Tensai Okamura

Tensai Okamura (birthname: Yutaka Okamura) is a veteran Japanese anime director/writer/storyboard artist who launched his career with the Tokyo animation house Madhouse, first as an animator, key animator or storyboard artist on over a dozen features and even more TV series in the 1980s and 1990s. Okamura began his work in feature films directing the segment titled Stink Bomb in the anthology anime feature Memories (1995).

Okamura also directed Death in the anime anthology feature Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997) and then directed another segment titled Death in the anthology movie Revival of Evangelion (1998). Okamura made a further impact by directing a segment, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, in the acclaimed anime feature, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001).

Tensai Okamura’s first full-length feature as director was Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004). Okamura returned to feature directing after a two-decade stint mainly in television as director of the anime, My Hero Academia: You’re Next (2024), produced by Bones and distributed by Toho in Japan and Toho International in North America.

Okamura also served as in-between animator, key animator or storyboard artist on anime feature films since 1984, starting with Lensman: Secret of the Lens (1984), followed by The Dagger of Kamui (1985), Neo Tokyo (1986), Time Stranger (1986), Wicked City (1987), Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars (1988), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), City Hunter: Bay City Wars (1990), Urusei Yatsura: Always, My Darling (1991), Hashire Melos! (1992), Ninja Scroll (1993), Ghost in the Shell (1995), Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), Spriggan (1998), Jin-Roh (2000), and Tekken: Blood Vengeance (2011).