Yasuhiro Nakura
Yasuhiro Nakura 名倉 靖博 | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1959 Hamakita, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | Animator, illustrator, character designer, director |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Employer | Studio Carpenter (1978~1981) |
Yasuhiro Nakura (Japanese: 名倉 靖博, Hepburn: Nakura Yasuhiro) is a Japanese animator, illustrator, character designer, and director.
Early life[edit]
Nakura was born in Hamakita, Shizuoka, Japan, on January 10, 1959.[1] His parents ran a textile shop.[1]
Career[edit]
He enrolled in an animation course offered by Toei Animation that he saw advertised in Manga Shounen and moved to Tokyo.[1] After completing the course, he joined Studio Carpenter where he debuted as an in-between animator on Starzinger (1978),[1] and later as a key animator on Dotakon (1981). He worked at Studio Carpenter for about three years and then went freelance, mainly for Toei Animation's works.
His character concepts were used for the 1984 television series Little Memole, which he also worked on as an animation director (his debut in the role). The following year, he was the animation director for Mamoru Oshii's film, Angel's Egg, with designs by Yoshitaka Amano, in which he supervised and corrected drawings to follow Amano's original image boards.[2] In 1987, he served as character designer and animation director to another feature film, The Tale of Genji (1987) with director Gisaburō Sugii.[3] In 1990, he participated in Moomin as the animation character designer, having been a fan of the series prior.[4] He also served as the character designer and chief animation director for Rintaro's Metropolis (2001).[5]
At some point in his career, Nakura began to take on more work as an illustrator, rather than an animator or animation director. While he continued to work on animated series and films, his output in either decreased significantly during the 1990s and 2000s. He was the character designer and chief animation director for the Tenshu Monogatari arc of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales and was the animation director for Gothicmade in 2012, but contributed in minor key animation roles between them.
In the early 2010s, Nakura developed a relationship with animation studio Shaft as a key animator and animation director on the Monogatari series.[6] His output in the industry increased during this time as he contributed to other Shaft series like Mekakucity Actors (2014) and contributed as a guest director, designer, and animator for an episode of the Bones series Space Dandy (2014).[7] In 2016, Nakura worked as the main layout artist, layout setting designer, and art setting designer for Shaft's adaptation of March Comes In like a Lion.[8] He also regularly contributed to some of the series' ending animation themes, which he storyboarded, directed, and animated on his own.[9]
Style[edit]
Director and founder of studio Satelight Tsuneo Maeda, who was the animation technical director for The Tale of Genji, described Nakura as an emotional person, which he called rare among key animators, and that he was slow, which was connected to his tenacity and made his work attractive.[10] Maeda also considered Nakura to not be pattern-based, and thus it was always difficult or mysterious as to how his drawings and work would come out.[10] Although he said that it may be difficult for some of his drawings to be used, Maeda lamented that Nakura was able to create cuts of animation that others could never draw as well.[10]
Works[edit]
Teleivison series[edit]
Highlights main staff roles.
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | Roles | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Starzinger | Yuugo Serikawa | Toei Animation | In-between animator | [1] |
| 1981 | Dotakon | Takeshi Shirato | Toei Animation | Key animator | |
| 1984–1985 | Little Memole | Osamu Kasai | Toei Animation | Original character designer Animation director (#10, 16, 44) |
|
| 1990–1991 | Moomin | Hiroshi Saitou | Visual 80 | Character designer | [4] |
| 1991–1992 | Moomin 2 | Takeyuki Kanda | Visual 80 | Character designer | |
| 1996 | Shounen Santa no Daibouken | Yuuji Mutou | Studio Deen | Character designer | |
| 2006 | Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales | Kouzou Nagayama | Toei Animation | Original character concept design (Tenshu Monogatari) Chief animation director (Tenshu Monogatari) |
