Masayuki Kouda

Masayuki Kouda (甲田 正行, Kōda Masayuki) is a Japanese animator, anime director, character designer, and storyboard artist. He began his career as an in-between artist for Studio Pierrot before making his debut as a key animator in 2005. He is primarily known for his work in the Naruto franchise, but was first recognized for his strong drawing ability as a animation director/animator for the show 'Blue Dragon' (2007), which translated into becoming a high priority animation director for Naruto Shippuden from 2010-2013. In 2014, he made his debut as character designer and chief animation director for the show 'Baby Steps'. Following this, he made his directorial debut for Naruto Shippuden episode 469 (2016) and became a leading member of the franchise's staff moving forward.