[1][2] Recognized for his idiosyncratic art style and directorial voice, Yuasa began his career as an animator on the landmark television series Chibi Maruko-chan (1990–1992) and Crayon Shin-chan (1992–present),[3] before moving into directing with the feature film Mind Game (2004) and developing a cult appeal following.

[4] Yuasa spent much of the 2000s and early 2010s working in television directing, helming a trio of series, Kemonozume (2006), Kaiba (2008), and The Tatami Galaxy (2010), before releasing the crowdfunded short film Kick-Heart (2013).

[5] During the production of Kick-Heart, Choi proposed the establishment of Science SARU,[6] and the resultant works created at the studio, combined with increased international distribution, led to mainstream breakout successes in the 2010s and saw Yuasa rise to prominence as one of Japan's foremost independent creators.

[24][25][26][27] In recognition of his collective career accomplishments, he has been recognized by the Japanese government and received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, as well as the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Cabinet Minister Award for Media Fine Arts.

The Great General of Darkness (1974), Fantastic Planet (1973), Pinocchio (1940), Sing (2016), Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985), How to Train Your Dragon (2010),[39] The Wrong Trousers (1994), Gamba no Bouken (1972), Future Boy Conan (1978),[40] Tensai Bakabon (1970), Lupin the 3rd Part I: The Classic Adventures (1971-1972), Tom and Jerry, Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld (1984),[41] The Man Who Planted Trees (1987), Hedgehog in the Fog (1975),[42] 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), Anne of Green Gables (1979), The Gutsy Frog (1972-1974), Doraemon: The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer (1981), Kumo to Tulip (1943), The Animal Neighborhood Community (1941).

I often derive inspiration even from really modest visuals; a commercial, a cut from a movie, a movement from an anime as well as nameless flowers and grasses blooming on the road, clouds, stars, and moons in the sky.

More than just an homage, the episode reflected a continuation of Yuasa's personal artistry; though he initially thought he would develop a completely different style, in the end, he incorporated elements of Kobayashi and Shimoyama's animation into his own.

[45] Although the production was chaotic due to a compressed schedule which did not allow sufficient time for ensuring the visual coherence traditionally prized in animation, the result was a distinctive episode with an emphasis on realism, moving camera techniques, and expressive attention to small character acting details.

[51] The production marked a significant development in Yuasa's career, as it resulted in him meeting a key collaborator: South Korean artist Eunyoung Choi, who had recently moved to Japan to become an animator.

[72] A narratively-ambitious series dealing with memory, identity, and societal inequality, Kaiba received an Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival,[73] and earned positive critical attention for its dreamlike visuals and imaginative story, with particular focus on the emotional impact generated from combining childlike imagery with mature themes and at times devastating loss.

Adapted from a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, the series follows the misadventures of a nameless student who, via supernatural means, repeatedly relives his final year at college in an attempt to achieve his idealized conceptions of romance and happiness.

[77] After being approached with the opportunity to adapt the novel, Yuasa quickly saw the story's appeal and agreed, though the project presented challenges in transferring the witty, dialogue-intensive style of the original work into a visual medium.

[92] An unlikely love story revolving around a masochistic male wrestler and his sadistic female opponent, the film was produced at Production I.G and was the first large-scale Japanese animated project to be successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter, raising over $200,000 from more than 3,200 backers worldwide.

[93] The film received a pair of unannounced surprise screenings on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block which achieved viewer ratings of 708,000 and 618,000,[94] and earned positive reviews for its colorful visual storytelling.

[100] Additionally, Yuasa, who frequently drew himself as a monkey in self-portraits, wanted the studio to be smarter than an ape; as a result, he added the word Science in front of SARU with the intent of having a company that possesses both instinct and intelligence.

[105] Food Chain received critical acclaim as one of the best episodes of the series,[106][107][108] was an official competition selection at Annecy,[109] and was nominated for the Annie Award for Outstanding Television Direction.

[12] The film features the importance of self-expression as a central theme; Yuasa emphasized this aspect of the story in hopes of encouraging young people in Japan, who he felt were often not able to express their true feelings and emotions.

Yuasa also decided to focus this project on a family audience out of a desire to return to the sensibility of his earlier works as an animator, including Crayon Shin-chan and Chibi Maruko-chan.

[120] During the production of Lu Over the Wall, Yuasa was offered the opportunity to produce a second feature film, the comedy romance The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017), based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi.

The film reunited a majority of the key creative staff who had worked on The Tatami Galaxy, with the story serving both as a spiritual successor and as a parallel narrative to the earlier series.

[121][122] Although Lu Over the Wall was completed first, it was released after The Night is Short, Walk On Girl; this was in part due to a marketing suggestion that it might be preferable for the studio's first film to be based on a pre-existing property familiar to Japanese audiences.

[129] The beginning of the year saw Mind Game, Lu Over the Wall, and The Night is Short, Walk On Girl licensed for North American release by acclaimed animation distributor GKIDS.

Among his key creative decisions in adapting the story were to depict the sexual and violent content in an unrestricted way that was not possible when the manga was initially published, and to update the juvenile delinquent characters of the original as young rappers who use music to speak their minds freely.

[131] Devilman crybaby was an immediate and massive international hit;[132][133] with 90% of its viewers outside Japan, the series achieved the largest global audience for both Yuasa and Science SARU to that date.

[168] Central to Yuasa's conception of the series were the immediacy of focus on a single family amid national catastrophe,[169] as well as the idea of societal reincarnation, where the process of breaking and rebuilding can yield something better than what came before.

[166] A film compilation version of the series was subsequently released in Japanese theaters in November 2020,[173] and was awarded a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival.

[18] Set in 14th Century Japan, the story centers on a blind musician and a Noh actor afflicted by a terrible curse; Yuasa's goals with the film were to portray both characters as historical equivalents of modern-day pop stars, and to utilize the themes of the narrative to highlight people marginalized by society.

[178] The film features character designs by Ping Pong creator Taiyō Matsumoto, is produced by Science SARU, and was licensed for North American theatrical and home-video distribution by GKIDS.

[120][131] Yuasa feels a particular affinity for intensely-felt love stories;[5] in portrayals of sex and eroticism, he seeks to visualize the emotions his characters are experiencing, and to understand how their desires would be expressed.

[104][147] Additionally, Yuasa has been recognized by the Japanese government, receiving the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Cabinet Minister Award for Media Fine Arts, and the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon for his career accomplishments.