Katsuhito Akiyama

Katsuhito Akiyama is a Japanese anime director, writer, and artist. He began directing the children's, action series "Thundercats" in 1985 and the video "Thundercats - Ho!" later that same year. He started his professional relationship with writer Hideki Kakinuma on the 1986 anime film "Gall Force: Eternal Story" and quickly developed a small yet loyal cult following within the genre. Akiyama directed four more "Gall Force" movies in the late 1980s with all but one having been written by his partner Kakinuma. In 1987, along with directing, Akiyama earned his first writing credit with the short video "Baburugamu kuraishisu," the animated story about a young team of female mercenaries battling a corrupt Japanese mega-corporation in a futuristic setting. His cult following respected his next major work, 1992's "Bastard!!" which was actually the first full-length animated piece that he had directed. He continued to direct animated videos and television series in the late 1990s with works like "Battle Athletes Victory," "Magical Project S," and "Dual! Paralle lunlun monogatari." In 2002, he teamed up with Kakinuma once again for the full-length "Armitage: Dual Matrix" which also featured the voice of character actress Juliette Lewis.