and a Project Professor at the college of Art of at the same university since 2018.

Filmography

8.0

Black Lagoon

The story follows a team of pirate mercenaries known as the Lagoon Company, that smuggles goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the early to mid 1990s. Their base of operations is located in the fictional harbor city of Roanapur in southeast Thailand near the border of Cambodia.

8.6

Cardcaptor Sakura

Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student who discovers that she possesses magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards from the book they had been sealed in for years. She is then tasked with retrieving those cards in order to avoid an unknown catastrophe from befalling the world.

7.8

Kiki's Delivery Service

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

7.0

Sherlock Hound

In a steampunk London, the great detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson routinely crack the most challenging cases — perpetrated more often than not by their nemesis, the proud, bumbling genius Professor Moriarty.

6.9

The Legend of Zorro

Diego Vega returns from his study trip to discover his homeland is under the army's dictatorship. Diego, refusing to watch idly, disguises himself as Zorro to protect the weak and oppressed. Diego is not a coward but he is unable to win the affections of his sweetheart, Lolita, who is attracted to other more noble men. Diego serenades Lolita as Zorro and fights the evils of his homeland, hoping to capture her heart.

6.8

Street Fighter

A new challenger approaches in Street Fighter II: The Animated Series! Discipline! Justice! Commitment! That's the code that the secret international peacekeeping force "Street Fighter" adheres to! Made up of the top martial artists from around the world, Street Fighter opposes criminal activities anywhere, at any time. William F. Guile, the leader of Street Fighter, conducts himself with honor even as he blows away bad guys at the speed of sound with his "Sonic Boom"! Meanwhile, the bestial Blanka shocks his opponents all too literally, and Chun-Li's furiously flying fleet feet take down anything that gets between her and justice! They'll need all the help they can get against the villainous Shadaloo, whose leader M.Bison is one of the strongest, most vile criminals around! Fortunately for Street Fighter, they've got Ryu and Ken to back them up.

7.9

In This Corner of the World

Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…

6.9

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail

Crime never sleeps in Roanapur, and neither does Roberta—a devoted maid and skilled guerilla soldier in service to the Venezuelan Lovelace family. After the assassination of her superior by the US Secret Service, Roberta returns to the city of debauchery in search of vengeance and his killer's head. Meanwhile, young Fernando Garcia Lovelace, the new heir to his father's estate, tails Roberta to Thailand alongside his bodyguard, Fabiola Iglesias. He enlists the help of the Lagoon Company, with the objective of deterring Roberta's warpath and bringing her back to the family. However, with the continued bloodshed and mounting tensions between Roberta, island crime factions, and the US military, it will take a significant amount of strategy—and weaponry—to stop her relentless quest for revenge.

7.6

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers

Four elite Galaxy Rangers with unique abilities defend law & order among the space colonies and protect humanity from the evil Crown Empire.

6.6

Famous Dog Lassie

Famous Dog Lassie is a 1996 Japanese anime series produced by Nippon Animation as the 23rd entry of the World Masterpiece Theater staple. The anime is based on the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight and also the second animated Lassie series ever produced, since Lassie's Rescue Rangers.

7.0

Mai Mai Miracle

Inspired by her grandfather's stories, young Shinko embarks on wild flights of fancy about the history of the little town she lives in. But dreams can't fend off the realities of growing up.

6.9

Princess Arete

Imprisoned by a sorcerer who fears she will rob him of eternal life, guileless young Princess Arete befriends a villager who helps her plan an escape.

10.0

Cardcaptor Sakura

Cardcaptor Sakura tells the story of Sakura Kinomoto, a ten-year-old girl who accidentally releases a set of magical cards called Clow Cards. Her job then is to gather all the cards before they cause trouble in the city where she lives.

N/A

World Masterpiece Theater Complete Edition: Lassie

John is a cheerful and energetic young boy, who lives in a small coal-mining town in England. One day he finds a small dog lost in a flock of sheep. John takes him back home and names the puppy Lassie. Soon they become good friends, just like real siblings. Lassie is a very lovely and smart dog, so everyone in the town loves her very much. But their happy life doesn't last long. Suddenly a coal-mine owner closes his company because there is no more coal left in the coal mine. John goes to meet the coal-mine owner to request a further investigation. The owner accepts John's request, but in exchange for that, he takes Lassie to Scotland. Priscilla, the owner's granddaughter and also John's friend, cannot just stand by and let Lassie suffer in a cage. She opens the cage and sets Lassie free. Lassie sets out on a very long and hard journey from Scotland to her hometown.

5.7

The Blinkins: The Bear and the Blizzard

A little girl, Molly, loses her doll, Belinda, in the Blinkin wood and the Blinkins find it and make it their mission to return her to the owner. In the process, Flashy gets kidnapped by Mr Bear and the Blinkins are given a ransom from Mr Bear and Mr Grogg in the form of food from their winter store in exchange for Flashy's safe return.

N/A

The Mourning Children: Nagiko and the Girls Wearing Tsurubami Black

Kyoto during the Heian period (the 10th century) in Japan. Tens of thousands dead, gutters filled with corpses, children abandoned in the mountains, and groups of wild dogs vigilantly watching outside the city. The elegant image of the Heian period has been shown in many literary and artistic works. However, Katabuchi's new work takes us back to Kyoto a thousand years ago, when the city was shrouded in darkness due to repeated epidemics of plague.

N/A

Rusty House

A celluloid film based on Hiroyuki Kakudo's paper animation of the same title (1981).

N/A

Upon This Planet

A sensitive girl who lives in a port town develops a strong interest in the wider world when a young man she meets sets off on a journey. What kind of world is waiting beyond the sea?

N/A

Rockman Zero2 CM

A promotional animation for the video game "Rockman Zero 2".

N/A

Borderless Happiness

The short portrays the main character Outafukuko, a 1,028-year-old woman, making and sharing Issenyousho in a scene set in Hiroshima after the Second World War. Issenyousho is considered one of the early dishes that would eventually inspire okonomiyaki. October 10, the day the short went live, is "Okinomiyaki Day" in Japan.