Haruo Sotozaki

Haruo Sotozaki is a 30-year veteran in the Japanese animation industry and is best known as the director and animation director of parts of five features (and 44 TV episodes) in the Demon Slayer/Kimetsu no Yaiba series, starting in 2019 with Demon Slayer: Sibling’s Bond, which was a compilation of the first five episodes in the TV series version, the first two of which were directed by Sotozaki.

Sotozaki then directed the feature Demon Slayer: The Movie-Mugen Train (2020), a direct sequel to Demon Slayer’s previous TV season, starring the voices of Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito, and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, and grossing a knockout $507 million for producers Ufotable and distributor Toho. Sotozaki’s third feature in the series was Demon Slayer: Mt. Natagumo Arc (2020), followed by Sotozaki directing Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village (2023), featuring the same voice cast, and serving as a sequel as well as a compilation of the previous TV season’s episodes, and grossing $56 million worldwide.

Haruo Sotozaki directed his next feature in the series, Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training (2024), which was also a combined sequel and a compilation of the TV series’ previous (third) season, and again starring the voice cast of Hanae, Kito, and Matusoka, and released by Toho/Aniplex, first in Japan and then in Brazil, Korea, Mexico, the U.S. and other world markets. Sotozaki worked in various capacities in animation production before becoming a director for anime TV production in 2002 with such series as X (2002-2003), Ninja Nonsense (2004), Tales of Symphonia: The Animation (2007-2012), and Tales of Zestiria the X (2016-2017).

Sotozaki was director of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—The Movie: Infinity Castle (2025), the direct theatrical sequel to the fourth season of the Demon Slayer series as well as the sequel to To the Hashira Training, starring Japanese voice acts Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and, for the English dub, Zach Aguilar, Abby Trott and Bryce Papenbrook, was released in Japan by Aniplex/Toho to become the highest-grossing Japanese released of 2025 and the third-highest in Japanese theatrical history ($294 million gross to date), and released by Crunchyroll via Sony Pictures Releasing.