Junichi Sato

Junichi Sato (佐藤 順, often called "SatoJun" by his fans) is famous for directing many Shojo Genre and "healing" anime series.

Born in Ama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on March 11, 1960, his first major directing work was on the first two seasons of Sailor Moon, and he continued to direct individual episodes after Kunihiko Ikuhara took over the lead director position on the show.

He is married to Yasuno Sato, who is a music director for many anime; they worked together on Aria.

Some of the works that SatoJun created and directed:

 * Kaleido Star
 * Magic Users Club
 * Prétear
 * Princess Tutu
 * Strange Dawn

Some of the works that SatoJun directed:

 * Aria
 * Gate Keepers
 * Junkers Come Here
 * Keroro Gunsou (until April 2006, although he continued to supervise the series until its end)
 * Ojamajo Doremi
 * Sailor Moon (seasons 1 and 2)
 * Umi Monogatari


 * Character Development: Always. Sometimes instead of plot development, such as in Ojamajo Doremi and Aria.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Everything that should have foreshadowing gets foreshadowing. No Ass Pulls on his watch!
 * Magic A Is Magic A:
 * Magic in Magic Users Club requires a wand and an incantation... or, at least, that's what the only grimoire they have says.
 * Prétear uses Elemental Powers.
 * Shown Their Work: Princess Tutu (ballet), Kaleido Star (acrobatics), Aria (gondoliering and Venice). Especially in Aria, when he took key crew members to Venice three times to research minutiae, and changed already-completed animation after the first trip because it didn't match reality.