Yoshiyuki Tomino

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Yoshiyuki Tomino (富野 由悠季 Tomino Yoshiyuki?, born November 5, 1941) is a Japanese anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art.

Tomino began his career in 1963 with Osamu Tezuka's company, Mushi Productions, scripting the storyboards and screenplay of the first Japanese television anime series, Tetsuwan Atom (also known as Astro Boy). He later became one of the most important members of the anime studio Sunrise, going on to direct numerous anime through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Tomino is perhaps best known for his transformation of the super robot genre into the real robot genre with 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam. He has also won numerous awards, including the Best Director award at the recent 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair (for the 2005 film Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Heirs To The Stars). [1]

Tomino often writes lyrics for the various songs featured in his series under the pseudonym Rin Iogi (井荻麟 Iogi Rin?). Tomino (as Iogi) has collaborated with artists such as Yoko Kanno, Asei Kobayashi, MIO and Neil Sedaka.

Contents

[edit] Career

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Tomino is noted for directing several well-known anime series throughout his career, such as his most notable work, the Mobile Suit Gundam series, beginning in 1979, and which was later followed onto numerous sequels, spinoffs and merchandising franchises, Aura Battler Dunbine, Brave Raideen (in which he directed the first 26 episodes), and numerous others. His recent work include Brain Powerd (1998), Turn A Gundam (1999), Overman King Gainer (2002) and most recently, The Wings of Rean, released in December 2005 and running till August 2006.

[edit] 1970's

Tomino made his directorial debut with 1973's Umi no Triton. This show, loosely based on Osamu Tezuka's manga Blue Triton, showed a different perspective than the traditional 'good vs. evil' show. The star, Triton, a 10 year old boy, is the last survivor of the Tritons, a tribe from Atlantis that was wiped out by the 'evil' Poseidons. In the final episode when Triton defeats the leader of the Poseidons the truth is revealed - the Poseidon's aren't evil after all, and had wiped out the Tritons only because of the mass murder that had been committed against them in the first place. [2]

In 1975, Tomino worked on Brave Raideen, his first mecha work, in which he directed the first 26 episodes. Raideen was renowned and influential in its innovative portrayal of a giant machine of mysterious and mystical origins, and has went on to inspire numerous other directors and series, including Yutaka Izubuchi's 2002 series, RahXephon. He also later worked on 1977's Voltes V.

While many of the series Tomino has directed throughout his career contained an upbeat and positive nature, in which the majority of the protagonists survive, a number of his shows during the early years of his career in the late 1970s through early 90s, contained endings in which a significant number of characters and protagonists were killed or had passed away. In 1977, Tomino directed Zambot 3, the final episode of which a large amount of the protagonists kill themselves in order to defeat the main antagonist faction. As a result, the main protagonist character survives and the Earth is saved. Certain sources cite this being the reason for the origination of a nickname used by some anime fans, "Kill 'Em All Tomino" (皆殺しの富野 Minagoroshi no Tomino?), although it should be noted that Tomino had directed and worked in numerous series in which the vast majority of the protagonists survived. [2][3][4][5]

In 1979, Tomino directed and wrote Mobile Suit Gundam, which was highly influential in transforming the super robot genre into the real robot genre. Mark Simmons discusses the impact of Gundam in his book, "Gundam Official Guide":

“ With its new, realistic approach to giant robots, Gundam changed the face of mecha anime and split the genre into two. Singlehandedly inventing the "Real Robot" sub-genre, Gundam forced all of its predecessors to be redefined as part of the "Super Robot" subgenre. Not surprisingly, Real Robots became all the rage after Gundam. Shows such as Combat Armor Dougram and Walker Machine Xabungle followed the trail Tomino had blazed. [6] ”

In an interview published in Animerica magazine, Tomino discusses what he was trying to accomplish with Mobile Suit Gundam:

“ The bottom line is, I wanted to have a more realistic robot series - unlike a super robot - where everything is more reality-based, based on a humanoid robot. Right from the beginning, the roots of the mobile suit came from the worker robots that were building the space colonies back then, and they would become more technologically advanced, to the point of becoming a weapon, and that was the whole lineage of the robots I had in mind since the beginning. So the whole idea, my idea, of trying to have a robot series in space without it becoming a stupid story was based on wanting to make a story and surrounding it with reality - more realistic possibilities was the underlying concept.[2] ”

Although the original series was cancelled after the 43rd episode, its population grew after three compilation movies were created in 1981 and 1982. Mobile Suit Gundam went on to be followed by numerous sequels, spin-offs and merchandising franchises, becoming one of the most influential, longest-running and popular anime series in history, being chosen as no.1 on TV Asahi's Top 100 Anime listing in 2005. [7]

[edit] 1980's

In 1980, Tomino directed Space Runaway Ideon, a series which like Mobile Suit Gundam was cancelled on its initial run, but featured movie versions later on. The final Ideon movie, 1982's Be Invoked ends in all of the characters being killed and the home planets of both the heroes and villains being destroyed. However, the series he immediately directed afterwards, Xabungle, contained a much more lighthearted and upbeat theme, with the vast majority of the characters surviving, in stark contrast to Ideon.