|
| 2012 | Nekomonogatari: Black | Akiyuki Shinbo Tomoyuki Itamura |
Shaft | Animation director Key animator 2nd key animator |
[6] |
| 2014 | Space Dandy 2 | Shinichirō Watanabe Masaaki Yuasa |
Bones | Art setting (#8) Guest character designer (#8) Episode director (#8) Storyboard artist (#8) Key animator (#8) |
[7] |
| Mekakucity Actors | Akiyuki Shinbo Yuki Yase |
Shaft | Picture book animation (#1–5, 7, 10) Storyboard artist (#3) Key animator (#8) |
||
| Hanamonogatari | Akiyuki Shinbo Tomoyuki Itamura |
Shaft | Key animator | [6] | |
| 2016 | Flip Flappers | Kiyotaka Oshiyama | 3Hz | Key animator (OP) | |
| 2016–2018 | March Comes In like a Lion | Akiyuki Shinbo Kenjirou Okada |
Shaft | Art setting Layout setting Main layout ED direction, storyboards, and animation |
[8] |
| 2018 | Zoku Owarimonogatari | Akiyuki Shinbo | Shaft | Play (#3) | |
| 2020 | Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story | Doroinu | Shaft | Key animator (#2) | |
| 2021 | Pretty Boy Detective Club | Akiyuki Shinbo Hajime Ootani |
Shaft | Art setting Layout supervisor (#6, 9) Key animator (#2, 5, 12) |
|
| 2022 | RWBY: Ice Queendom | Toshimasa Suzuki Kenjirou Okada |
Shaft | Key animator (#1, 4) | |
| 2024 | Astro Note | Shinji Takamatsu Haruka Kasugamori |
Telecom Animation Film | Layout supervisor (#1–4) | [11] |
OVAs/ONAs[edit]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | Roles | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Angel's Egg | Mamoru Oshii | Studio Deen | Animation director Key animator |
[2] |
| 1988 | Bride of Deimos | Rintaro | Madhouse | Key animator | |
| Donguri to Yamaneko | Toshio Hirata | Madhouse Project Team Argos |
Character designer Animation |
||
| 2013 | Space Battleship Yamato 2199 | Akihiro Enomomto Yutaka Izubuchi |
AIC XEBEC |
Character animation director (#17) | |
| 2022 | The Tatami Time Machine Blues | Shingo Natsume | Science SARU | Animation director (#2) | [12] |
Films[edit]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio | Roles | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Toward the Terra | Hideo Onchi | Toei Animation | In-between animator | |
| Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy | Masayuki Akehi | Toei Animation | In-between animator | ||
| 1982 | Future War 198X | Toshio Masuda Tomoharu Katsumata |
Toei Animation | In-between animator | |
| 1983 | Dr. Slump: The Great Race Around the World | Minoru Okazaki | Toei Animation | Key animator | |
| 1984 | Wata no Kunihoshi | Shinichi Tsuji | Mushi Production | Key animator | |
| 1985 | Night on the Galactic Railroad | Gisaburō Sugii | Group TAC | Key animator | |
| 1986 | Castle in the Sky | Hayao Miyazaki | Studio Ghibli | Key animator | [13] |
| 1987 | The Tale of Genji | Gisaburō Sugii | Group TAC | Character designer Animation director |
[3] |
| 1994 | Rampo | Rintaro Mayuzumi Kazuyoshi Okuyama |
— | Animation (live-action film) | |
| 2001 | Metropolis | Rintaro | Madhouse | Character designer Chief animation director |
[5] |
| 2004 | Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence | Mamoru Oshii | Production I.G | Key animator | |
| 2006 | The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | Mamoru Hosoda | Madhouse | Assistant animation director | |
| 2007 | Miyori no Mori | Nizo Yamamoto | Nippon Animation | Key animator | |
| 2009 | Summer Wars | Mamoru Hosoda | Madhouse | Key animator | |
| 2012 | Gothicmade | Mamoru Nagano | Automatic Flowers Studio | Animation director | |
| 2013 | Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion | Akiyuki Shinbo Yukihiro Miyamoto |
Shaft | Key animator | |
| 2016 | Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-hen | Akiyuki Shinbo Tatsuya Oishi |
Shaft | Key animator | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | Akiyuki Shinbo Nobuyuki Takeuchi |
Shaft | Key animator | |
| Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 | Shinichiro Watanabe | Cygames Pictures | Key animator | ||
| 2022 | Inu-Oh | Masaaki Yuasa | Science SARU | Animation director Key animator |
[12] |
Notes[edit]
Book citations[edit]
- Animage October (1985). Ogata, Hideo (ed.). アニメージュ1985年10月号「『メモル』から『天使のたまご』へ 名倉靖博の世界」 [Animage October 1985, "From 'Memole' to "Angel's Egg', the World of Yasuhiro Nakura"].
