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{{Short description|Japanese manga artist and animator}}
{{Expand Japanese|topic=bio|安彦良和|reason=JA Wikipedia has well-referenced article section that should be translated and brought over to here.|date=February 2016}}
<!-- {{More footnotes|BLP=yes|reason=Manga and anime MADB lots of entries should be able to source as well as ANN}} -->
{{Infobox person
| name = Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
| native_name = 安彦 良和
| native_name_lang = ja
| image = Yasuhiko Yoshikazu "The World of Gundam" at Opening Ceremony of the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival (22442053681) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Yasuhiko at the 28th [[Tokyo International Film Festival]], 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|12|09}}
| birth_place = [[Engaru, Hokkaidō]], Japan
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| occupation = [[Animator]], [[manga artist]], director
| years_active = 1970–present
| known_for = ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''<br>''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin]]''
| spouse =
| awards =[[Seiun Award]] (1981, 2012)<br>[[Japan Academy Film Prize]] (2021)
| website =
}}
{{Nihongo|'''Yoshikazu Yasuhiko'''|安彦 良和|Yasuhiko Yoshikazu|born December 9, 1947|lead=yes}} is a Japanese [[animator]], [[manga artist]], and [[anime]] director. He is best known for being the character designer and animation director of the original ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' anime, which began in 1979. That same year, he began working as a manga artist, which had been his dream since childhood. His [[manga]] have been critically acclaimed and have won numerous awards.<ref name="Asashi">{{cite web |last=Ishikawa|first=Tomoya|title=人はめぐりあい、過ちを繰り返す 『ガンダム』で描いた正義なき世界 安彦良和のTHE ORIGIN（前編）|url=https://www.asahi.com/and/article/20200221/9894662/|website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|language=Japanese|date=2020-02-21|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref>
==Early life==
Born 1947 in [[Engaru, Hokkaidō]], Yasuhiko started to draw [[manga]] in third grade of elementary school.<ref name="manben">{{Cite episode |title=Yoshikazu Yasuhiko|series=[[Urasawa Naoki no Manben Neo]] |number=9|language=Japanese|network=[[NHK Educational TV]] |date=2021-06-09}}</ref> In high school, he learned the basics of [[Marxism]] from a teacher and was inspired by it.<ref name="AsashiPolitics">{{cite web|title=ガンダムの原点にある熱狂と挫折 安彦良和がアニメの世界に入るまで|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ6G7DZKQ5DUPQJ009.html|website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|language=Japanese |date=2022-06-19|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> At the time, the world's focus was on the [[Vietnam War]], a [[proxy war]] between the capitalist United States and socialist Soviet Union. Yasuhiko said seeing a superpower such as the US burn down a small country naturally made him "[[anti-American]]".<ref name="AsashiPolitics"/> Additionally, he viewed Japan as complicit in the war by supporting the US through [[Yokota Air Base]] and [[Misawa Air Base]], while claiming to have [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|a pacifist constitution]], something he called unforgivable.<ref name="AsashiPolitics"/> Yasuhiko began attending [[Hirosaki University]] in 1966.<ref name="Asashi"/> A member of the [[New Left in Japan|New Left]], he became a leader in the ''[[Zenkyōtō]]'' student movement and involved in the anti-war protests.<ref name="Asashi"/><ref name="Asashi2">{{cite web |last=Ishikawa|first=Tomoya|title=「僕はニュータイプを決して支持しない」 ガンダムは歴史そのもの、続編に興味はない 安彦良和のTHE ORIGIN（後編）|url=https://www.asahi.com/and/article/20200221/9897392/|website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|language=Japanese |date=2020-02-21|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref> In September 1969, Yasuhiko was arrested on suspicion of breaking and entering into Hirosaki University, and subsequently expelled.<ref name="Asashi"/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=2012-03-12 |title=私のなかの歴史 オホーツクから「ガンダム」へ 7 |work=[[Hokkaido Shimbun|Hokkaido Shimbun Evening Edition]]|language=Japanese}}</ref>
==Career==
