Yoshinori Kanada
Encyclopedia
was an influential Japanese animator originally from Nara
, Japan
. He is best known for his popular 1984 work Birth
, one of the first original video animation
s released in the market. Though he did not create many character designs, he was famous for his character animation skills. His work on Galaxy Express 999
(1979) and Harmagedon (1983) were very influential to an entire generation of animators in Japan. These two works also served as partial inspiration for Takashi Murakami
's Superflat
art movement. During the 80s and 90s, he worked closely with director Hayao Miyazaki
on several movies from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to Princess Mononoke
. He was also known for breaking down the directorial system in animation, allowing individual key animators to exert their own style into a particular work. He died at the age of 57 of a heart attack on July 21, 2009.
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is best known for his popular 1984 work Birth
Birth (anime)
, also known in the West as Planet Busters or The World of the Talisman, is a 1984 anime original video animation , which was released on VHS and DVD in North America by, variously, Streamline and ADV Films...
, one of the first original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
s released in the market. Though he did not create many character designs, he was famous for his character animation skills. His work on Galaxy Express 999
Galaxy Express 999
is a manga written and drawn by Leiji Matsumoto, as well as various anime films and TV series based on it. It is set in a space-faring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer their minds into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality.The manga won the...
(1979) and Harmagedon (1983) were very influential to an entire generation of animators in Japan. These two works also served as partial inspiration for Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
's Superflat
Superflat
Superflat is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime. It is also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis and Seattle....
art movement. During the 80s and 90s, he worked closely with director Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
on several movies from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
. He was also known for breaking down the directorial system in animation, allowing individual key animators to exert their own style into a particular work. He died at the age of 57 of a heart attack on July 21, 2009.
Anime and video game works
Partial List (he was involved in over 50 TV, OVA series and movies since the 70s, and also involved in many Square and Square Enix works)- Mahou no Mako-chan (Animation)
- Sarutobi EcchanSarutobi Ecchanis a magical girl manga series by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was originally named , but was changed in 1971 when Toei Animation adapted it into an anime called Sarutobi Ecchan. The anime was unsuccessful, and only lasted 26 episodes...
(Animation) - GeGeGe no Kitaro (OP Animator)
- BirthBirth (anime), also known in the West as Planet Busters or The World of the Talisman, is a 1984 anime original video animation , which was released on VHS and DVD in North America by, variously, Streamline and ADV Films...
(Character Design, Animation director, Lead Animator) - Genesis Climber MOSPEADAGenesis Climber Mospeadais an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
(OP Animator) - Blue Submarine No. 6Blue Submarine No. 6is a post-apocalyptic manga series written and illustrated by Satoru Ozawa, first published in 1967, which was subsequently developed into a four-episode original video animation series by Gonzo.- Plot :...
(Key Animator) - Fushigi Yuugi (OP Animator)
- Galaxy Express 999Galaxy Express 999is a manga written and drawn by Leiji Matsumoto, as well as various anime films and TV series based on it. It is set in a space-faring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer their minds into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality.The manga won the...
(Key Animator) - Toward the TerraToward the Terrais a Japanese science fiction manga series by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in Asahi Sonorama's Gekkan Manga Shōnen magazine, between January 1977 and May 1980...
(Key Animator) - Harmegeddon (Key Animator)
- My Neighbor TotoroMy Neighbor Totoro, is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film follows the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan...
(Key Animator) - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Key Animator)
- Kiki's Delivery ServiceKiki's Delivery Serviceis a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...
(Key Animator) - Porco RossoPorco RossoPorco Rosso, known in Japan as is the sixth anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, produced by Studio Ghibli and released in 1992, of an Italian World War I fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the Adriatic Sea. The man has been cursed and transformed into...
(Key Animator) - Princess MononokePrincess Mononokeis a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
(Key Animator) - X (Key Animator)
- Vampire Hunter (Key Animator)
- Final Fantasy: Legend of the CrystalsFinal Fantasy: Legend of the Crystalsis an anime OVA based on the Final Fantasy series of console role-playing games. It was released in Japan in 1994 and distributed by Urban Vision in 1998 in North America. Urban Vision does not have the license to this series now, and it has not been relicensed in North America.Legend of the...
(Key Animator) - CLAMP School DetectivesCLAMP School Detectivesis a manga series by Clamp, which was adapted into a 26-episode anime series, produced by Bandai Visual and Pierrot. The manga series was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka manga magazine between January 1992 and October 1993, spanning three tankōbon, while the anime premiered in Japan...
(Key Animator for Opening Animation) - Hanjuku Hero Tai 3D (Opening Animation Director)
- Hanjuku Hero 4: 7-Jin no Hanjuku Hero (Opening Animation Director)
- Final Fantasy: The Spirits WithinFinal Fantasy: The Spirits WithinFinal Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 Japanese-American computer animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the first photorealistic computer animated feature film and also holds the record for the most...
(Key Animator, Layout Artist) - Final Fantasy XIIIFinal Fantasy XIIIis a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...
(Storyboard Director) - Full Metal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk (Key Animator, One of his last works)