Akira Toba

Director · Born January 1, 1970 (56) · Hiroshima, Japan

Akira Toba (鳥羽聡, Toba Akira, born 1970) is a Japanese anime episode director born in Hiroshima.

Biography from TMDB.

Born: January 1, 1970 (56)
From: Hiroshima, Japan
Works as: Director
Titles: 22 on Motif · 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 157 days to Oct 28Down 45% in 30 days

What are Akira Toba's films like?

Across their 7 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight

Bonds

51%

Self

38%

Society

6%

Ideas

5%

Friendship5 Family bonds2 Coming of age4 Identity2 Purpose2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful

4

Absurd

3

Warm

3

Hopeful

2

Contemplative

2

Other

7

How their films linger

Fun4 Feel-good3 Hopeful3

How their films end · 1 with a twist

Happy3
Bittersweet1
Ambiguous3

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 Akira Toba's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 20 of their 22 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Crunchyroll (16).

Also on these channels

HIDIVE2 titles, show their 2 titles on HIDIVE
RetroCrush1 title, show their title on RetroCrush

Subscription and free streaming for Akira Toba's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif 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, 22 with a Motif page.

Gachiakuta(2025)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 95th percentile of all shows
Mashin Creator Wataru (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2025)
Show 3 episodes · Director
Insomniacs After School(2023)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 89th percentile of all shows
Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari(2023)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 44th percentile of all shows
Blue Lock(2022)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 89th percentile of all shows
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury(2022)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Motif score: 68th percentile of all shows
Uncle from Another World(2022)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 68th percentile of all shows
Ikebukuro West Gate Park (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2020)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon(2020)
Show 6 episodes · Director
Motif score: 61st percentile of all shows
Pet(2020)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Motif score: 14th percentile of all shows
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?(2019)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 52nd percentile of all shows
Wataten! An Angel Flew Down to Me(2019)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Motif score: 55th percentile of all shows
Golden Kamuy(2018)
Show 5 episodes · Director · Storyboard Artist
Motif score: 89th percentile of all shows
Tada Never Falls in Love (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Kokkoku: Moment by Moment (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)
Show 1 episode · Director
Uchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru(2018)
Show Director
Motif score: 25th percentile of all shows
18If(2017)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Motif score: 2nd percentile of all shows
Genocidal Organ(2017)
Second Unit Director
Motif score: 64th percentile of all films
91 Days(2016)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 80th percentile of all shows
Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue(2016)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Motif score: 22nd percentile of all shows
Hori and Miyamura(2012)
Show 1 episode · Assistant Director
Motif score: 69th percentile of all shows
Sacred Seven: Shirogane no Tsubasa (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)
Director
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne(2012)
Show Director
Motif score: 11th percentile of all shows
Michiko & Hatchin (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)
Show 1 episode · Director
Natsume's Book of Friends(2008)
Show 1 episode · Director
Motif score: 89th percentile of all shows
Darker than Black (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)
Show 2 episodes · Director
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2006)
Show 8 episodes · Director
Ergo Proxy(2006)
Show 5 episodes · Director
Motif score: 84th percentile of all shows
Witch Hunter Robin(2002)
Show 3 episodes · Director
Motif score: 57th percentile of all shows
Inuyasha(2000)
Show 34 episodes · Director
Motif score: 90th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 28 titles from 2000 to 2025.

Highest rated

Insomniacs After School (2023)

Motif 89^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Directing26 of 28 · 68^thOther crew3 of 28

By decade

2000s7 · crew2010s11 · crew2020s10 · 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 Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Is Akira Toba's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 Motif titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films

Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 30 · mild

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Akira Toba work with?

People who share at least 2 of Akira Toba's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ryôki Kamitsubo shares the most, 2.