The story behind the Kill Bill animation sequence — how Katsuhito Ishii ended up in Tarantino’s samurai tale (and where to buy the new box set)

Discover how Japanese director Katsuhito Ishii came to create the unforgettable Kill Bill animation sequence, how Quentin Tarantino found and commissioned him, a concise Ishii filmography, and details on the limited Katsuhito Ishii Blu-ray box set from Third Window Films — available on Terracotta Distribution.

How Tarantino found Ishii (and why he wanted animation)

Tarantino’s affinity for anime and cult Japanese cinema is well documented. When he decided Kill Bill needed an animated chapter to condense O-Ren’s violent childhood and to deliver a tonal shift, he reached out to Japanese animation talent via Production I.G — a studio whose work (from Ghost in the Shell to Blood: The Last Vampire) had become touchstones for many Western filmmakers.

Production I.G handled the project, and Ishii — who was already respected as a director with a background in commercials, shorts and experimental animation — collaborated on the sequence through that connection.

The studio’s own history with Tarantino and accounts of the studio’s involvement explain how the director navigated that cross-Pacific commissioning process.

In short Tarantino wanted anime because it allowed him to render a hyper-stylised, compressed backstory in a way live action couldn’t; he turned to Production I.G for the technical and creative heft, and Katsuhito Ishii — already active in animation and acclaimed for his distinctive visual sensibility — became one of the creative hands that shaped the sequence.

What makes the Kill Bill animation sequence special

The sequence stands out for a few reasons:

• It swaps live action for hand-crafted anime to tell violence-soaked origin material without slowing the film’s momentum.
• The aesthetic mixes gritty yakuza imagery with stylised, almost operatic composition — a match for Ishii’s playful but violent sensibility.
• The segment’s look also helped build the film’s mythic, cross-genre identity: samurai, yakuza, noir and anime all folded into a single chapter.

Katsuhito Ishii — quick filmography and career highlights

Katsuhito Ishii began in commercials and shorts before moving into features and animation. Key titles a film fan should know:

• Promise of August (short / early work)
• Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998) — breakout, cult crime comedy.
• Party 7 (2000) — energetic ensemble piece.
• Trava: Fist Planet (2001–02) — OVA/animation work that shows Ishii’s genre playfulness.
• The Taste of Tea (2004) — his quieter, critically acclaimed family-fantasy film (Cannes spotlight).
• Funky Forest (The First Contact) (2005) — collaborative surreal sketch film.
• Redline (2009 — as screenwriter) and Smuggler (2011).
  And, of course, his credited collaboration with Production I.G on the Kill Bill anime insert — the career touchstone that exposed him to many Western viewers.

The Third Window Films Katsuhito Ishii box set — what’s in it and where to buy

Third Window Films released a limited-edition Katsuhito Ishii Collection on Blu-ray: a multi-disc digipack that collects six of his works (from early features up through recent projects), with new director-approved masters for several titles. It’s a curated way to move past the single Kill Bill credit and see Ishii’s full tonal range — from kinetic crime-comedy to the gentle surrealism of The Taste of Tea. The set was produced in a limited run. 

Own the Katsuhito Ishii Collection (Limited-Edition Blu-ray) — a 3-disc digipack from Third Window Films with director-approved masters. Perfect for fans of Ishii and anyone who wants to trace the creative DNA behind the Kill Bill animation sequence. Available now on Terracotta Distribution.