Kazuya Tsurumaki is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese 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....

 director

Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...

. He was born on February 2, 1966 in the city of Gosen

Gosen, Niigata

is a city located in Niigata, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 56,965 and a density of 382.89 persons per km². The total area is 351.87 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1954...

, located in the Niigata Prefecture

Niigata Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...

.

He is the protegé of Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno

is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...

, and a longtime 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...

 at Gainax

Gainax

is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...

. Tsurumaki's first project at Gainax was as an animation director

Animation director

An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...

 for the 1990 TV series Fushigi no Umi no Nadia; Tsurumaki was also director of the humorous "omake" (extra) sequences that went along with the TV series, and producer of "Nadia Cinema Edition". In 1995, Tsurumaki served as an assistant director

Assistant director

The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...

 under Hideaki Anno in Gainax's landmark

Landmark

This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 series Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which role he handled production, art director and setting assistant for some episodes. In 1997, he directed episode 25', the first half of the cinematic conclusion to the Evangelion series, The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion

is a 1997 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno along with Kazuya Tsurumaki; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise until the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy remakes were announced in 2006....

. He assumed directorial duties for the 1998 TV series His and Her Circumstances after Anno abruptly left the project. In 2000, Tsurumaki officially made his debut as a full-fledged director with the six-part OVA series, FLCL

FLCL

is an original video animation series written by Yōji Enokido, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which included Gainax, Production I.G, and Starchild Records....

. In 2004 he directed the hit sequel to Gunbuster

Gunbuster

Gunbuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime OVA series created by Gainax in 1988. It was the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, best known as the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The title is a combination of the titles of classic tennis anime Aim for the Ace!, whose plot inspired...

called Aim for the Top 2! or Diebuster

Diebuster

Diebuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime Original Video Animation series created by Gainax in 2004.The first episode was aired on October 3, 2004, while the final episode was released on August 14, 2005. A movie, officially titled retells and recaps the end of the first Gunbuster OVA...

. He is currently working as a director on the new four feature Evangelion film series, Rebuild of Evangelion

Rebuild of Evangelion

Rebuild of Evangelion, known in Japan as , is a Japanese animated film series and a remake of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It is being produced by Studio Khara and KlockWorx in partnership with Gainax...

.

He attended Otakon

Otakon

Otakon is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku...

in 2001.