Started drawing influenced by his father, who was an engineer. Watching shows like Mirai Shounen Conan, Ginga Tetsudou 999, Ace wo Nerae and Cagliostro no Shiro in middle school made him want to become an animator.

Telecom-trained animator closely affiliated with Koji Morimoto, Atsuko Fukushima, and especially Kazuyoshi Yaginuma. Came into prominence during the height of realism in the late 80s animating Tetsuo’s mutating arm in Akira and the fetus hallucination in Ohira’s Antique Shop. His motion bubbles with energy and he tends to take a more holistic approach to his cuts than other realistic animators. Interested in animating ‘scenes’ rather than individual characters and to this end he occasionally improvises small details not dictated by the storyboard. His oeuvre is small but high quality. Currently at Studio 4C.

Tanaka’s illustrations are just as noteworthy as his animation. He’s released a artbook called CANNABIS WORKS and the greenish byzantine universe of his art has started to appear in his work for Studio 4C like his Fluximation video Wonder Bout, the music video for Akaiko-en’s “Koshin” as part of PES Next Generation, Japacon TV OP 1, and especially “Tojin Kit”, his entry for Genius Party Beyond (2008). Tanaka did almost all of the backgrounds for these on his own, effectively capturing the dilapidated urban landscape of his illustrations in moving form. Tanaka directed a short for Studio 4C’s Toruru’s Big Adventure omnibus.

Influenced by Hayao Miyazaki and Katsuhiro Otomo.