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Shinsuke Satô

Shinsuke Satô

Director and writer · Born September 16, 1970 (56) · Hiroshima, Japan

Shinsuke Sato (佐藤 信介, Satō Shinsuke; born September 16, 1970) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He has directed several live-action film adaptations of manga and anime, including The Princess Blade (2001), Gantz (2011), I Am a Hero (2016), Bleach (2018), Inuyashiki (2018), Kingdom (2019) and its sequels.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 16, 1970 (56)
From
Hiroshima, Japan
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 60% in 30 days

What are Shinsuke Satô's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
32%
Bonds
21%
Survival
18%
Morality
15%
Power
7%
Society
3%
Ideas
3%
Loyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 4

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 10

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 3

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
12
Thrilling
7
Hopeful
5
Melancholic
3
Warm
1
Other
5

How their films linger

Rousing5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet8
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Shinsuke Satô's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on Netflix (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Shinsuke Satô's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.

  • Kingdom 5: The Clash of Souls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director

  • Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General(2024)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Kingdom 3: The Flame of Destiny(2023)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Kingdom 2: Far and Away(2022)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Alice in Borderland(2020)

    Show 22 episodes · Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

  • Kingdom(2019)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Bleach(2018)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Inuyashiki(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Death Note: Light Up the New World(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Death Note: New Generation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • I Am a Hero(2015)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Everest: The Summit of the Gods (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Library Wars: Book Of Memories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Library Wars: The Last Mission (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • All-Round Appraiser Q: The Eyes of Mona Lisa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Library Wars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director

  • Lucky Seven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Series Composition

  • Gantz: Perfect Answer(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Another Gantz(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Gantz(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror(2009)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Sand Chronicles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Star Reformer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Screenplay

  • Spring Snow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Screenplay

  • All About My Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Cosmic Rescue -The Moonlight Generations- (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Writer

  • Rock'n'Roll Mishin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Screenplay

  • The Princess Blade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Writer

  • LOVE SONG (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Writer

  • Sunflower (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Screenplay

  • The Whispered City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Screenplay

  • Tadon and Chikuwa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Screenplay

  • Tokyo Lullaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Writer

  • Ryōuchi genshuku (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Screenplay

  • My Hero Academia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 35 titles, 34 of them dated from 1996 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (2024)

$54M worldwide

Highest rated

Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (2024)

Midcredits 90th

Most popular right now

Gantz (2010)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing28 of 35: 17 only directing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score72ndWriting17 of 35: 7 only writing, 10 with another roleProducing2 of 35: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleCinematography1 of 35: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another role

35 titles, 11 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 10 of them.

By decade

1990s3 · crew2000s11 · crew2010s15 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Shinsuke Satô's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director

Another Gantz (2011)

66th percentile spread · 28% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (2024)

Midcredits 90th · 81% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 65/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Shinsuke Satô's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 25 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Shinsuke Satô work with?

People who share at least 2 of Shinsuke Satô's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tsuyoshi Imai shares the most, 9.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers