Yasuhiro Nakura Explained

Yasuhiro Nakura
名倉 靖博
Birth Date:10 January 1959
Birth Place:Hamakita, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Nationality:Japanese
Occupation:Animator, illustrator, character designer, director
Employer:Studio Carpenter (1978~1981)
Years Active:1978–present

is a Japanese animator, illustrator, character designer, and director.

Early life

Nakura was born in Hamakita, Shizuoka, Japan, on January 10, 1959. His parents ran a textile shop.

Career

He enrolled in an animation course offered by Toei Animation that he saw advertised in and moved to Tokyo. After completing the course, he joined Studio Carpenter where he debuted as an in-between animator on Starzinger (1978), 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. In 1987, he served as character designer and animation director to another feature film, The Tale of Genji (1987) with director Gisaburō Sugii. In 1990, he participated in Moomin as the animation character designer, having been a fan of the series prior.[1] He also served as the character designer and chief animation director for Rintaro's Metropolis (2001).

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 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. 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). 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. He also regularly contributed to some of the series' ending animation themes, which he storyboarded, directed, and animated on his own.[2]

Style

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. 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. 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.

Works

Teleivison series

Highlights main staff roles.

YearTitleDirector(s)StudioRolesRef(s)
1978StarzingerYuugo SerikawaToei AnimationIn-between animator
1981DotakonTakeshi ShiratoToei AnimationKey animator
1984–1985Little MemoleOsamu KasaiToei Animation
Animation director
1990–1991MoominHiroshi SaitouVisual 80
1991–1992Moomin 2Takeyuki KandaVisual 80
1996Shounen Santa no DaiboukenYuuji MutouStudio Deen
2006Kouzou NagayamaToei Animation
2012Nekomonogatari: BlackAkiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura
ShaftAnimation director
Key animator
2nd key animator
[3]
2014Space Dandy 2Shinichirō Watanabe
Masaaki Yuasa
BonesArt setting
Guest character designer
Episode director
Storyboard artist
Key animator
[4]
Mekakucity ActorsAkiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase
ShaftPicture book animation
Storyboard artist
Key animator
HanamonogatariAkiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura
ShaftKey animator
2016Flip FlappersKiyotaka Oshiyama3HzKey animator
2016–2018March Comes In like a LionAkiyuki Shinbo
Kenjirou Okada
Shaft[5]
2018Zoku OwarimonogatariAkiyuki ShinboShaftPlay
2020Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side StoryDoroinuShaftKey animator
2021Pretty Boy Detective ClubAkiyuki Shinbo
Hajime Ootani
Shaft
2022Toshimasa Suzuki
Kenjirou Okada
ShaftKey animator
2024Astro NoteShinji Takamatsu
Haruka Kasugamori
Telecom Animation Film[6]

OVAs/ONAs

YearTitleDirector(s)StudioRolesRef(s)
1985Angel's EggMamoru OshiiStudio Deen
1988Bride of DeimosRintaroMadhouseKey animator
Donguri to YamanekoToshio HirataMadhouse
Project Team Argos
2013Space Battleship Yamato 2199Akihiro Enomomto
Yutaka Izubuchi
AIC
XEBEC
Character animation director
2022The Tatami Time Machine BluesShingo NatsumeScience SARUAnimation director

Films

YearTitleDirector(s)StudioRolesRef(s)
1980Toward the TerraHideo OnchiToei AnimationIn-between animator
Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super GalaxyMasayuki AkehiToei AnimationIn-between animator
1982Future War 198XToshio Masuda
Tomoharu Katsumata
Toei AnimationIn-between animator
1983Dr. Slump: The Great Race Around the WorldMinoru OkazakiToei AnimationKey animator
1984Wata no KunihoshiShinichi TsujiMushi ProductionKey animator
1985Night on the Galactic RailroadGisaburō SugiiGroup TACKey animator
1986Castle in the SkyHayao MiyazakiStudio GhibliKey animator[7]
1987The Tale of GenjiGisaburō SugiiGroup TAC
1994RampoRintaro Mayuzumi
Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Animation (live-action film)
2001MetropolisRintaroMadhouse[8]
2004Mamoru OshiiProduction I.GKey animator
2006The Girl Who Leapt Through TimeMamoru HosodaMadhouseAssistant animation director
2007Miyori no MoriNizo YamamotoNippon AnimationKey animator
2009Summer WarsMamoru HosodaMadhouseKey animator
2012GothicmadeMamoru NaganoAutomatic Flowers Studio
2013Puella Magi Madoka Magica: RebellionAkiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto
ShaftKey animator
2016Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-henAkiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi
ShaftKey animator
2017FireworksAkiyuki Shinbo
Nobuyuki Takeuchi
ShaftKey animator
Shinichiro WatanabeCygames PicturesKey animator
2022Inu-OhMasaaki YuasaScience SARUAnimation director
Key animator
[9]

Notes

Book citations

Notes and References

  1. 1371828603013394434. Nakura, Yasuhiro. nakura26031011. ja: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.
  2. Web site: The Worlds of Fall 2017 Anime. November 6, 2017. Cirugeda, Kevin "yuyucow". Sakugablog. May 7, 2024.
  3. Web site: March Comes in Like a Lion, Dragon Ball Movies Released Monday. Anime News Network. Osmond, Andrew. October 27, 2018. May 7, 2024.
  4. Web site: Space Dandy Anime's 2nd Season's Promo Previews New Characters. Anime News Network. Nelkin, Sarah. June 5, 2014. May 7, 2024.
  5. Web site: Anime Craft Weekly #27: Winter 2017 Opening Festivel. Cirugeda, Kevin "yuyucow". November 6, 2017. May 7, 2024. Sakugablog.
  6. 1775479854294818879. nakura26031011. Nakura, Yasuhiro. Japanese. ja: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. April 3, 2024.
  7. 1163042859685036032. nakura26031011. Nakura, Yasuhiro. August 18, 2019. ja: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.
  8. Web site: New movie from Katsuhiro Otomo and Rin Taro. Anime News Network. July 29, 2000. May 7, 2024.
  9. 1570016349690396673. nakura26031011. Nakura, Yasuhiro. September 14, 2022. ja:『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.