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Nobuhiro Watsuki

Nobuhiro Watsuki

Writer · Born May 26, 1970 (56) · Niigata, Japan

Nobuhiro Watsuki (和月 伸宏 Watsuki Nobuhiro?, born May 26, 1970) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. and his fantasy series Buso Renkin, both of which have been adapted into anime series. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite artist Takeshi Obata. When Watsuki was in middle school, he practiced kendo. He still drew Manga but also enjoyed sports. Watsuki admits that he was "So weak in fact, that I was an embarrassment to my 183 centimeters of height" (about 6 feet). Watsuki never won a kendo match. He was once chosen to be a starter after a teammate was suspended for causing an uproar. Watsuki grew frustrated with kendo, and eventually quit. When he was challenged to come up with a new character for Rurouni Kenshin, he used his outlook on kendo for a base of Myōjin Yahiko. Nobuhiro Watsuki has had many works in the past. In high school he won the Hop Step award for his work on his manga he called Podmark. This award winning title was Watsuki's first manga and it has not been translated into English. Later on, Watsuki was an assistant in the work of Mashin Bōken Tan Lamp-Lamp (Arabian Genie Adventure Lamp-Lamp). The model for Sagara Sanosuke was based on a version of Lamp. In 1994 a new manga was created and published in Weekly Shōnen Jump. It seems that this was the first manga about Rurouni Kenshin. When not working on manga, Watsuki enjoys playing video games, reading other manga, and watching television. His favorite American comic book is X-Men because he likes the action. His favorite anime (other than his own) is Neon Genesis Evangelion. He likes video games like Samurai Spirits and things of that sort. He also enjoys action movies like Die Hard and The Matrix. Watsuki describes himself as "pro-dōjinshi" and asks fans to send fan comics. From August 9–11, 2013, an exhibit of art from Rurouni Kenshin was displayed at Otakon in the United States [4] curated by Watsuki's wife, Kaoru Kurosaki.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 26, 1970 (56)
From
Niigata, Japan
Works as
Writer
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 17 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 63 days to Oct 26Up 30% in 30 days

What are Nobuhiro Watsuki's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
60%
Survival
28%
Bonds
12%
Redemption6 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 4

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1

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

Casual 0 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Thrilling
5
Melancholic
6
Hopeful
3
Warm
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Rousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet6
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

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 Nobuhiro Watsuki's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Nobuhiro Watsuki'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

17 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.

  • Rurouni Kenshin -Kyoto Disturbance- (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Comic Book

  • Rurouni Kenshin(2023)

    Show 47 episodes · Comic Book · Script Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning(2021)

    Comic Book

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final(2021)

    Comic Book

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Endride(2016)

    Show 24 episodes · Character Designer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all shows

  • Takarazuka Revue - Rurouni Kenshin - The Romantic Story of a Meiji Swordsman- (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Comic Book

  • Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends(2014)

    Comic Book

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno(2014)

    Comic Book

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins(2012)

    Comic Book

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc: The Chirps of Light (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Creator · Original Story

  • Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc: Cage of Flames (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Comic Book · Creator

  • Buso Renkin(2006)

    Show 26 episodes · Comic Book · Creator · Actor

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Comic Book

  • Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Comic Book

  • Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 4 episodes · Creator · Writer

  • Rurouni Kenshin: The Movie(1997)

    Original Story

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Rurouni Kenshin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 94 episodes · Comic Book

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles from 1996 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)

$53M worldwide

Highest rated

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Rurouni Kenshin (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 17: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleWriting16 of 17: 11 only writing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score92ndOther crew6 of 17: 1 only other crew, 5 with another role

17 titles, 5 with more than one role — writing and other crew overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1990s4 · crew2000s2 · 1 acting · 2 crew2010s7 · crew2020s4 · 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 Nobuhiro Watsuki's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 91st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 9 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Mixed2

Most loved · writer

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)

Midcredits 95th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 47/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Nobuhiro Watsuki's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles73–82 · median 80 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 14 · minimalMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Nobuhiro Watsuki work with?

People who share at least 2 of Nobuhiro Watsuki's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Keishi Otomo shares the most, 5.

Directors

  • Keishi Otomo5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Keishi Otomo

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

  • Naoki Satô5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Naoki Satô
  • Takuro Ishizaka5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Takuro Ishizaka
  • Tsuyoshi Imai5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Tsuyoshi Imai

Producers