Kōzō Kusuba was a Japanese anime screenwriter and director. He joined Tokyo Movie in 1971, which he left in 1981 and joined Nippon Animation. After that, he was in charge of the mid-to-late works of the World Masterpiece Theater series. He became freelance in 2004 and worked on many storyboards and direction on Doraemon.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 11, 1947
- March 20, 2018 (aged 70)
- Uwajima, Ehime, Japan
- Director and writer
- 8 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
Known for
What are Kôzô Kusuba's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 4
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 1
A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
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 Kôzô Kusuba's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Kôzô Kusuba'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
26 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all filmsOn-chan, Dream Power Big Adventure! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

World Masterpiece Theater Complete Edition: Pollyanna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

World Masterpiece Theater Complete Edition: Lassie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

World Masterpiece Theater Complete Edition: Little Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Visiting Marco(1999)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Locomotive Teacher (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

Remy, Nobody's Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

Romeo's Blue Skies(1995)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Tico and Friends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Little Women II : Jo's Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

Trapp Family Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

Shin Karate Jigokuhen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

Bucchigiri (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

The Adventures of Peter Pan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

Little Lord Fauntleroy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

Princess Sarah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

Story of the Alps: My Annette (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

Fuusen no Doratarou (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

Ruy, the Little Cid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

Anne of Green Gables (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1979 to 2012.
How do Kôzô Kusuba's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 79th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 8 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 55/100 in their films, across 4 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 Kôzô Kusuba work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kôzô Kusuba's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Fujio F. Fujiko shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Ayumu WatanabeShared titles: Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Ayumu Watanabe

Writers
- Fujio F. FujikoShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Fujio F. Fujiko
- Yûichi ShinpoShared titles: Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Yûichi Shinpo
Actors
- Megumi ÔharaShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Megumi Ôhara

- Subaru KimuraShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Subaru Kimura

- Tomokazu SekiShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Tomokazu Seki

- Wasabi MizutaShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Wasabi Mizuta

Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Kan SawadaShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Kan Sawada

- Katsuyoshi KishiShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008)See all 4 shared titles with Katsuyoshi Kishi
- Toshihiko KojimaShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008)See all 4 shared titles with Toshihiko Kojima
- Hajime OkayasuShared titles: Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Hajime Okayasu

Producers
- Noboru SugiyamaShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Noboru Sugiyama
- Sôjirô MasukoShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 6 shared titles with Sôjirô Masuko
- Takumi FujimoriShared titles: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles ~Animal Adventure~ (2012), Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007)See all 5 shared titles with Takumi Fujimori
- Kumi OguraShared titles: Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010), Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer (2009), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008), Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld (2007), Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)See all 5 shared titles with Kumi Ogura