Yoshiyuki Sadamoto | |
|---|---|
 Yoshiyuki Sadamoto at J-Popcon in Copenhagen, 2007 | |
| Born | January 29, 1962 Tokuyama (now Shūnan), Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Character designer, manga artist |
| Known for | Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga) |
Sample of Sadamoto's art, featuring Rei Ayanami of Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (貞本 義行, Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, born January 29, 1962, in Tokuyama (now Shunan), Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio.
Personal life[]
Before Gainax was founded under the official name (it was originally called Daicon Film), Yoshiyuki served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV opening animation. His first assignment as a character designer in Gainax was for Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, released in 1987. Sadamoto has since had many works credited to him, one of the most notable being Neon Genesis Evangelion where he worked as a designer for the characters. Yoshiyuki's three most recent films include: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), and Wolf Children (2012) for which he was the character designer.
According to Yasuo Otsuka, who guided Sadamoto as a newcomer, there are only three people whom he regarded as more skillful than himself that he has met during his career. One of them is Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The other two are Sadao Tsukioka who became a visual creator, and award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. When Otsuka met the three men, he seems to have felt that he was taking off his hat to them at once. However, he thinks that only Miyazaki completely mastered a genuinely superior animation technique at present. He guesses, "A too excellent person might despair in the group work".[citation needed]
During an interview with Japanese Entertainment website Nihongogo done in 2013, it was revealed that Sadamoto is a stickler for details and wouldn't feel comfortable illustrating anything too unfamiliar to him. "In general, I don’t want to draw something that I have to study further in order to draw. For example, I could not draw a medical manga because it’s impossible for me to make a lie about medicine. Also things like Soccer and Baseball. I am unfamiliar with these worlds so it would be too difficult to show the actual plays." When asked about dream collaborations he revealed an interest in working with Robert Westall and Philip K. Dick but apologized "These are all deceased people, sorry."[1]
Controversy[]
On August 9, 2019, Sadamoto received criticism for his comments on Statue of Peace (2011), a statue by Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sang. The statue depicted a comfort woman. Comfort women were sex slaves used by the Japanese imperial army. Sadamoto claimed it was propaganda as he called the statue "dirty" and "vulgar". His comments have been viewed as offensive and nationalistic.[2]
Works[]
| Year | Title | Role | Media | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | FINAL STRETCH | Artist/Story | Manga | |
| 1981 | LONELY LONESOME NIGHT | Artist/Story | Manga | |
| 1981 | CRAZY RIDER | Artist/Story | Manga | |
| December 1991-April 1992 | ROUTE20 | Artist/Story | Manga | |
| 1983 | Daicon IV | Animator | Short film | [3] |
| 1987 | Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise | Character designer | Film | [4] |
| 1988 | Gunbuster | Animation director | OVA | [4] |
| 1990–1991 | Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water | Character designer | Anime | [4] |
| 1994–2013 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | Artist/Story | Manga | |
| 1995–1996 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | Character designer | Anime | [4] |
| 1997 | Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth | Design director | Film | [4] |
| 1997 | The End of Evangelion | Character designer | Film | [4] |
| 1997 | DIRTY WORK | Artist | Manga | |
| 1998 | Pilgrim | Artist | Album | |
| 2000 | System of Romance | Artist | Manga | |
| 2000, 2018 | FLCL | Character designer | OVA | [4][5] |
| 2002 | .hack//Sign | Character designer | Anime | [6] |
| 2002–2005 | .hack (video game series) | Artist | Video game | |
| 2004–2006 | Gunbuster 2 | Animation director | OVA | [4] |
| 2006 | Gunbuster vs Diebuster: Aim for the Top | Character designer | Film | [4] |
| 2006 | The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | Character designer | Film | |
| 2007-2020 | Rebuild of Evangelion | Character designer | Film | [4] |
| 2009 | Summer Wars | Character designer | Film | |
| 2012 | Wolf Children | Character designer | Film | |
| 2013 | Short Peace (Gambo) | Character designer | Film | |
| 2018 | Starwing Paradox | Character designer | Video game | |
| 2020 | Great Pretender | Character designer | Anime | [7] |
| 2022 | Aoki Uru | Character designer | Film | [8] |
Artbooks[]
