Yasuo Ōtsuka

Yasuo Ōtsuka (大塚康生 Ōtsuka Yasuo, July 11, 1931 - March 2, 2021^[1]) was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation and TMS Entertainment.

Biography[]

Ōtsuka was born in Shimane Prefecture. During a visit to Tsuwano at the age of 10, he saw a steam locomotive for the first time. He began to take an interest in locomotives and their operation and would frequently sketch them. In 1945 his family moved to Yamaguchi Prefecture where there was a military base. He began to draw the array of military vehicles located there while also drawing a variety of subjects in different styles. Otsuka also collected cuttings of cartoon strips into scrapbooks to learn more about drawing styles. Otsuka later joined the Yamaguchi's Beurau of Statistics but wanted to become a political cartoonist in Tokyo. However at the time, permission was needed to move to Tokyo so he applied to the Health and Welfare Ministry. After passing the exam, he was assigned to the drug enforcement division as an assistant who maintained the firearms of the agents. Around this time, he suffered from Tuberculosis.

Career[]

During 1956, Otsuka saw an advertisement in Yomiuri Shinbun where Toei were asking for applications for animators. After passing the test, Otsuka worked with Yasuji Mori and Akira Daikubara on the Tale of the White Serpent and learnt their approaches. Wanting to learn more animation theory, he began to seek out textbooks and was shown a textbook on US animation written by Preston Blair. After working on Magic Boy in 1959, his animation of a skeleton was unintentionally considered comical due to its realism. This led to comical bad guy characters becoming Otsuka's speciality. He came to believe that genuine realism doesn't suit animation and "constructed realism" is more suitable. Hayao Miyazaki compared Otsuka to Kenichi Enomoto in the use of this approach. After completion of his next film The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots, Otsuka left Toei to join A Production.

Otsuka has written several books about the anime industry. His Sakuga Asemamire (作画汗まみれ) is considered "a prime resource for the history of 1960s and 1970s anime".

In July 2002, an exhibition of his work and personal pieces was held in Ginza.

His last work was as advisor to Telecom Animation Film.

External Links[]

Yasuo Ōtsuka on Wikipedia

Navigation[]

V • T • E

Credits

Founders	Hayao Miyazaki (Director) • Isao Takahata (Director) • Toshio Suzuki (Producer) • Yasuyoshi Tokuma (Executive Producer)

Notable Staff	Steve Alpert (Overseas Promotion Manager) • Hideaki Anno (Director) • Masashi Ando (Animator) • Makiko Futaki (Animator) • Hitomi Tateno (Animation Check) • Toru Hara (Producer) • Takeshi Inamura (Animator) • Katsuya Kondō (Animation Director) • Yoshifumi Kondō (Animation Director) • Koji Hoshino (President) • Megumi Kagawa (Animator) • Yoshinori Kanada (Animator) • Kitarō Kōsaka (Director) • Kazuo Komatsubara (Art Director) • Goro Miyazaki (Director) • Tomomi Mochizuki (Director) • Hiroyuki Morita (Director) • Yoshiyuki Momose (Animation Director) • Yoshiaki Nishimura (Producer) • Atsushi Okui (Director of Photography) • Kazuo Oga (Background Artist) • Shinsuke Nonaka (Production Affairs Manager) • Kaoru Mano (Titles) • Keiko Niwa (Screenwriter) • Reiko Okuyama (Animator) • Seiji Okuda (Director) • Takeshi Seyama (Director) • Masako Shinohara (Animator) • Atsushi Takahashi (Storyboard) • Yohei Takamatsu (Art Director) • Atsuko Tanaka (Key Animator) • Yôji Takeshige (Art Director) Kazuhide Tomonaga (Animator) • Yasuo Uragami (Sound Director) • Kazuhiro Wakabayashi (Sound Director) • Akihiko Yamashita (Animator Director) • Michiyo Yasuda (Color Designer) • Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Director) • Nizô Yamamoto (Background Artist) • Kenichi Yoshida (Animator) • Noboru Yoshida (Art Director) • Ushiko (Cat)

Music	Joe Hisaishi • Michio Mamiya • Yuji Nomi

Association	Eiko Kadono (Author) • Tokiko Kato (Singer) • John Lasseter (Director) • Rieko Nakagawa (Author) • Tatsuo Hori (Author) • Mamoru Hosoda (Director) • Yoshie Hotta (Author) • Yōichi Kotabe (Senior Animator) • Naohisa Inoue (Artist) • Keisuke Miyazaki (Son) • Kenji Miyazawa (Author) • Yasuji Mori (Animation Director) • Hideo Ogata (Animage Editor) • Osamu Sagawa (Friend) • Ryōtarō Shiba (Author) • Mamiko Suzuki (Toshio Suzuki's Daughter) • Mamoru Oshii (Director) • Yasuo Ōtsuka (Director)

