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Keiichi Satô

Keiichi Satô

Director, also producer · Born December 18, 1965 (60) · Kagawa, Japan

Keiichi Sato (さとう けいいち Satō Keiichi) is a mecha and character designer born in the Kagawa Prefecture of Japan in 1965. In 1996, Sato met with Kazuyoshi Katayama to begin work on The Big O. Until then, Sato's work consisted mainly of designing characters and supervising animation for anime series. The Big O is the first based on a concept of his creation and he considers it his magnum opus. Sato's style is influenced by his "love of all things nostalgic. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 18, 1965 (60)
From
Kagawa, Japan
Works as
Director, also producer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Up 3% in 30 days

What are Keiichi Satô's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
36%
Morality
26%
Survival
19%
Bonds
9%
Power
4%
Society
3%
Ideas
3%
Identity4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Heightened: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their heightened movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 3

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 2

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Thrilling
4
Melancholic
4
Contemplative
2
Absurd
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Bittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous1

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 Keiichi Satô's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Crunchyroll (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Keiichi Satô'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

41 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.

  • Go! Go! Loser Ranger!(2024)

    Show 24 episodes · Director · Producer · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • Gekidol(2021)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Inuyashiki(2017)

    Show 11 episodes · Director · Series Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Infini-T Force (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Show 12 episodes · Character Designer

  • Gantz: O(2016)

    Director · Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis Recap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Rage of Bahamut: Genesis(2014)

    Show 24 episodes · Director · Conceptual Design · Key Animation · Sound Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows

  • Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary(2014)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Black Butler(2014)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Asura(2012)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 26 episodes · Character Designer

  • Tiger & Bunny(2011)

    Show 25 episodes · Series Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Karas: The Revelation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Original Story

  • Ultraman Max (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 40 episodes · Character Designer

  • Karas: The Prophecy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Original Story

  • Karas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Animation Director · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

  • Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger Shushuuto: The Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Character Designer

  • Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 51 episodes · Character Designer

  • Mazinkaiser (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Show 8 episodes · Mechanical Designer

  • The Big O (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 26 episodes · Character Designer · Original Story · Supervising Animation Director

  • City Hunter: Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba(1999)

    Character Designer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Sentimental Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Show 12 episodes · Animation Director

  • Ninja Resurrection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Show 2 episodes · Animation Director · Character Designer

  • City Hunter: Goodbye My Sweetheart(1997)

    Character Designer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Super Atragon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

  • Gin Rei's Blue Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Animation Director · Character Designer

  • Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture(1994)

    Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Mahô no purinsesu Minkî Momo: Yume ni kakeru hashi(1993)

    Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Ellcia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

  • Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Show 4 episodes · Key Animation

  • Free Kick Toward Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Show 1 episode · Animation Director

  • 3x3 Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

  • Getter Robo Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Show 1 episode · Animation Director

  • Ariel Deluxe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

  • 1+2=Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 1 episode · Animation Director

  • Angel Cop(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows

  • Transformers: Super-God Masterforce(1988)

    Show 2 episodes · Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows

  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack(1988)

    Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 4 episodes · Key Animation

  • 1985 Bebow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Actor

  • Blue Comet SPT Layzner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Key Animation

Career shape

A full career of 40 titles from 1985 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary (2014)

$17M worldwide

Highest rated

Gantz: O (2016)

Midcredits 85th

Most popular right now

Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 40: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting9 of 40: 4 only directing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thWriting3 of 40: 0 only writing, 3 with another roleOther crew33 of 40: 29 only other crew, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score69th

40 titles, 6 with more than one role — other crew and directing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1980s6 · 1 acting · 5 crew1990s16 · crew2000s7 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s1 · crew

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 Keiichi Satô's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 9; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · producer

Gekidol (2021)

73rd percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Gantz: O (2016)

Midcredits 85th · 74% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 46/100 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 Keiichi Satô work with?

People who share at least 2 of Keiichi Satô's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Yoshihiro Ike shares the most, 5.

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors