Koujin Ochi

Koujin Ochi
Profile
Gender:	Male
Date of birth:	unknown
Place of birth:	Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Location:	Japan
Also known as Hirohito Ochi and Chiko Uonji.

Koujin Ochi (於地 紘仁 ,Ochi Kōjin), real name Hirohito Ochi (越智 浩仁 ,Ochi Hirohito), is a Japanese anime director, technical director, and screenplay writer. He also uses rarely the alias Chiko Uonji (宇恩寺 稚子 ,Uonji Chiko). He directed Detective Conan from episode 505 to 666, and later episodes 678 to 679.

He is mainly active in animation works done by TMS Entertainment and Bandai Namco Filmworks.

Biography

Ochi entered the Utsunomiya University Faculty of Education (宇都宮大学教育学部) in 1982, and even then, he was already active in the animation industry; he was affiliated with the animation research association of his university. Moreover, he was the person who held a screening event of Space Runaway Ideon (伝説巨神イデオン). In 1986, he dropped out of school during the academic year; thereafter, he began to work under his real name, Hirohito Ochi (越智 浩仁). In 1988, he served as the production advancement of the anime Topo Gigio (トッポ・ジージョ).

Photo of Koujin Ochi.

In 1996, he joined the production of the Detective Conan anime, and served as the storyboard artist and episode director for the 4th episode The Coded Map of the City Case, until the 2nd part of The Convenience Store Trap in 2003, Ochi temporarily quit the production (during this period, he had also written some screenplays for the anime, they were highly famed among the fandom as well). Starting 2006, he altered his name to Koujin Ochi (於地 紘仁), and became active again, which he returned to the Detective Conan anime production team in 2008, first he did storyboard for Clash of Red and Black (Disguise). And from episode 505 onwards, Masato Sato stepped down from the anime director role, so Ochi replaced him as the director in episodes 505-666 and episodes 678-679 also under his alias Koujin Ochi (which was from 2008 to 2012; Yasuichiro Yamamoto was the director from episodes 667 to 677).

Incidentally, he was the director who first introduced the "Animation Supervisor" (作画監修 ,Sakuga Kanshū) role for the anime, due to the instability of some anime frames caused by outsourcing; Seiji Muta was promoted by him for that role. Yasuichiro Yamamoto took over his position after his resignation of the anime director. Apart from these, Ochi is also an excellent screenwriter, and has written many renowned episodes for the series; A Cursed Mask Coldly Laughs is the well-known case he wrote. After 2010, he began to use the pseudonym Chiko Uonji (宇恩寺 稚子) when serving as the screenwriter. After stepping down as director, Ochi's activity in Detective Conan decreased drastically, and he merely served as the screenwriter for Eyewitness Testimony Seven Years Later in 2018.

Just like a lot of mystery cases found in Detective Conan, the two aliases used by Ochi have an interesting origin based on his real name: Koujin Ochi shares the same pronunciation as his real name but written in different ways; Chiko Uonji is the rearrangement of his real name's romanji (Ochi Koujin → Uonji Chiko).

Style analysis

The acclaimed "cursed mask" case by him.

Ochi is one of the veteran staff (like Kazunari Kouchi and Junichi Miyashita) who have joined the anime production since the series began to broadcast. Although he did not write a lot of cases for the anime, most of his cases are of high quality. He is sometimes referred to as the John Dickson Carr of the Detective Conan screenwriters, because his style is just like Carr's, most consisting of locked-rooms, impossible crimes, ingenious tricks; which is a symbolisation of Shinhonkaku Detective Fiction (新本格派推理). He is also good at mingling ghost legends into his stories, and depicting supporting characters - he has created lots of memorable characters to his audience, for example Shingo Nachi, Toshiya Tadokoro, Shimogasa Twins, Touya Aikawa, and Otaro Minakitaya etc.

His style is very similar to that of those mystery writers from the golden age; even the Detective Conan original author Gosho Aoyama thought that the trick Ochi devised in The Case of the Furisode at the Hidden Hot Spring on a Snowy Night is fairly interesting - according to the producer, Michihiko Suwa, who disclosed this information in an interview with Minami Takayama.

Scenarios written

Number of case scenarios written under the name of Hirohito Ochi: 4 (6 episodes)

• On Location, TV Drama Murder Case (Episode 21)
• Dracula's Villa Murder Case (Episodes 88-89)
• A Cursed Mask Coldly Laughs (Episode 184)
• The Case of the Furisode at the Hidden Hot Spring on a Snowy Night (Episodes 379-380)

Number of case scenarios written under the name of Chiko Uonji: 4 (7 episodes)

• The Alibi of the Fall (Episode 596)
• The Séance's Double Locked Room Mystery Case (Episodes 603-605)
• The Suspicious Initial K (Episode 665)
• Eyewitness Testimony Seven Years Later (Episodes 905-906)

Other works in Detective Conan

As Hirohito Ochi

Participation in: 40 cases (49 episodes)

• The Coded Map of the City Case (Episode 4): Storyboard, Episode director
• Once-A-Month Present Threat Case (Episode 7): Storyboard, Episode director
• Ayumi-chan Kidnapping Case (Episode 12): Storyboard, Episode director
• The Antique Collector Murder Case (Episode 16): Storyboard, Episode director
• On Location, TV Drama Murder Case (Episode 21): Storyboard, Episode director
• Pet Dog John Murder Case (Episode 26): Storyboard, Episode director
• TV Station Murder Case (Episode 31): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• Akaoni Village Fire Festival Murder Case (Episode 38): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• Three Hotta Siblings Murder Case (Episode 44): Storyboard, Episode director
• Library Murder Case (Episode 50): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• The Mystery Weapon Murder Case (Episode 53): Episode director
• A Ghost Ship Murder Case (Episode 61 only): Storyboard
• Night Road Murder Case (Episode 66): Storyboard
• Dracula's Villa Murder Case (Episodes 88-89): Storyboard, Episode director
• Kogoro's Date Murder Case (Episode 95): Episode director
• The Memories of First Love Case (Episode 100 only): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• The Mysterious Mansion of a Band of Thieves Case (Episode 105 only): Episode director
• Detective Club Pursuit Case (Episode 109): Episode director
• Scuba Diving Murder Case (Episode 114 only): Episode director
• The Kamen Yaiba Murder Case (Episode 119): Episode director
• A Mysterious Sniper Murder Case (Episode 125 only): Storyboard, Episode director
• The Indiscriminate Stadium Threatening Case (Episode 130 only): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• The Old Blue Castle Investigation Case (Episodes 136-137): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director (137)
• The Night Before the Wedding Locked Room Case (Episode 142 only): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• The Truth Behind the Car Explosion Case (Episode 150 only): Episode director
• Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 2 (Episode 157 only): Episode director
• The Secret of the Moon, the Star, and the Sun (Episode 163-164): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director (164)
• The Blind Spot in the Darkness (Episode 170 only): Episode director
• Reunion with the Black Organization (Episode 176 only): Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director
• A Cursed Mask Coldly Laughs (Episode 184): Storyboard, Episode director
• The Significant Music Box (Episode 195 only): Organizer, Storyboard
• The Black Wings of Icarus (Episodes 203-204): Storyboard, Episode director (203)
• The Entrance to the Maze: The Anger of the Colossus (Episode 208): Episode director (along with Satoshi Kuwabara)
• The Mysterious Retro Room Case (Episode 214): Storyboard
• And Then There Were No Mermaids (Episodes 222-224): Organizer, Storyboard
• The Trembling Police Headquarters: 12 Million Hostages (Episode 304): Organizer, Storyboard (along with Mashu Ito and Masato Sato)
• Heiji Hattori's Desperate Situation! (Episodes 323-324): Organizer, Storyboard
• A Friendship That Can't Be Bought (Episodes 329-330): Organizer, Storyboard
• The Suspicious Spicy Curry (Episode 331 only): Organizer, Storyboard
• The Convenience Store Trap (Episodes 343-344): Organizer, Storyboard

Participation in: 8 openings and 10 endings

• Revive (Opening 25): Storyboard
• Everlasting Luv (Opening 26): Storyboard
• MAGIC (Opening 27): Storyboard
• As the Dew (Opening 28): Storyboard
• SUMMER TIME GONE (Opening 29): Storyboard
• Don't Wanna Lie (Opening 31): Storyboard
• Misty Mystery (Opening 32): Storyboard
• Miss Mystery (Opening 33): Storyboard
• Koigokoro Kagayaki Nagara (Ending 32): Storyboard
• Doing all right (Ending 33): Storyboard
• Hikari (Ending 34): Storyboard
• Hello Mr. my yesterday (Ending 35): Storyboard
• Tomorrow is the last Time (Ending 36): Storyboard
• Tsukiyo no Itazura no Mahō (Ending 38): Storyboard
• Your Best Friend (Ending 40): Storyboard
• Kanashii Hodo Kyō no Yūhi Kirei da ne (Ending 41): Storyboard
• Overwrite (Ending 42): Storyboard
• Koi ni Koishite (Ending 43): Storyboard, Technical director

As Koujin Ochi

Participation in: 3 cases (4 episodes)

• Clash of Red and Black (Episode 499 only): Storyboard (along with Masato Sato)
• Lawyer Eri Kisaki's Testimony (Episodes 505-506): Storyboard
• Conan vs. Heiji, Deduction Battle Between the Detectives of the East and West (Episode 651): Organizer

Participation in: 3 OVAs

• The Stranger from Ten Years Later (OVA 9): Director, Ending storyboard
• Kid in Trap Island (OVA 10): Director
• A Secret Order From London (OVA 11): Director

Other notable works

Anime

As Koujin Ochi:

• La Corda D'Oro ~primo passo~: Director, Storyboard
• Samurai Warriors: Director, Storyboard, Unit director
• Voice of Fox: Director, Screenplay

As Hirohito Ochi:

• After War Gundam X: Storyboard, Episode director
• Nekketsu Saikyo Gozaurer: Storyboard, Episode director
• Pocket Monster Crystal: Raikou Ikazuchi no Densetsu: Storyboard, Unit director, Opening animation
• Pokémon - Destiny Deoxys: Unit director
• Pokemon 4Ever: Assistant director
• Pokemon Heroes - Latias & Latios: Assistant director
• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea: Storyboard, Assistant director

As Chiko Uonji:

• Samurai Warriors: Screenplay

References

1. 於地紘仁 - Wikipedia (Japanese)
2. Anime News Network