After moving to Tokyo at age 22, Yasuhiko joined [[Mushi Productions]]' training school and began working as an [[animator]] despite dreaming of becoming a [[manga artist]].<ref name="manben"/> He has since admitted that he had no interest in animation and did not know what the job would entail, he simply applied to the newspaper advertisement on a whim in order to make a living.<ref name="Asashi"/> It was not until he storyboarded ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' (1974) that he began to find the job interesting.<ref name="Asashi"/> Yasuhiko later went freelance and worked on various [[anime]] productions for film and television. Some of his most notable works as character designer and director are ''[[Brave Reideen]]'', ''[[Combattler V]]'', ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', and ''[[Giant Gorg]]''. Less well known is the fact that he was the original character designer for ''[[Dirty Pair]]'', when he illustrated the [[Haruka Takachiho]] short stories that became the 1980 [[fixup]] novel ''The Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair''.<ref name="YAShands">{{cite web |last1=Toole |first1=Michael |title=The Mike Toole Show – YAS Hands |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-mike-toole-show/2014-08-10/.77495 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2014-08-10|access-date=2022-03-27}}</ref>
Yasuhiko said he had given up on manga because he was under the impression that manga artists had to use pens and he was personally unable to draw sufficiently with one.<ref name="manben"/> But while working on ''Space Battleship Yamato'', he visited [[Leiji Matsumoto]] who told him that manga artists could use brushes too.<ref name="manben"/> Yasuhiko made his manga debut with ''[[Arion (manga)|Arion]]'' (1979–1984).<ref name="manben"/> In 1981 he won the [[Seiun Award]] in the art category. Yasuhiko turned ''Arion'' into an animated film that he directed and co-wrote in 1986.<ref name="YAShands" /> That same year, he began the manga ''[[Venus Wars]]'' (1986–1990), which he also later adapted into a film.<ref name="YAShands" /> Yasuhiko became a full-time manga artist in 1989.<ref name="Asashi"/> He serialized ''Namuji'' from 1989 to 1991. It won an Excellence Award at the 1992 [[Japan Cartoonists Association Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |title=日本アニメ界の半世紀 『ガンダム』安彦良和が語る、アニメの未来|url=https://globe.asahi.com/article/13188744|website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|language=Japanese |date=2020-03-07|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, Yasuhiko created works such as ''Joan'', a three-volume story of a young French girl living at the time of the [[Hundred Years' War]], whose life parallels that of [[Joan of Arc]]; and ''Jesus'', a two-volume biographical manga about the life of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]].<ref name="YAShands" /> Yasuhiko created ''Ōdō no Inu'' from 1998 to 2000. In 2000, it earned him an Excellence Prize at the [[Japan Media Arts Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2000/ |title=2000 Japan Media Arts Festival Awards |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |language=Japanese |access-date=2022-07-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013082036/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2000/ |archive-date=2007-10-13}}</ref>
Yasuhiko serialized ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin]]'' for ten years, from 2001 to 2011. He stated that, in his mind, "''Gundam''" is ''only'' the original 1979 anime series and that it is the only one that he takes responsibility for. The artist also said that subsequent installments in the franchise focused more on the "Newtypes" seen in the series, which lead to critics and ''[[otaku]]'' misunderstanding the theme of ''Gundam''.<ref name="Asashi2"/><ref name="origins">{{cite web |last=Komatsu |first=Mikikazu |title=Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Confirms He is Working on A New Anime Project Related to First Gundam |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2020/02/23/yoshikazu-yasuhiko-confirms-he-is-working-on-a-new-anime-project-related-to-first-gundam |website=[[Crunchyroll]] |date=2020-02-24|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref> Yasuhiko further stated that the perpetrators of the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack]] in 1995 were "undoubtedly familiar" with ''Gundam'' and the "Newtypes".<ref name="Asashi2"/><ref name="origins"/> As such, "I had to do another job to correct the distortions in understanding 'Gundam'--, which was why I ended up drawing 'The Origin' in response to [[Bandai Namco Filmworks|Sunrise]]'s request."<ref name="origins"/> The manga has over 10 million copies in circulation,<ref>{{cite web |title=コミックス累計1000万部！安彦良和が描く「機動戦士ガンダム THE ORIGIN」電子書籍いよいよ発進！！著者からの描き下ろし"お祝いイラスト"も到着！|url=https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000763.000007006.html|website=PR Times|language=Japanese |date=2015-06-24|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> and earned him the 2012 Seiun Award in the comics category.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loo |first1=Egan |title=Madoka Magica, Gundam: The Origin Win at Japan Sci-Fi Con |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-07-07/madoka-magica-gundam/the-origin-win-at-japan-sci-fi-con |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2012-07-07|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> He returned to animation in the 2010s to direct ''Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin''{{'}}s anime adaptations.<ref name="Asashi"/>