Affiliated Companies	Anime Torotoro • NHK • Nippon Animation • Pony Canyon • Tokuma Shoten • Tokuma International • Studio Kajino • Studio Ponoc • Streamline Pictures • Toei Animation • Toei Company • TopCraft • Shochiku • The Walt Disney Company

V • T • E

Studio Ghibli

Animated features

Feature films	Castle in the Sky (1986) • Grave of the Fireflies (1988) • My Neighbor Totoro (1988) • Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) • Only Yesterday (1991) • Porco Rosso (1992) • Ocean Waves (1993) • Pom Poko (1994) • Whisper of the Heart (1995) • Princess Mononoke (1997) • My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) • Spirited Away (2001) • The Cat Returns (2002) • Howl's Moving Castle (2004) • Tales from Earthsea (2006) • Ponyo (2008) • The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) • From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) • The Wind Rises (2013) • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) • When Marnie Was There (2014) • Earwig and the Witch (2020) • The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Short films	Nandarō • On Your Mark • Ghiblies • Film Guru Guru • Ghiblies Episode 2 • Imaginary Flying Machines • The Invention of Imaginary Machines of Destruction • The Whale Hunt • Koro's Big Day Out • Mei and the Kittenbus • Looking for a Home • The Day I Bought a Star • The Night of Taneyamagahara • Water Spider Monmon • Iblard Jikan • A Sumo Wrestler's Tail • Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess • Treasure Hunting • Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo • Boro the Caterpillar

Documentaries

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987) • Miyazaki and Kurosawa Fireside Chat (1993) • Ghibli Was Born This Way: A Birth Story Spelled Out With Reproduced Images (1998) • World Journey of My Memory / Journey of the Heart (1998) • How Princess Mononoke Was Born (2001) • Lasseter-San, Arigato! (2003) • Hayao Miyazaki Produces a CD (2004) • Yasuo Otsuka's Joy of Motion (2004) • Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum (2005) • Ghibli: The Miyazaki Temple (2005) • The Work of Toshio Suzuki (2006) • Scenery of Ghibli (2006) • A Ghibli Artisan – Kazuo Oga Exhibition – The Man Who Painted Totoro's Forest (2007) • How Ponyo Was Born (2009) • Poppy Hill - 300 Days of War Between Father and Son (2011) • Ghibli's Bookshelf (2011) • The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013) • Until The End of The Creation of When Marnie Was There (2015) • Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (2016) • NHK Image File: I Want To Meet This Person - Isao Takahata, Animation Film Director (2018) • 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki (2019)

Television series

The Blue Seed (1992) • Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (2014)

Concerts

Joe Hisaishi in Budokan • Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: The Music of Studio Ghibli

Video games

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Video Game) • Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu • Jade Cocoon 2 • Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color • Ni no Kuni (Series) • Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn • Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Printed works

Animage • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga) • Starting Point: 1979-1996 • Turning Point: 1997-2008 • Kaze no Kaerubasho • People of the Desert • The Age of the Flying Boat • Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes • To My Sister • The Journey of Shuna • Studio Ghibli's Trajectory as Seen on Animage (1984-2011) • The Art of My Neighbor Totoro • The Art of Castle in the Sky • The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service • The Art of Porco Rosso • Princess Mononoke: The First Story • The Place Where Totoro Was Born • The Bountiful Food of Studio Ghibli • Children's Picture Book Ghibli's Dining Table Earwig and the Witch

Co-Productions

Flying City Plan • Shiki-Jitsu (Studio Kajino) • Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence • Nasu: Summer in Andalusia • Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase • Portable Airport • Red Crow and the Ghost Ship • Space Station No. 9 • The Red Turtle

Pre-Ghibli works

Hustle Punch (1965) • Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968) • Animal Treasure Island (1971) • Lupin the Third Part I (1971) • Panda! Go, Panda! (1972) • Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974) • Dog of Flanders (1975) • Future Boy Conan (1978) • Anne of Green Gables (1979) Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) • Chie the Brat (1981) • 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1981) • Gauche the Cellist (1982) • Sherlock Hound (1984) • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Ghibli-related labels

Animage • Animage Home Video • Ghibli ga Ippai Collection • Ghibli Museum • Ghibli Museum Library • Ghibli Park • Totoro no Furusato Foundation • Totoro no Mori

Unproduced projects

Border 1939

Related productions

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind • Mary and the Witch's Flower • Modest Heroes • Natsuzora • World Masterpiece Theater

↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-15/acclaimed-animator-yasuo-otsuka-passes-away-at-89/.170642

Ghibli Wiki