Mamoru Hosoda

    September 19, 1967 • 56 y.o.

    Place of Birth Toyama, Japan
    Citizenship Japan
    Career 1997 — 2021
    Genres Animation, Adventure, Drama

    Facts

    Hosoda was born in Kamiichi, Nakaniikawa District, Toyama, Japan. His father worked as a railway engineer, and his mother was a tailor.

    Hosoda was strongly influenced by the animation works he saw in 1979, when he was in the sixth grade, and set his sights on a career related to anime. These were Isao Takahata's Anne of Green Gables, Osamu Dezaki's Aim for the Ace! The Movie and Yoshiyuki Tomino's Mobile Suit Gundam, Rintaro's Galaxy Express 999 The Movie and Hayao Miyazaki's Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. Hosoda described the concentration of works in that one year that would go down in Japanese animation history as like a Grand cross (the planets of the solar system lining up in a cross on the ecliptic). Hosoda had already analyzed the directing methods and screen compositions of Hayao Miyazaki and Rintaro in a collection of essays written by elementary school graduates. Hosoda cited Isao Takahata's Anne of Green Gables as the most influential anime of them all. He says that Takahata, as a 'director who does not draw', taught him that drawing is not the only way to dominate a film.

    When Hosoda was in junior high school, he saw people his age making animation on NHK Educational TV's independent animation specials, and he started making paper animation using the anime magazine Animage as a reference. Hosoda applied as a first-year high school student for the open call for animators for the Toei Dōga-produced film Shōnen Kenya (1984) and was shortlisted, but withdrew because of mid-term exams.

    He majored in oil painting at the Kanazawa College of Art in Ishikawa Prefecture. He then joined the film club at that college and produced live-action films, somewhat distancing himself from animation. Hosoda produced nearly 50 video works: two fiction films were submitted to the Pia Film Festival and the Image Forum Festival, among others, and he also produced other video art works.

    In 1989, Hosoda saw an article in Animage recruiting trainees for the production of Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday (1991 film) and took a recruitment test. Although he did not pass the exam, he received a letter from Hayao Miyazaki saying that he had decided not to hire someone like you because he thought it would diminish your talent.

    After graduating from university, Hosoda continued to look for work in the animation industry and contacted a producer with whom he had formed a connection during an open call for animators for Shōnen Kenya, and joined Toei Dōga (recently Toei Animation) in 1991. He had initially wanted to pursue a directing course, but following that producer's recommendation, he ended up working as an animator for the time being.

    Top Rated Movies

    Filmography chart

    Title Ratings: 6.34
    My Ratings:
    • Anime 18%
    • Animation 18%
    • Adventure 11%
    • Drama 9%
    • Fantasy 9%
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      IMDb
      Critics
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                                  Director — 22

                                  2021
                                  1
                                  Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime, 2021

                                  Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 2 hr 2 min
                                  Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                    2018
                                    2
                                    Mirai no Mirai, 2018

                                    Anime, Animation, Adventure, 1 hr 38 min
                                    Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                      2015
                                      3
                                      Bakemono no ko, 2015

                                      Anime, Animation, Action, 1 hr 59 min
                                      Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                        2012
                                        4
                                        Ôkami kodomo no Ame to Yuki, 2012

                                        Anime, Animation, Drama, 1 hr 57 min
                                        Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                          2009
                                          5
                                          Dejimon Adobenchâ 3D: Dejimon Guran Puri!, 2009

                                          Anime, Animation, Short, 7 min
                                          Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                            6
                                            Samâ uôzu, 2009

                                            Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 1 hr 54 min
                                            Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                              2006
                                              7
                                              Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, 2006

                                              Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 1 hr 38 min
                                              Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                2005
                                                8
                                                One piece: Omatsuri danshaku to himitsu no shima, 2005

                                                Anime, Animation, Action, 1 hr 30 min
                                                Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                  2004
                                                  9
                                                  Samurai Chanpurû, 2004 — 2005

                                                  Anime, Animation, Action, 23 min
                                                  Japan, Poland • Shin'ichirô Watanabe...

                                                    2002
                                                    10
                                                    Spiral: Suiri no kizuna, 2002 — 2003

                                                    Anime, Animation, Thriller, 25 min
                                                    Japan • Shingo Kaneko...

                                                      11
                                                      Ashita no Nadja, 2002 — 2004 — uncredited

                                                      Anime, Animation, Adventure, 25 min
                                                      Japan • Takuya Igarashi...

                                                        2000
                                                        12
                                                        2000

                                                        Anime, Animation, Fantasy, 1 hr 22 min
                                                        Japan, United States • Bob Buchholz...

                                                          13
                                                          Dejimon adobenchâ: Bokura no wô gêmu!, 2000

                                                          Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 41 min
                                                          Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                            1999
                                                            14
                                                            1999 — ...

                                                            Anime, Animation, Fantasy, 22 min
                                                            Japan • Munehisa Sakai...

                                                              15
                                                              1999

                                                              Short, 14 min
                                                              Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                16
                                                                Digimon: Digital Monsters, 1999 — 2007

                                                                Anime, Animation, Fantasy, 22 min
                                                                Japan • Yukio Kaizawa...

                                                                  17
                                                                  Dejimon adobenchâ, 1999

                                                                  Anime, Animation, Short, 20 min
                                                                  Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                    18
                                                                    Ojamajo Doremi, 1999 — 2004

                                                                    Anime, Animation, Fantasy, 25 min
                                                                    Japan • Takuya Igarashi...

                                                                      1998
                                                                      19
                                                                      1998 — 1999

                                                                      Animation
                                                                      Japan • Shingo Kaneko...

                                                                        20
                                                                        Himitsu no Akko-chan, 1998

                                                                        Anime, Animation, Comedy, 24 min
                                                                        Japan • Hiroki Shibata...

                                                                          1997
                                                                          21
                                                                          1997 — 1998

                                                                          Anime, Animation, Action, 27 min
                                                                          Japan • Masami Ôbari...

                                                                            1996
                                                                            22
                                                                            1996 — 1998

                                                                            Anime, Animation, 25 min
                                                                            Japan • Mamoru Hosoda...

                                                                              Writer — 6

                                                                              2021
                                                                              1
                                                                              Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime, 2021 — (original story) (screenplay)

                                                                              Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 2 hr 2 min
                                                                              Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                                2018
                                                                                2
                                                                                Mirai no Mirai, 2018 — (original work)

                                                                                Anime, Animation, Adventure, 1 hr 38 min
                                                                                Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                                  2015
                                                                                  3
                                                                                  Bakemono no ko, 2015 — (original story) (screenplay)

                                                                                  Anime, Animation, Action, 1 hr 59 min
                                                                                  Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                                    2012
                                                                                    4
                                                                                    Ôkami kodomo no Ame to Yuki, 2012 — (original story) (screenplay)

                                                                                    Anime, Animation, Drama, 1 hr 57 min
                                                                                    Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                                      2009
                                                                                      5
                                                                                      Samâ uôzu, 2009 — (original story)

                                                                                      Anime, Animation, Sci-Fi, 1 hr 54 min
                                                                                      Japan • Mamoru Hosoda

                                                                                        1997
                                                                                        6
                                                                                        Shôjo kakumei Utena, 1997 — (writer)

                                                                                        Anime, Animation, Fantasy, 23 min
                                                                                        Japan • Kunihiko Ikuhara...

                                                                                          Other — 8

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