Michael Arias (born 1968) is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan. Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime feature Tekkonkinkreet, which established him as the first non-Japanese director of a major anime film. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Arias, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 2, 1968 (58)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Director, actor and producer
- 7 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are Michael Arias' films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
Grounded 1 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 4
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael Arias' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Michael Arias' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
15 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Godzilla Minus One(2023)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Animated Bible Series (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Sound & Fury(2019)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Tokyo Alien Bros. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Harmony(2015)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Short Peace(2012)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Ueno Juri and the Five Bags (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Heaven's Door (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Ani*Kuri15 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Ani*Kuri15 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Tekkonkinkreet(2006)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Mind Game(2004)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
The Animatrix(2003)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Sunny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Twilight World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles, 12 of them dated from 2003 to 2023.
How do Michael Arias' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
Shape of the crowd
None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 3 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Michael Arias work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael Arias' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Eiko Tanaka shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Kōji MorimotoShared titles: Sound & Fury (2019), Short Peace (2012), The Animatrix (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Kōji Morimoto
Producers
- Eiko TanakaShared titles: Harmony (2015), Tekkonkinkreet (2006), Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime (2003), The Animatrix (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Eiko Tanaka
Mixed roles
- Hiroaki TakeuchiShared titles: Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime (2003), The Animatrix (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Hiroaki Takeuchi
- Joel SilverShared titles: Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime (2003), The Animatrix (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Joel Silver
- Peter ChungShared titles: Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime (2003), The Animatrix (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Chung
- Shin'ichirō WatanabeShared titles: Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime (2003), The Animatrix (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Shin'ichirō Watanabe
