Toshimasa Suzuki

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Born1966 (age 59–60)
Japan
OccupationsAnimator, director, storyboard artist
Yearsactive1989–present
EmployerShaft (1988–2000)
Toshimasa Suzuki
鈴木 利正
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Japan
OccupationsAnimator, director, storyboard artist
Years active1989–present
EmployerShaft (1988–2000)
Known forHeroic Age
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne
SpouseMitsuko Sekimoto

Toshimasa Suzuki (Japanese: 鈴木 利正, Hepburn: Suzuki Toshimasa) is a Japanese director, animator, and storyboard artist. He joined Shaft in 1995 as an episode director and storyboard artist, and although he continues to work for Shaft, Suzuki commonly directs series with other studios, most notably with Xebec, where he made his series directorial debut with Heroic Age in 2007.[1]

Style

Suzuki joined Shaft around 1988 as a key animator.[2] He made his debut as an episode director and storyboard artist for the studio's first original television series, Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger, in 1995.[3] His employment with Shaft continued until the early 2000s, when he decided to go freelance (he continued to work with Shaft as a freelancer).[2] In 2007, he debuted as a series director with Xebec with Heroic Age under the supervision of Takashi Noto.[1] For the next few years, Suzuki focused solely on freelancing work with other studios. He continued to do work with Xebec, directing Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne and Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth,[4][5] and started directing series outside of either Xebec or Shaft, such as The Pilot's Love Song and The Price of Smiles.[6][7]

Suzuki was born in 1966,[8] and he is married to color designer Mitsuko Sekimoto,[9] who has worked with Suzuki on all of his directorial projects outside of Shaft.

He said that he is a fan of hard sci-fi, as well as a fan of foreign sci-fi productions, which he has used for inspiration on works like Fafner in the Azure and Heroic Age.[2] Although a fan of watching realistic and 'muddy' depictions of emotions, he himself does not like to make realistic depictions in his works, and is instead more interested in making his works beautiful and exaggerated.[2] Writer Tow Ubukata commented on Suzuki's ideal of beauty by saying he was good at directing emotional scenes.[2]

After he worked as Akiyuki Shinbo's assistant on Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase, Suzuki wanted to use some of Shinbo's visual composition techniques himself while working on Fafner: Right of Left succeeding the end of Tsukuyomi's production.[10] Broadly, he stated that his way of creating images changed after working on Tsukuyomi.[11] Director Ryūtarō Nakamura's sense of light and shadows, whom Suzuki worked under as the assistant director for Sakura Wars (2000), also had an effect on Suzuki's style.[11]

Works

Television series

  In "Director(s)" column highlights Suzuki's directorial works.

Year Title Director(s) Studio SB[a] ED[b] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1989 Blue Blink Osamu Tezuka
Seitarou Hara		 Tezuka Productions No No Animator [12]
Idol Densetsu Eriko Tetsurō Amino Ashi Productions No No In-between animator [13]
1990 Kyatto Ninden Teyandee Kunitoshi Okajima Tatsunoko Production No No In-between animator [14]
1991 Oh! My Konbu Tetsuo Imazawa Shaft No No Key animator [15]
1993 Thumbelina: A Magical Story Hiromitsu Morita No No Key animator [16]
1995 Weather Report Girl Kunihiko Yuyama Pastel No No Key animator [17]
Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger Kunitoshi Okajima (chief) Shaft Yes Yes Key animator [18][3][19]
1997 Hareluya II Boy Kiyoshi Egami Triangle Staff Yes Yes [20]
Sakura Diaries Kunitoshi Okajima Shaft Yes Yes [21]
Burn-Up Excess Shinichiro Kimura Magic Bus Yes Yes [22]
Battle Athletes Victory Katsuhito Akiyama AIC Yes Yes [23][24]
1998 Silent Mobius Hideki Tonokatsu Shaft (Radix) Yes Yes [25]
Generator Gawl Seiji Mizushima Tatsunoko Production Yes Yes [26]
1999 Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure Katsuhito Akiyama AIC Yes Yes [27]
Power Stone Takahiro Omori Pierrot Yes No Key animator [28]
A Pair of Queens Takashi Watanabe Triangle Staff Yes No Key animator [29]
Dai-Guard Seiji Mizushima Xebec Yes Yes [30]
2000 Sakura Wars Ryūtarō Nakamura Madhouse Yes Yes Assistant director (13 episodes) [31][32][33]
Dotto! Koni-chan Shinichi Watanabe Shaft Yes Yes [34][35]
2001 Mahoromatic Hiroyuki Yamaga Gainax
Shaft		 Yes Yes [36][37]
Shaman King Seiji Mizushima Xebec Yes Yes [38][39]
2002 A Little Snow Fairy Sugar Hiroaki Sakurai (chief)
Shinichiro Kimura		 J.C. Staff Yes No [40]
Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier Jun Kawagoe Japan Vistec Yes Yes [41]
2003 Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful Hiroyuki Yamaga Gainax
Shaft		 Yes No [42]
Stellvia Tatsuo Satō Xebec Yes Yes [43][44]
2004 This Ugly yet Beautiful World Shouji Saeki Gainax
Shaft		 Yes Yes Key animator [45][46][47]
Tetsujin 28-go Yasuhiro Imagawa Palm Studio Yes No [48]
Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor Nobuyoshi Habara Xebec Yes Yes [49]
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase Akiyuki Shinbo (chief) Shaft Yes Yes Assistant director
Ending director		 [50][51][52][53]
2005 He Is My Master Shouji Saeki Gainax
Shaft		 No Yes Ending director [54][55]
Rozen Maiden: Träumend Kō Matsuo Nomad No Yes [56]
2006 The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye Jun Kamiya Xebec Yes Yes [57][58]
2007 Heroic Age Takashi Noto (chief)
Toshimasa Suzuki		 Xebec Yes Yes [1][59]
Ef: A Tale of Memories Shin Oonuma Shaft No No Assistant episode director [60]
2008 Wangan Midnight Tsuneo Tominaga A.C.G.T Yes No [61]
Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox Atsushi Ōtsuki Xebec Yes No [62]
Kyō no Go no Ni Tsuyoshi Nagasawa Xebec Yes No [63]
2009 Polyphonica: Crimson S Toshimasa Suzuki Diomedéa Yes Yes Ending director and storyboard [64][65]
Tears to Tiara Tomoki Kobayashi White Fox No Yes [66]
Bakemonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi (series)		 Shaft Yes Yes Assistant episode director
Opening director
Key animator		 [67][68][69]
[70][71]
2010 Dance in the Vampire Bund Akiyuki Shinbo
Masahiro Sonoda (series)		 Shaft No No Ending director [72]
Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenichi Ishikura (series)		 Shaft No No Ending director [73]
Arakawa Under the Bridge Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto (series)		 Shaft Yes No [74]
2011 Softenni Ryouki Kamitsubo Xebec No No Opening director and storyboard [75]
2012 Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne Tatsuo Satō (chief)
Toshimasa Suzuki		 Xebec Yes Yes [4][6][76][77]
2013 Unlimited Psychic Squad Shishō Igarashi Manglobe Yes No Ending storyboard [78][79]
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Yes No [80]
2014 The Pilot's Love Song Toshimasa Suzuki TMS Entertainment
3xCube		 Yes Yes [6][81]
Hanamonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Tomoyuki Itamura		 Shaft No No Ending director and storyboard [82]
2015 Fafner in the Azure: Exodus Takashi Noto (chief)
Nobuyoshi Habara		 Xebec Yes Yes [83][84]
Nisekoi: Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Yukihiro Miyamoto (chief episode)		 Shaft No No Opening director [85]
2016 Sweetness and Lightning Tarō Iwasaki TMS Entertainment
3xCube		 No No Opening director [86]
March Comes In like a Lion Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenjirou Okada (series)		 Shaft Yes No [87]
2018 Fate/Extra: Last Encore Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Yukihiro Miyamoto (series)		 Shaft Yes No [88]
2019 The Price of Smiles Toshimasa Suzuki Tatsunoko Production Yes Yes [7][89][90]
2020 Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Doroinu (chief)
Various		 Shaft Yes No Key animator [91][92]
2022 RWBY: Ice Queendom Toshimasa Suzuki
Kenjirou Okada (chief)		 Shaft Yes Yes Opening director [93]
2025 The Shiunji Family Children Ryouki Kamitsubo Doga Kobo No No Opening storyboard artist
2026 Eren the Southpaw Toshimasa Suzuki Signal.MD
Production I.G		 Yes Yes Opening storyboard artist [94]

OVAs/ONAs

Year Title Director(s) Studio SB[a] ED[b] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1994 Legend of the Galactic Heroes Noboru Ishiguro (chiefF)
Masatoshi Tahara (series)
Keizou Shimizu (animation)		 K-Factory (Shaft) Yes Yes Key animator [95][96][97]
2000 Kita e: Pure Session Mitsuko Kase Studio D-Volt No Yes [98]
2003 Arcade Gamer Fubuki Yūji Mutō Shaft No Yes Key animator [99]
2008 Shina Dark Toshimasa Suzuki
Shinpei Tomooka
Naoyuki Konno
Shin Oonuma		 Shaft No No [100][101]
2010 Hen Semi Ryouki Kamitsubo Xebec No No Opening director and storyboard [102]
2012 Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne Tatsuo Satō (chief)
Toshimasa Suzuki		 Xebec No No [4]
2025 Moonrise Masashi Koizuka Wit Studio No Yes

Films

Year Title Director(s) Studio SB[a] ED[b] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
2010 Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth Takashi Noto (chief)
Toshimasa Suzuki		 Xebec Yes Yes [5]
2016 Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Tatsuya Oishi		 Shaft No Yes [103]
2017 Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Tatsuya Oishi		 Shaft No Yes [104]
Fireworks Akiyuki Shinbo (chief)
Nobuyuki Takeuchi		 Shaft No Yes [105]
2019 Fafner in the Azure: The Beyond Takashi Noto Xebec Zwei Yes No [106]
2023 Fafner: Behind the Line Takashi Noto I.G Zwei No No Key animator

Video games

Year Title Studio Roles Ref(s)
2016 Fate/EXTELLA Shaft Opening cinematic storyboard artist [107]

Notes

References

External links

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