Naokatsu Tsuda

Naokatsu Tsuda has served as chief director of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime since its original 2012 broadcast at David Production. He has remained in that role continuously across the franchise's many story arcs.

A chief director on a project like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure oversees translating Hirohiko Araki's manga, with its dense, often stationary panels, into dynamic on-screen motion. Tsuda works closely with David Production's animation staff to handle that job, along with the show's pacing and visual staging.

Tsuda has carried the anime forward through Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency, Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable, Golden Wind and Stone Ocean. That continuous run across six arcs is unusual for a single ongoing television adaptation.

Tsuda's directing career is defined almost entirely by this one franchise, with no other major directing credits noted. That singular focus is called out as unusual, since few directors stay attached to one ongoing adaptation for as long as he has.

Under Tsuda, the anime has shifted tonally from the gothic horror of its earliest chapters to the more comedic, buddy-cop mystery rhythms of later arcs. His continuous presence since 2012 is credited with keeping the show's visual identity consistent through those changes.