Osamu Kobayashi was born on January 9th, 1945 in Fuchuu, Tokyo, Japan. He is an animator and anime director who began his career at Toei Douga (now known as Toei Animation) in 1963, the same year that Miyazaki Hayao and Shibayama Tsutomu started their careers there. Later on, Kobayashi and Shibayama transferred to A Production (now Shin-Ei Douga), where they were chief animators until they formed Ajia-dou in 1978 along with Yamada Michishiro.