- Sadamoto Yoshiyuki Art Book ALPHA (Published April 1, 1993) ISBN 4-04-852385-6
- Sadamoto Yoshiyuki Art Book DER MOND [Limited Edition] (Published September 30, 1999) ISBN 4-04-853048-8
- Sadamoto Yoshiyuki Art Book DER MOND [Popular Edition] (Published January 31, 2000) ISBN 4-04-853031-3
- Sadamoto Yoshiyuki Art Book CARMINE [Limited Edition] (Published March 26, 2009) ISBN 978-4-04-854275-3
- Sadamoto Yoshiyuki Art Book CARMINE [Regular Edition] (Published August 26, 2010) ISBN 978-4-04-854480-1
- Yoshiyuki Sadamoto CD-ROM art collection (GAINAX sale in 1993)
References[]
- ↑ David Chang (September 11, 2013). "Yoshiyuki Sadamoto x Nihongogo Interview @ Japan Expo USA 2013 1st Impact". nihongogo.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Morrissy, Kim (August 12, 2018). "Evangelion Character Designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Attracts Criticism Over 'Dismissive' Tweet about Korean Comfort Women Statue". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Eng, Lawrence. "Daicon III and IV Opening Animations - Trivia". Cornell Japanese Animation Society. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 Dani Cavallaro (Oct 28, 2008). The Art of Studio Gainax: Experimentation, Style and Innovation at the Leading Edge of Anime. McFarland. pp. 205-207. ISBN 978-0-7864-3376-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=uSxzBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA205&lpg=PA205&dq=Gunbuster+Yoshiyuki+Sadamoto&source=bl&ots=my9mUiELtd&sig=5bk0eK6ChUKWH7f0XdFvgIQyets&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8q9Gu1frLAhXlmIMKHXpEDoUQ6AEITDAK#v=onepage&q=Gunbuster%20Yoshiyuki%20Sadamoto&f=false.
- ↑ "Character Designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Rock Band The Pillows to Return for FLCL Sequel Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Toole, Mike (October 16, 2003). ".hack//Sign Review". Anime Jump. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "WIT Studio Announces Great Pretender Anime for 2020". Anime News Network. July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Gainax President Hiroyuki Yamaga unveils artwork from Wings of Honneamise sequel and upcoming free-diving series". ani-gamers.com. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
{{cite web}}:
- Yuki, Masahiro. "The Official Art of .hack//Roots". (May 2007) Newtype USA. pp. 101–107.
External links[]
- Yoshiyuki Sadamoto at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- An interview with Sadamoto, translated in Animerica in Vol. 6, issue No. 8
- Interview in Der Mond
- Interview in Anime News Network
- Sadamoto judges in a Twilight contest
- The Rose review of Der Mond
- Yoshiyuki Sadamoto on Twitter
| Gainax | ||
|---|---|---|
| Founders | Hideaki Anno • Hiroyuki Yamaga • Shinji Higuchi • Takami Akai • Toshio Okada • Yasuhiro Takeda • Yoshiyuki Sadamoto | |
| Television series | Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990–1991) • Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996) • Kare Kano (1998–1999) • Modern Love's Silliness (1999) • Oruchuban Ebichu (1999) • Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden (2001–2002) • Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002) • Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful (2002–2003) • Petite Princess Yucie (2002–2003) • This Ugly yet Beautiful World (2004) • Melody of Oblivion (2004) • He Is My Master (2005) • Ani*Kuri15 (animated sequence) (2007–2008) • Gurren Lagann (2007) • Shikabane Hime: Aka (2008) • Shikabane Hime: Kuro (2009) • Hanamaru Kindergarten (2010) • Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010) • The Mystic Archives of Dantalian (2011) • Medaka Box (2012) • Medaka Box Abnormal (2012) • Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C³ (2013) • Magica Wars (2014) • Wish Upon the Pleiades (2015) | |
| OVA/ONAs | Appleseed (1988) • Mahjong Hishō-den: Naki no Ryū (1988–1990) • Gunbuster (1988–1989) • Beat Shot (1989) • Circuit no Ōkami II: Modena no Tsurugi (1990) • Blazing Transfer Student (1991) • Money Wars (1991) • Otaku no Video (1991) • K.O. Beast (1992–1993) • Casshan: Robot Hunter (1993–1994) • Debutante Detective Corps (1996) • FLCL (2000–2001) • Anime Tenchou (2002) • Mahoromatic: Summer, Special (2003) • Re: Cutie Honey (2004) • Diebuster (2004–2006) • Mahoromatic: I'm Home, Special (2009) • Wish Upon the Pleiades (2011) | |
| Films | Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (1987) • Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1991) • Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997) • The End of Evangelion (1997) • Revival of Evangelion (1998) • Gunbuster vs. Diebuster (2006) • Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End (2008) • Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars (2009) • The Zero Century (2020–2026) | |
| Video games | Alisia Dragoon • Musashi: Samurai Legend • Princess Maker | |
| Related | Gaina • Khara • Gonzo • Trigger | |