- Animage December (1985). Ogata, Hideo (ed.). アニメージュ1985年12月号 天使のたまご GUIDE BOOK [Animage December 1985, Angel's Egg Guidebook].
- Kindaeigasha (1986). ジ･アニメ 1986年 06月号 [THE ANIME June 1986]. ASIN B00HYAQ788.
- Camp, Brian; Davis, Julie (2007). Anime Classics Zettai! 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-22-8.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Kindaeigasha 1986, p. 109-113.
- ^ a b Animage December 1985, p. 44.
- ^ a b Camp & Davis 2007, p. 368–369.
- ^ a b Nakura, Yasuhiro [@nakura26031011] (March 16, 2021). 更に恐縮するもうひと言が…けれどそれは自分の胸の奥にしまっておこうと思います。当時既に巨匠でいらした大塚さんは多くの名作を手掛け旧東京ムービー『ムーミン』のキャラデザインもされました。何十年か後に自分も『楽しいムーミン一家』のキャラを作る事に(つづく)nakura [I was even more afraid of one word... but I'll keep it to myself. Ootsuka, who was already a master at the time, worked don many masterpieces and also designed the characters for the old Tokyo Movie "Moomin." Decades later, I, too, would design the characters for "Moomin". nakura] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "New movie from Katsuhiro Otomo and Rin Taro". Anime News Network. July 29, 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c Osmond, Andrew (October 27, 2018). "March Comes in Like a Lion, Dragon Ball Movies Released Monday". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Nelkin, Sarah (June 5, 2014). "Space Dandy Anime's 2nd Season's Promo Previews New Characters". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Cirugeda, Kevin "yuyucow" (November 6, 2017). "Anime Craft Weekly #27: Winter 2017 Opening Festivel". Sakugablog. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ Cirugeda, Kevin "yuyucow" (November 6, 2017). "The Worlds of Fall 2017 Anime". Sakugablog. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c Animage October 1985, p. 6.
- ^ Nakura, Yasuhiro [@nakura26031011] (April 3, 2024). 新作アニメ『アストロノオト』が4月5日より放送されます。脚本うえのきみこさんのギャグセンスが光る楽しい作風で、自分はカップヌードルワンピース篇以来の窪之内さんキャラ原案の作品です。今回はレイアウト監修でちょこっと参加させて頂きました(^^)是非ご覧ください。nakura [The new anime "Astro note" will start airing on April 5. Sciptwriter Kimiko Ueno's gag sense shines through in her fun style, and this is my first work with [Eisaku] Kubonouchi's original character designs since the Cup Noodle One Piece arc. I participated a little in this project as a layout supervisor. nakura] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Nakura, Yasuhiro [@nakura26031011] (September 14, 2022). 『四畳半タイムマシンブルース』今日からディズニープラスで配信開始です。監督は『Sonny Boy』の夏目真悟さん。『スペース⭐︎ダンディ』でご一緒させて頂きました。副監督は『映像研には手を出すな』の山代風我さん。『犬王』でご一緒しました。nakura ["Yojohan Time Machine Blues" will be available on Disney Plus from today. The director is Shingo Natsume of "Sonny Boy." I worked with on "Space Dandy." The assistant direrctor is "Fuuga Yamashiro" of "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken." I worked with him on "Inu-Oh." nakura] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Nakura, Yasuhiro [@nakura26031011] (August 18, 2019). ふらっと吉祥寺へ。ふと思い出が蘇りそこへ足を運ぶと、趣きは変われど建物はまだそこに！30数年前こちらの3階でジブリ最初の作品『天空の城ラピュタ』が作られました。参加していた頃自分はまだ20代！アオハル真っ只中です。懐かし過ぎる思い出が頭の中に溢れました。nakura [I popped into Kichioji. My memories suddenly came back to me, and while I was there, I foundt hat although the atmosphere had changed, the building was still there! Thirty years ago, Studio Ghibli's first film, "Castle in the Sky", was made on the third floor here. I was still in my 20s when I was involved! I was in the middle of my youth. Nostalgic memories flooded my mind. nakura] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links[edit]
- Yasuhiro Nakura on Twitter
- Yasuhiro Nakura at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Yasuhiro Nakura at IMDb
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