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Jun'ichi Masuda

Jun'ichi Masuda

Writer · Born January 12, 1968 (58) · Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi; born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since 1989 after Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori founded it, starting as a music composer. In 2022, Masuda was appointed to be Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company. With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated modern composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition. Description above from the Wikipedia article Junichi Masuda, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 12, 1968 (58)
From
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Works as
Writer
Titles
23 on MovieCove · 30 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 65 days to Oct 28Up 4% in 30 days

What are Jun'ichi Masuda's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
52%
Morality
16%
Self
14%
Power
6%
Society
6%
Ideas
4%
Survival
2%
Friendship13 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 13 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 7

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

Gentle 5 · Charged 9 · Intense 1

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

Steady 9 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 11 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 14 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
14
Thrilling
10
Tense
7
Warm
3
Joyful
3
Other
5

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet7

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 Jun'ichi Masuda's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

  • Pokémon14 titles

Subscription and free streaming for Jun'ichi Masuda'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, 23 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles from 2003 to 2023.

Biggest box office

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

$164M worldwide

Highest rated

Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)

Midcredits 70th

Most popular right now

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing15 of 27: 14 only writing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score42ndMusic2 of 27: 2 only music, 0 with another roleOther crew11 of 27: 10 only other crew, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score66th

By decade

2000s8 · crew2010s16 · crew2020s3 · 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 Jun'ichi Masuda's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

39thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 23 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th10
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 23 titles are Mixed.

  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Mixed11

Most divisive · writer

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! (2006)

79th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Pokémon Origins (2013)

Midcredits 83rd · 86% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 36/100 and the plot and story 36/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Jun'ichi Masuda work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jun'ichi Masuda's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ken Sugimori shares the most, 15.

Directors

  • Kunihiko Yuyama14 titles    See newest 12 of 14 shared titles with Kunihiko Yuyama

Writers

  • Ken Sugimori15 titles    See newest 12 of 15 shared titles with Ken Sugimori
  • Satoshi Tajiri15 titles    See newest 12 of 15 shared titles with Satoshi Tajiri
  • Hideki Sonoda10 titles    See all 10 shared titles with Hideki Sonoda
  • James Carter Cathcart4 titles · 3 as writer    See all 4 shared titles with James Carter Cathcart

Actors

  • Ikue Ôtani14 titles    See newest 12 of 14 shared titles with Ikue Ôtani
  • Rica Matsumoto14 titles    See newest 12 of 14 shared titles with Rica Matsumoto
  • Inuko Inuyama11 titles    See all 11 shared titles with Inuko Inuyama
  • Megumi Hayashibara11 titles    See all 11 shared titles with Megumi Hayashibara

Composers, cinematographers and editors

  • Toshio Henmi15 titles    See newest 12 of 15 shared titles with Toshio Henmi
  • Shinji Miyazaki13 titles    See newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Shinji Miyazaki
  • Takaya Mizutani4 titles    See all 4 shared titles with Takaya Mizutani
  • Aya Aoshima3 titles    See all 3 shared titles with Aya Aoshima

Producers

  • Takemoto Mori12 titles    See all 12 shared titles with Takemoto Mori
  • Katsuhito Yamauchi11 titles    See all 11 shared titles with Katsuhito Yamauchi
  • Masakazu Kubo11 titles    See all 11 shared titles with Masakazu Kubo
  • Chôji Yoshikawa11 titles    See all 11 shared titles with Chôji Yoshikawa

Mixed roles