---
name: "Masahiko Ōtsuka"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/masahiko-otsuka"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "14 April 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T23:23:51.144049+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Masahiko Ōtsuka

Director. Born 14 April 1964 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 14 April 1964, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
- **Active:** 1995–present
- **Also known as:** Masahiko Otsuka, Masahiko Ôtsuka, Masahiko Ohtsuka, 大塚 雅彦

## Biography

Masahiko Ōtsuka is a Japanese anime director, episode director and producer. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture on 14 April 1964, he graduated from Osaka University of Arts, Faculty of Arts, Department of Film Planning. He began his career as an assistant director at Studio Ghibli on *Pom Poko* (1994) and *Whisper of the Heart* (1995).

He later joined Gainax, where he worked as an episode director and assistant director on *Neon Genesis Evangelion* (1995). His credits at the studio include episode direction on *FLCL* and contributions as assistant director, storyboard artist and writer on *Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann* (2007).

In 2011 Ōtsuka co-founded Studio Trigger with Hiroyuki Imaishi and serves as its president. Subsequent work includes directing on *Kill la Kill* (2013), *Kiznaiver* (2016) and episodes of *Star Wars: Visions* (2021), as well as writing for *DARLING in the FRANXX* (2018) and *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners* (2022).

*Sources: ja.wikipedia.org, animenewsnetwork.com, imdb.com, anime-planet.com, wiki.evageeks.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Neon Genesis Evangelion* (1995), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/neon-genesis-evangelion.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2* (2026), Series Composition
- *Whisper of the Heart* (1995), Assistant Director

## Also known for

- *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners* (2022), Series Composition, Other
- *Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion* (1997), Assistant Director
- *DARLING in the FRANXX* (2018), Writer
- *Pom Poko* (1994), Assistant Director
- *Gurren Lagann* (2007), Writer, Director, Assistant Director
- *Kill la Kill* (2013), Director
- *Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth* (1997), Director, Assistant Director
- *Star Wars: Visions* (2021), Director, Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/masahiko-otsuka