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Ayumu Watanabe

Ayumu Watanabe

Director and writer · Born September 3, 1966 (60) · Tokyo, Japan

Ayumu Watanabe (渡辺 歩, Watanabe Ayumu, September 3, 1966) is a Japanese animation director, animator, and director born in Tokyo. He also worked under the alias Kakeru Watanabe (渡辺 カケル, Watanabe Kakeru).

Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 3, 1966 (60)
From
Tokyo, Japan
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 36 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 155 days to Oct 26

What are Ayumu Watanabe's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
50%
Bonds
24%
Society
11%
Survival
7%
Ideas
5%
Morality
2%
Purpose6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 0 · 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 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 1

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
6
Warm
6
Tense
4
Contemplative
4
Melancholic
5
Other
9

How their films linger

Hopeful10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous3
  • Other1

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 Ayumu Watanabe's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Crunchyroll (7).

Subscription and free streaming for Ayumu Watanabe'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

36 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page.

  • Witch Hat Atelier(2026)

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Akane-banashi(2026)

    Show 12 episodes · Additional Storyboarding · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • Ganglion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Show 24 episodes · Series Director

  • You Are Ms. Servant(2024)

    Show 12 episodes · Director · Series Director · Sound Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Summer Time Rendering(2022)

    Show 25 episodes · Director · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Komi Can't Communicate(2021)

    Show 24 episodes · Director · Series Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Great Pretender(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Children of the Sea(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Major 2nd(2018)

    Show 25 episodes · Director · Series Director

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows

  • Gurazeni(2018)

    Show 12 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • After the Rain(2018)

    Show 12 episodes · Director · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows

  • Ace Attorney(2016)

    Show 47 episodes · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

  • Space Brothers #0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • If Her Flag Breaks(2014)

    Show 13 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows

  • The Big First-Grader and the Small Second-Grader (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Mysterious Girlfriend X (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 13 episodes · Director

  • Space Brothers(2012)

    Show 99 episodes · Director · Series Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Doraemon the Movie: The New Records of Nobita's Spaceblazer(2009)

    Mechanical Designer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend(2008)

    Director · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006(2006)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey(2004)

    Supervising Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Pa-Pa-Pa the Movie: Perman: Tako de Pon! Ashi wa Pon! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Doraemon: Nobita and the Wind Wizard(2003)

    Supervising Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Pa-Pa-Pa the Movie: Perman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Azumanga Daioh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 1 episode · Storyboard Artist

  • Doraemon: The Day When I Was Born (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Doraemon: Ganbare! Gian!! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Doraemon: A Grandmother's Recollections (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

  • Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • Doraemon Comes Back (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director

  • Doraemon: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds(1992)

    Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Dorami-chan: Wow, The Kid Gang of Bandits / The☆Doraemons: Strange, Sweets, Strange? / Doraemon: Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan(1989)

    Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West(1988)

    Key Animation

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Freedom in the Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles, 35 of them dated from 1988 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (2006)

$35M worldwide

Highest rated

Witch Hat Atelier (2026)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Space Brothers (2012)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing18 of 36: 14 only directing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score71stWriting3 of 36: 0 only writing, 3 with another roleOther crew19 of 36: 18 only other crew, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score83rd

36 titles, 4 with more than one role — other crew and directing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

1980s2 · crew1990s4 · crew2000s11 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s8 · 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 Ayumu Watanabe's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81st percentile, the median of all 10; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · director

You Are Ms. Servant (2024)

83rd percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Witch Hat Atelier (2026)

Midcredits 98th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 78/100 and the pacing 52/100 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.

Is Ayumu Watanabe's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 22 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles10–39 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 23 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 2 · minimalMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 35 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ayumu Watanabe work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ayumu Watanabe's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kiyoshi Hirose shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers