A Japanese writer and director, born and raised in Yokohama, Japan. After graduating from high school in 1968, he worked as an animator with the animation company Mushi before it closed. He then became one of the four founders of Madhouse and was then promoted to become director of the animation department. He also co-directed his first film with the director Kazuyuki Hirokawa, Lensman - Secret of the Lens in 1984.