Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#413
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Hochu Otsuka represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 42 years in, and Hochu is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Hochu Otsuka appears in 20 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Hochu. Gintama: The Very Final is the clearest case: a film rated 8.2 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, drama. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for action, science fiction, animation. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Naoya Ando, Yasuhito Kikuchi, Haruo Sotozaki and others, Hochu Otsuka helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Gintama: The Very Final (2021) as Abuto (voice) · Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie (2019) as Hans von Zettour (voice) · Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames (2026) as Abuto (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #413 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
20
1984–2026
Career length
42 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.2
Gintama: The Very Final
Average Nutevio score
6.5
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
Gintama: The Very Final
Most frequent director
Yasuhito Kikuchi
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Yasuhito Kikuchi
Most common genre
Animation
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 40m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.8
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1980s
7.9 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Castle in the Sky, Warriors of the Wind — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
7.9
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
8.0
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1980s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Castle in the Sky, Warriors of the Wind.
Most productive era
2020s
13 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1980s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | — | 6.64 films |
| Action | 7.91 film | 7.15 films | 7.66 films |
| Comedy | — | 6.82 films | 6.61 film |
| Crime | — | 6.41 film | — |
| Romance | — | — | 7.11 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Tolmekian Soldier (voice).
Career peak
2019Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
8.2 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
2026That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea
The current state of the argument, as Hakuro (voice).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
20 of 20 films
as Hans von Zettour (voice)
Directed by Yutaka Uemura
as Abuto (voice)
Directed by Chizuru Miyawaki
as Sakonji Urokodaki (voice)
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki
as Abuto (voice)
Directed by Naoya Ando
as Sakonji Urokodaki (voice)
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Hans von Zettour (voice)
Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie (2019)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Hans von Zettour (voice) gives Hochu Otsuka a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Abuto (voice)
Gintama: The Very Final (2021)
Performance score7.9
Gintama: The Very Final asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Abuto (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Sakonji Urokodaki (voice)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond (2019)
Performance score7.9
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Sakonji Urokodaki (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Abuto (voice)
Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames (2026)
Performance score7.8
Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Abuto (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Hans von Zettour (voice)
Start here. Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie is the clearest statement of what Hochu Otsuka does — accessible, 98 minutes, and rated 8.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Hochu at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond (2019)
Keeps the action register of Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie but asks for a colder reading of it.
Gintama: The Very Final (2021)
Keeps the action register of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond but asks for a colder reading of it.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (2025)
Keeps the action register of Gintama: The Very Final but asks for a colder reading of it.
Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames (2026)
Keeps the action register of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Hayao Miyazaki
Director
2 films together
Notably Castle in the Sky
Shunsuke Tada
Director
2 films together
Notably Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These - Intrigue 1
Haruo Sotozaki
Director
2 films together
Notably Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
Yasuhito Kikuchi
Director
2 films together
Notably That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond
Jumpei Mizusaki
Director
1 film together
Notably Batman Ninja
Konosuke Uda
Director
1 film together
Notably One Piece: Episode of Skypiea
Yutaka Uemura
Director
1 film together
Notably Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie
Kenji Kodama
Director
1 film together
Notably City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes
Chizuru Miyawaki
Director
1 film together
Notably Gintama: The Very Final
Shinji Higuchi
Director
1 film together
Notably Thunderbirds 55/GOGO
Ayataka Tanemura
Director
1 film together
Notably Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
Tatsuyuki Nagai
Director
1 film together
Notably Fureru
Mitsuo Fukuda
Director
1 film together
Notably Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM
Shinji Takagi
Director
1 film together
Notably Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League
Ai Yoshimura
Director
1 film together
Notably The Rose of Versailles
Naoya Ando
Director
1 film together
Notably Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Haruo Sotozaki
Director
2 films together · 8.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity CastleHayao Miyazaki
Director
2 films together · 7.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Castle in the SkyYasuhito Kikuchi
Director
2 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet BondShunsuke Tada
Director
2 films together · 3.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These - Intrigue 1Chizuru Miyawaki
Director
1 film together · 8.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gintama: The Very FinalYutaka Uemura
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Saga of Tanya the Evil: The MovieNaoya Ando
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in FlamesAyataka Tanemura
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard KingKonosuke Uda
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
One Piece: Episode of SkypieaAi Yoshimura
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Rose of VersaillesMitsuo Fukuda
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOMShinji Takagi
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza LeagueKenji Kodama
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
City Hunter: Shinjuku Private EyesTatsuyuki Nagai
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FureruJumpei Mizusaki
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Batman NinjaShinji Higuchi
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Thunderbirds 55/GOGOSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Castle in the Sky
as Man in Black Glasses (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Warriors of the Wind
as Tolmekian Soldier (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Warriors of the Wind
as Tolmekian Soldier (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Warriors of the Wind
as Tolmekian Soldier (voice)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie
as Hans von Zettour (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Hochu Otsuka has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
42 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Animation Legend
Awarded
19 catalogue titles in animation, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Warriors of the Wind
as Tolmekian Soldier (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Gintama: The Very Final
as Abuto (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Rose of Versailles
as Louis XV (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes
as Vince Englert (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Gintama: The Very Final
as Abuto (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
as Edward Avalaché (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea
as Hakuro (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Batman Ninja
as Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Rumi Hiiragi
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Miyu Irino
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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