Yasuhiko then created ''Ten no Ketsumyaku'', about a student in Manchuria on the eve of the [[Russo-Japanese War]], for ''[[Monthly Afternoon]]'' between January 2012 and September 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pineda|first1=Rafael Antonio|title=Gundam the Origin's Yasuhiko, Monogatari Series' Nisioisin Each End Manga Series |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-09-23/gundam-the-origin-yasuhiko-monogatari-series-nisioisin-each-end-manga-series/.106804 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2016-09-23|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> In 2015, he won a special award for lifetime achievement at the [[Animation Kobe Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loo |first1=Egan |title=Shirobako, New Ghost in the Shell Film, Seiji Mizushima Win Anime Kobe Awards |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-11-09/shirobako-new-ghost-in-the-shell-film-seiji-mizushima-win-anime-kobe-awards/.95178 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2015-11-09|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> Yasuhiko began ''Inui to Tatsumi -Siberia Shuppei Hishi-'' in ''Monthly Afternoon'' on September 25, 2018. The historical series set during the [[Siberian Intervention]] was announced as being his last serialized manga.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sherman |first1=Jennifer |title=Gundam's Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Launches 'Final New' Manga Series |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-08-24/gundam-yoshikazu-yasuhiko-launches-final-new-manga-series/.135884 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2018-08-24|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> He was honored with a special award for lifetime achievement at the [[44th Japan Academy Film Prize]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mateo |first1=Alex |title=Gundam's Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Wins Japan Academy Film Prize Association's Special Award |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-01-19/gundam-yoshikazu-yasuhiko-wins-japan-academy-film-prize-association-special-award/.168559 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2021-01-19|access-date=2022-07-30}}</ref> He also received a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 film awards held by the [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cayanan |first1=Joanna |title=Gundam's Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Receives Japanese Government's Film Lifetime Achievement Award |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-10-09/gundam-yoshikazu-yasuhiko-receives-japanese-government-film-lifetime-achievement-award/.190663 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2022-10-09 |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref> Yasuhiko stated that the 2022 film ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island]]'', which he directed, would be his last work in animation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Komatsu |first1=Mikikazu |title=Cucuruz Doan's Island Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko: "I Have No Regrets about First Gundam" |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2022/05/18-1/cucuruz-doans-island-director-yoshikazu-yasuhiko-i-have-no-regrets-about-first-gundam |website=[[Crunchyroll]] |date=2022-05-18|access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref>
==Style==
As a child, Yasuhiko was particularly fond of [[Mitsuteru Yokoyama]]'s art.<ref name="manben"/> His own manga are known for their action scenes. Yasuhiko does not create [[Memorandum|memo]]s, sketches or [[name (manga)|name]]s in advance, he draws directly onto [[manuscript]] BB Kent paper in pencil. Unusually, after deciding the page's [[Panel (comics)|panel]] layout, he begins by drawing characters' faces. Also unusually, he inks every part of his manga with a Sakuyo brush, except the panels, which are done first with a [[fineliner]] pen. He goes through two or three brushes for a 30-page chapter. Yasuhiko said he does not know how to use white ink, so he inks around [[negative space]] that he leaves in.<ref name="manben"/>
Michael Toole of [[Anime News Network]] wrote that by defining the look of ''Gundam''{{'}}s characters, Yasuhiko also defined the look of [[science fiction]] anime characters in the 1980s in general by extension.<ref name="YAShands" /> Yasuhiko signs his artwork as "YAS".
