is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 director, animator

Animator

An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...

, and screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

.

Kitakubo began work in the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam

is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...

television series. He debuted as a director with the Cream Lemon

Cream Lemon

is an erotic anime series with some in-depth storylines and classic artwork. The first Cream Lemon OVA was released in 1984, though Cream Lemon was not the first hentai OVA...

episode "Pop Chaser" in 1985, then worked on films including Black Magic M-66 with Masamune Shirow

Masamune Shirow

is an internationally renowned manga artist, born on November 23, 1961.Masamune Shirow is a pen name, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into two theatrical anime movies, two anime TV series, an anime TV movie, and...

 and Akira

Akira (film)

is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....

with Katsuhiro Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo

is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...

. Kitakubo went on to direct the "A Tale of Two Robots" segment from Robot Carnival

Robot Carnival

is a Japanese anime anthology film released in 1987. It consists of nine shorts by different directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience...

, the original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 (OVA) series Golden Boy

Golden Boy (manga)

is a Japanese manga series by Tatsuya Egawa about a 25-year-old freeter, pervert, and "travelling student" named Kintaro Oe . The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Super Jump starting in 1992, with the first collected volume released the following year...

, and the films Roujin Z

Roujin Z

is a 1991 Japanese anime film directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo.-Plot:Roujin Z is set in Japan during the early 21st century. A group of scientists and hospital administrators, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Welfare, have developed the Z-001, a...

and Blood: The Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire is a 2000 anime film produced by Production I.G and SPE Visual Works and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo. The film premiered in theaters in Japan on November 18, 2000...

. In 2001, Kitakubo won the "Individual Award" at The 6th Animation Kobe

Animation Kobe

The is an event created by Kobe city in 1996, to promote anime and other visual media. In the event, the are awarded annually by Kobe and the Organizing Committee of the event, to creators and creations.-Event:...

 for the latter film. Blood: The Last Vampire also won grand prize at the 2000 Japan Media Arts Festival

Japan Media Arts Festival

The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...

and first prize the 2001 World Animation Celebration.