Kazuto Nakazawa

Career overview

Kazuto Nakazawa, born on March 4 1968 in Niigata, Japan, is a Japanese animator, character designer and director who also works under the pseudonym Takeshi Tsuji. Over the course of his career he has directed a range of animated projects across film and television. His directorial credits include the original video animation Parasite Dolls, the animated opening sequence for the live‑action film Kill Bill: Volume 1, and the Moondrive segment of the anthology film Genius Party Beyond. In addition to these standalone works, Nakazawa has taken on directing responsibilities within broader series, contributing his visual style and storytelling sensibility to the medium.

Beyond directing, Nakazawa’s background in character design and animation informs his approach to direction. He designed characters for series such as Ashita no Nadja and Samurai Champloo, the latter of which he also served as animation director. His experience extends to video‑game design, having created the character concepts for Tales of Legendia, and to the video‑game title Devil Kings, where he acted as animation director. Throughout his professional life he has continued to work as an animator, providing key animation on various projects, reinforcing his reputation as a versatile creator within Japanese animation.