Tomino followed Xabungle with 1983's Aura Battler Dunbine which featured an ending where all of the heroes except one were killed. Tomino's next show, 1984's Heavy Metal L-Gaim was again a stark contrast to this theme, with all of the heroes surviving.

In 1985, Tomino directed the first sequel to 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, which was noted amongst the best Gundam series ever produced.[8] This show once again featured a significant number of characters dying, particularly in the last few episodes. [9] However, the following Gundam series, 1986's Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ contained a much more upbeat, comedic theme in which the majority of the characters survived. In 1988, Tomino concluded the saga begun in Mobile Suit Gundam with the Gundam motion picture Char's Counterattack. This was another Tomino feature in which most of the heroes were killed.

[edit] 1990's and Beyond

Tomino would direct an additional Gundam motion picture, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 in 1991. This movie, which took place 30 years after Char's Counterattack re-launched the Gundam saga in a new direction by featuring a completely new cast.

In 1993, Tomino directed his next Gundam series, Victory Gundam, which like Gundam F91 before it attempted to relaunch the Gundam saga with a completely new cast. Like Zeta Gundam before it, this series featured the deaths of a large number of the protagonists. However, this was to be the very last Tomino series in which this was to happen. [10] Each of the series he directed and created afterwards contain much more upbeat and lighthearted themes in which the vast majority of the protagonists survive.

In 1996, Tomino wrote and directed Garzey's Wing, and in 1998 wrote and directed Brain Powerd. In 1999, he returned to Gundam with Turn A Gundam and in 2002, directed Overman King Gainer. In 2005 Tomino directed 3 compilation movies summarizing the events of 1985's Zeta Gundam. His most recent series was the 6-episode The Wings of Rean, which first premiered on the Internet across Bandai Channel, the broadcast beginning from December 12, 2005 with the final episode starting on August 18, 2006.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Discography (as Rin Iogi)

"Tobe! Gundamu (Fly! Gundam)" by Koh Ikeda (Series Opening Theme)
"Eien ni Amuro (Forever Amuro)" by Koh Ikeda (Series Ending Theme)
"Char is Coming" by Koichiro Hori
"Shining Lalah" by Keiko Toda
"Ima Wa O-Yasumi" by Keiko Toda
"Kaze ni Hitori de (Alone in the Wind)" by Inoue Daisuke (Movie 2 Insert Song)
"Ai Senshi (Soldiers of Sorrow)" by Inoue Daisuke (Movie 2 Ending Theme)
"Beginning" by Inoue Daisuke (Movie 3 Insert Song)
"Meguriai (Encounters)" by Inoue Daisuke (Co-written with Maso Urino) (Movie 3 Ending Theme)
"Time for L-Gaim" by MIO (Opening Theme)
"Dunbine Tobu (Flying Dunbine)" by MIO (Opening Theme)
"Zeta - Toki o Koete (Zeta - Transcending Times)" by Maya Arukawa, composed by Neil Sedaka (First Opening Theme)
"The 1000-year-old Galaxy" by Jun Hiroe (Second Ending Theme)
"Eternal Wind" by Hiroko Moriguchi (Ending Song)
"Stand up to Victory" (First Opening Theme)
"Ai no FIELD" by Kokkia (First Ending Theme)
"Turn A Turn" by Hideki Saijou, composed by Asei Kobayashi (First Opening Theme)
"Century Color" by RAYS-GUNS (Co-written with You-mu Hamaguchi) (Second Opening Theme)
"Ojousan Naishobanashi desu (This is a private conversation, miss)" by Hideki Saijou
"Tsuki no Tama (Spirit of the Moon)" by RRET Team
"Tsuki no Mayu (The Cocoon of the Moon)" by Aki Okui (Second Ending Theme)
"Overman King Gainer - Over!" by Yoshiki Fukuyama (Opening Theme)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tokyo Anime Fair: Award Winners, Anime News Network, 27 March 2006.
  2. ^ a b c (2002) Animerica Volume 10, Number 12 Article by Toma Machiyama (in English). Seiji Horibuchi, 40-41. 
  3. ^ (2001) The Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements & Helen McCarthy (in English). Stone Bridge Press, 159. 
  4. ^ (Japanese) ロボットアニメ万歳. Retrieved on February 22, 2007.
  5. ^ (Japanese) コラム. Mondo 21. Retrieved on February 22, 2007.
  6. ^ (2002) Gundam The Official Guide by Mark Simmons (in English). Seiji Horibuchi, 41. 
  7. ^ TV Asahi Top 100, Anime News Network, 23 February 2005.
  8. ^ Z Gundam: The Black Gundam. Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
  9. ^ (2002) Gundam The Official Guide by Mark Simmons (in English). Seiji Horibuchi, 41. 
  10. ^ (2002) Gundam The Official Guide by Mark Simmons (in English). Seiji Horibuchi, 61. 

[edit] External links

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