==Filmography==
===Television===
*''[[Wandering Sun]]'' (1971) (character design)
*''[[Zero Tester]]'' (1973) (animator)<ref name="YAShands" />
*''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' (1974) (storyboards)
*''[[Brave Raideen]]'' (1975) (character design, animation director)
*''[[Wanpaku Omukashi Kum Kum]]'' (1975) (screenplay, original creator, character design, animation director)
*''[[Combattler V]]'' (1976) (character design)
*''{{ill|Robokko Beeton|jp|ろぼっ子ビートン}}'' (1976) (character design, animation director)
*''[[Invincible Super Man Zambot 3|Zambot 3]]'' (1977) (character design)
*''[[The Adventures of the Little Prince (TV series)|The Adventures of the Little Prince]]'' (1978) (character design)
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' (1979) (character design, chief animation director, key animation)
*''[[White Fang|Shiroi Kiba White Fang Monogatari]]'' (1982) (character design, animation director)
*''[[Giant Gorg]]'' (1984) (chief director, storyboard (eps. 1, 4), original creator, character design, animation director)
*''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'' (1985) (character design)
*''Super Atragon'' (1995) (character design)
*''[[Strange+]]'' (2014) (end credit illustration for ep. 8)
===OVA===
*''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta#Adaptations|Kaze to Ki no Uta Sanctus: Sei Naru ka na]]'' (1987) (director, storyboard)<ref name="YAShands" />
*''[[Crusher Joe|Crusher Joe OVA]]'' (1989) (character design)
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn]]'' (2009) (original character design, illustrations for the original [[light novel]])
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin]]'' (2015) (chief director, storyboard eps. 1–4, original manga, character design)
===Film===
*''[[Crusher Joe|Crusher Joe the Movie]]'' (1983) (director, script, screenplay, storyboard, character design, animation director)
*''[[Arion (anime)|Arion]]'' (1986) (director, character design)
*''[[Venus Wars]]'' (1989) (original story, director, character design)
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam F91]]'' (1991) (character design)
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island]]'' (2022) (director)
==Manga==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*''[[Arion (manga)|Arion]]'' (1979–1984)
*''Kurd no Hoshi'' (1985–1987)
*''[[Venus Wars]]'' (1986–1990)
*''C Kouto'' (1987–1988)
*''Namuji'' (1989–1991)
*''Nijiiro no Trotsky'' (1990–1996)
*''Zinmu'' (1992–1995)
*''Anton'' (1992–1995)
*''Joan'' (1995–1996, spelled ''Jeanne'' in Japanese)
*''Jesus'' (1997)
*''Maraya'' (1998)
*''Waga na wa Nero'' (1998–1999)
*''[[Ōdō no Inu]]'' (1998–2000)
*''Dattan Typhoon'' (2000–2002)
*''Nomi no Ō'' (2001)
*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin]]'' (2001–2011)
*''Alexandros Sekai Teikoku e no Yume'' (2003)
*''{{ill|Uruwashijima Yume Monogatari|jp|麗島夢譚}}'' (2006–2012)
*''{{ill|Ten no Ketsumyaku|jp|天の血脈}}'' (2012–2016)
*''Inui to Tatsumi -Siberia Shuppei Hishi-'' (2018–2024)
{{div col end}}
==Other work==
*"[[Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi]]" (2019) – single from the band [[Luna Sea]] – two cover illustrations for the limited edition release<ref>{{cite web| script-title=ja:安彦良和がLUNA SEAのジャケでメンバー描き下ろし、SUGIZO「光栄の一言」| url=https://natalie.mu/comic/news/328001| work=[[Natalie (website)|Natalie]]| language=Japanese| date=2019-04-15| access-date=2019-07-07}}</ref>
*"[[The Beyond (song)|The Beyond]]" (2020) – single from the band Luna Sea – cover illustration<ref name="barkdetails">{{cite web |script-title=ja:ガンプラ40周年×LUNA SEA30周年、"LUNA SEA専用ザクII"登場 |url=https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000178117 |work=Barks |language=Japanese |date=2020-01-31 |access-date=2021-02-21}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Portal|Anime and Manga}}
* [https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/C50118 Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's manga] at the [[Agency for Cultural Affairs|Media Arts Database]] {{in lang|ja}}
* [https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/animation/search?q=%E5%AE%89%E5%BD%A6%E8%89%AF%E5%92%8C Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's anime] at the Media Arts Database {{in lang|ja}}
* {{Anime News Network|people|705}}
{{Yoshikazu Yasuhiko|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasuhiko Yoshikazu}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Anime character designers]]
[[Category:Anime directors]]
[[Category:Japanese animators]]
[[Category:Japanese animated film directors]]
[[Category:Japanese television directors]]
[[Category:Japanese Marxists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Manga artists from Hokkaido]]
[[Category:Sunrise (company) people]]
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