Yûichirô Hirakawa

Director · Born January 23, 1972 (54) · Oita, Japan

He graduated from the Broadcasting Arts Department of Nihon Kogakuin College of Technology. In 2009, his drama "JIN" (TBS) won 33 domestic and international awards. In recent years, he directed the film "Whisper of the heart", the film "The Promised Neverland", the drama "Stepmother and Daughter's Blues" (TBS), and the drama "Heaven and Hell: Two Psychos" (TBS). He also directed the drama "Burn the House Down", which became a hot topic when it was released on Netflix in July 2023.

What are Yûichirô Hirakawa's films like?

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

Themes

share of theme weight

Self

31%

Bonds

27%

Morality

19%

Society

10%

Power

6%

Survival

5%

Ideas

3%

Romantic love3 Ambition3 Family bonds2 Community2 Identity2 Redemption2 Justice2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

4

Melancholic

5

Hopeful

4

Romantic

3

Contemplative

2

Other

3

How their films linger

Hopeful5 Bittersweet5 Feel-good2

How their films end · 1 with a twist

Bittersweet4
Ambiguous4

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 Yûichirô Hirakawa's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (8).

Subscription and free streaming for Yûichirô Hirakawa'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

37 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.

デイズ～かけがえのない日々～ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Director · Script Editor
Pararescue Jumper(2025)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
366 Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Show 11 episodes · Director
Mars: Zero's Revolution (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Show 9 episodes · Director · Creator
Burn the House Down(2023)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
Whisper of the Heart(2022)
Director · Screenplay
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
A School Where Students Can Start Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Director
Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange(2021)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all shows
The Promised Neverland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Director
The Memory Eraser (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Director · Screenplay
Everyone’s Demoted!! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Waiting For Spring (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Director
Gibo to Musume no Blues(2018)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows
A Life: A Love(2017)
Show 10 episodes · Director · Creator
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows
Erased (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Director
Brass Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Show 8 episodes · Director
Never Let Me Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Lingering Spirits (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Director
Kurokouchi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Black Kite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Until the Break of Dawn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Director · Screenplay
Love Come (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Director
Jin(2009)
Show 22 episodes · Director
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Rookies the Movie: Graduation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Director
Flowers in the Shadow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Director
The Battle of Mr. and Mrs. Sasaki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Show 10 episodes · Director
Rookies(2008)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Say Hello for Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Director
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Show 7 episodes · Director
Into the White Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Show 11 episodes · Director
Aikurushii (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Show 11 episodes · Director
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Show 11 episodes · Director
Stand Up!! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Show 11 episodes · Director
Good Luck!!(2003)
Show Director
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Ikebukuro West Gate Park(2000)
Show 11 episodes · Assistant Director
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Who Do You Think You Are? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Show 11 episodes · Assistant Director
A Twist of Fate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Show 1 episode · Assistant Director

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles from 1998 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Whisper of the Heart (2022)

$3.4M worldwide

Highest rated

Burn the House Down (2023)

Midcredits 37^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Directing31 of 34 · 37^thWriting4 of 34Other crew5 of 34

34 titles, 6 with more than one role — directing and other crew overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s11 · crew2010s12 · crew2020s9 · 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.

Who does Yûichirô Hirakawa work with?

People who share at least 2 of Yûichirô Hirakawa's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mitsuhiro Oikawa shares the most, 2.