Masaru Kitao(北尾 勝Kitao Masaru) (born July 15, 1961) is a Japanese animator known for his work with Madhouse. Primarily a key animator and animation director for TV anime, Kitao has also on occasion done character designs. Recently, he has won much praise for his adaptated character designs for the popular Death Note TV series. Consequently, Death Note has become his best known work. Along with Death Note director Tetsurō Araki, he was a Guest of Honor at Anime Expo 2007.