Katsuhito Ishii is a Japanese film director. After graduating from Musashino Art University, Katsuhito Ishii got a job at Tohokushinsha Film and began directing commercials in 1992, receiving numerous awards in this field. His first short film The Promise of August, shot in 1995, went on to receive the Japanese Film Grand Prix in the Fantastic Video Section of the 1995 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. He made his feature debut with Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, based on the visual novel by cult manga artist Minetaro Mochizuki and starring regular collaborator Tadanobu Asano. Ishii quickly followed his success with another box office hit, Party 7 (2000), which featured Masatoshi Nagase, Yoshio Harada and Tadanobu Asano among others. Between the years 2001 and 2002, he created a series of short films including the 3D animated dialogue piece Hal & Bons and the 2D animated space opera Trava Fist Planet. Among other commercials and select TV projects including the short Black Room which starred Takuya Kimura, and Music Power Go Go!, He collaborated with Production I.G for the animation sequence of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1. In 2004, his fourth feature film The Taste of Tea won Best Feature Film at the Hawaii International Film Festival. In 2006, he co-directed the feature film Funky Forest with fellow Japanese film makers and old school friends Shunichiro Miki and ANIKI. He founded his own production company, Nice Rainbow, in October 2006.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 31, 1966 (59)
- Niigata, Japan
- Director, writer and editor
- 10 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
What are Katsuhito Ishii's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 4
Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 5
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 3
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 4 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
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 Katsuhito Ishii's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Katsuhito Ishii's 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
30 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Tales of the Bizarre: 35th Anniversary Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Norioka Workshop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Gamera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Hello! Junichi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Tales of the Bizarre: 2013 Autumn Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
SHORT PEACE (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
GAMBO (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Short Peace(2012)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Smuggler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Redline(2009)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Sorasoi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
My Darling of the Mountains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Hokuro Kyodai Full Throttle!!!! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
NEW HAL&BONS (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Taste of Tea(2004)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Cutie Honey(2004)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Kill Bill: Vol. 1(2003)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Frog River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Hal & Bons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Trava: Fist Planet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Smap Short Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Tales of the Bizarre: SMAP Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Party 7(2000)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Promise of August (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Funky Forest: The Second Contact (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 30 titles, 29 of them dated from 1990 to 2025.
Film career
- 2004Screen debut· Cutie Honey
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Katsuhito Ishii's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th6
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 6 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 Katsuhito Ishii work with?
People who share at least 2 of Katsuhito Ishii's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tadanobu Asano shares the most, 5.
Actors
- Tadanobu AsanoShared titles: Redline (2009), Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005), The Taste of Tea (2004), Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 5 shared titles with Tadanobu Asano
- Tatsuya GashûinShared titles: Redline (2009), The Taste of Tea (2004), Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 4 shared titles with Tatsuya Gashûin
- Ryô KaseShared titles: Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005), The Taste of Tea (2004), Party 7 (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Ryô Kase
- Yoshinori OkadaShared titles: Redline (2009), Party 7 (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Yoshinori Okada
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Hiroshi MachidaShared titles: Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005), Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Hiroshi Machida
- James ShimojiShared titles: Redline (2009), Party 7 (2000)See all 2 shared titles with James Shimoji
- Kosuke MatsushimaShared titles: Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005), The Taste of Tea (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Kosuke Matsushima
- Yumiko DoiShared titles: Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Yumiko Doi
Producers
- Hilo IizumiShared titles: The Taste of Tea (2004), Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Hilo Iizumi
- Kazuto TakidaShared titles: The Taste of Tea (2004), Party 7 (2000), Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Kazuto Takida