Sōichi Masui
Description
Sōichi Masui is a Japanese anime director and storyboard artist whose career spans from the mid-1990s to the present day. Born on March 29, 1966, in the Urawa district of Saitama Prefecture, he enrolled in the Art Department of Nihon University's College of Art but withdrew before graduating. He later completed his studies at Japan Film School. Masui began his professional career in the animation industry at the studio Group TAC, where he initially worked as a setting producer and production assistant before moving into directing and storyboard creation.
Masui has an extensive filmography that includes work as a director, episode director, storyboard artist, and assistant director across numerous television series, films, and original video animations. In his early career, he held roles such as color setting and finishing on the series Fly! Isami in 1995. He later served as assistant director for the film Tenchi Muyo! Midsummer's Eve and took on storyboard duties for series including Space Detective Genshi-Kun, The Candidate for Goddess, and Angelic Layer. He was the assistant director on RahXephon and served as a storyboard artist for major productions such as the Fullmetal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo television series. In 2006, Masui was credited for composition, setting, and supervision on Tama & Friends: Sagase! Mahō no Punipuni Stone, a new television series in the Tama & Friends franchise, for which he also co-wrote the scripts.
Masui has held the position of director on multiple notable anime projects. He directed the OVA series Adult Fairy Tales, including its volumes Grimm Fairy Tales and Japanese Old Stories, in 2000. In the 2000s, he was the director for Scrapped Princess in 2003, the first Chaika - The Coffin Princess series in 2014, and its follow-up, Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Avenging Battle, later that same year. He also directed the 2009 series Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo. In the film realm, Masui directed two Crayon Shin-chan movies: The Storm Called: The Golden Spy Mission in 2011 and The Storm Called!: Me and the Space Princess in 2012.
More recent directorial works have further established his reputation. He was the director for Sakura Quest in 2017, Heavenly Design Team in 2021, and Akiba Maid War in 2022. He also directed the popular supernatural drama series Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai in 2018, and its 2025 continuation, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus. He is set to direct the upcoming anime film Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend, scheduled for release in 2026.
Masui's artistic identity often involves a focus on characters who are sincerely navigating difficult or absurd circumstances. In an interview about Akiba Maid War, a series that combines cute maid aesthetics with violent yakuza film tropes, Masui explained that he aimed to depict characters living earnestly and desperately in a world where leaving the Akiba district is nearly impossible. He drew inspiration from classic yakuza films of the 1960s through the 1980s, including works featuring actors Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara, as well as the dark comedy of the 1976 film Bugsy Malone. His approach prioritizes the internal logic of the world and the genuine struggles of its inhabitants, even when the premise is highly stylized or absurd.
Masui has also used the pseudonym Kazuma Mizukusa, which is an anagram of his real name. This alias appears in his credits for series such as Super Doll Licca-chan and select episodes of Hunter x Hunter and My-Hime. Throughout his career, he has maintained a steady output as both a director and a freelance storyboard artist, contributing to a wide range of productions for studios including Bones, Production I.G, P.A.Works, and CloverWorks. His long-standing involvement with the Crayon Shin-chan film series and his direction of the critically acclaimed Rascal Does Not Dream franchise mark him as a versatile creator capable of handling both broad comedy and intricate dramatic narratives.
Masui has an extensive filmography that includes work as a director, episode director, storyboard artist, and assistant director across numerous television series, films, and original video animations. In his early career, he held roles such as color setting and finishing on the series Fly! Isami in 1995. He later served as assistant director for the film Tenchi Muyo! Midsummer's Eve and took on storyboard duties for series including Space Detective Genshi-Kun, The Candidate for Goddess, and Angelic Layer. He was the assistant director on RahXephon and served as a storyboard artist for major productions such as the Fullmetal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo television series. In 2006, Masui was credited for composition, setting, and supervision on Tama & Friends: Sagase! Mahō no Punipuni Stone, a new television series in the Tama & Friends franchise, for which he also co-wrote the scripts.
Masui has held the position of director on multiple notable anime projects. He directed the OVA series Adult Fairy Tales, including its volumes Grimm Fairy Tales and Japanese Old Stories, in 2000. In the 2000s, he was the director for Scrapped Princess in 2003, the first Chaika - The Coffin Princess series in 2014, and its follow-up, Chaika - The Coffin Princess: Avenging Battle, later that same year. He also directed the 2009 series Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo. In the film realm, Masui directed two Crayon Shin-chan movies: The Storm Called: The Golden Spy Mission in 2011 and The Storm Called!: Me and the Space Princess in 2012.
More recent directorial works have further established his reputation. He was the director for Sakura Quest in 2017, Heavenly Design Team in 2021, and Akiba Maid War in 2022. He also directed the popular supernatural drama series Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai in 2018, and its 2025 continuation, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus. He is set to direct the upcoming anime film Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend, scheduled for release in 2026.
Masui's artistic identity often involves a focus on characters who are sincerely navigating difficult or absurd circumstances. In an interview about Akiba Maid War, a series that combines cute maid aesthetics with violent yakuza film tropes, Masui explained that he aimed to depict characters living earnestly and desperately in a world where leaving the Akiba district is nearly impossible. He drew inspiration from classic yakuza films of the 1960s through the 1980s, including works featuring actors Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara, as well as the dark comedy of the 1976 film Bugsy Malone. His approach prioritizes the internal logic of the world and the genuine struggles of its inhabitants, even when the premise is highly stylized or absurd.
Masui has also used the pseudonym Kazuma Mizukusa, which is an anagram of his real name. This alias appears in his credits for series such as Super Doll Licca-chan and select episodes of Hunter x Hunter and My-Hime. Throughout his career, he has maintained a steady output as both a director and a freelance storyboard artist, contributing to a wide range of productions for studios including Bones, Production I.G, P.A.Works, and CloverWorks. His long-standing involvement with the Crayon Shin-chan film series and his direction of the critically acclaimed Rascal Does Not Dream franchise mark him as a versatile creator capable of handling both broad comedy and intricate dramatic narratives.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview