is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

director, key animator, and

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

artist.

Biography

Early life

Yoshinari was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on May 6, 1971. He graduated from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College.

Career

Yoshinari entered the anime industry through the influence of his older brother, Kou Yoshinari. Several of his early works were uncredited second key animation and in-betweens for his brother during high school. After leaving professional school, he applied to

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

and Madhouse. Not receiving a response from Gainax, he joined Madhouse. Due to a misunderstanding, Gainax failed to process his application until three months later. Not wanting to explain, Yoshinari told Madhouse "being an animator is too hard for me", and switched to Gainax. At Gainax, Yoshinari had joined just after the closure of '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water''. With nothing to do, he was immediately put onto visual development for the film ''

Aoki Uru , also known as ''Blue Uru'', is an unproduced anime, Japanese animated science fiction film project by Gainax intended as a sequel to their 1987 film ''Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise''. ''Aoki Uru'' was originally planned to be dir ...

''. The brief turn around after ''Nadia'' put Yoshinari on the fast track to becoming a key animator.

Animation style and influences

He is recognized by the way he represents volume and perspective using spheres, especially for smoke and explosions, as well as his character action in general. He remarks '' Nijitte Monogatari'' is one of his most important influences, with his artistic style particularly visible in his design work for ''

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyu ...

'', and ''

Little Witch Academia is a Japanese anime franchise created by Yoh Yoshinari and produced by Trigger. The original short film, directed by Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka, was released in theaters in March 2013 as part of the Young Animator T ...

''. His favorite American creators are

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich "Genndy" Tartakovsky (; born January 17, 1970) is a Soviet-born American animation, animator, screenwriter, film producer, and film director, director. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on ...

Craig McCracken Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American cartoonist, animator, director, writer, and producer known for creating Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Channel and Disney XD's ''W ...

and

Lauren Faust Lauren J. Faust (born July 25, 1974) is an American animator, writer, director, and producer. She is known for developing the animated series '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and '' DC Super Hero Girls''. Faust has collaborated with her ...

Notable works

* ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

'' (key animator, mechanical animation director) * ''

The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese anime Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, apocalyptic science fiction film written by Hideaki Anno, directed by Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, and animated by Gainax and Production I.G. It serves as an alternate ending to ...

'' (key animator, assistant animation director) * ''

Dead Leaves ''Dead Leaves'' is a 2004 Japanese animated science fiction film produced by Manga Entertainment and Production I.G and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. It was distributed in Japan by Shochiku, in North America, Canada and the U.K. by Manga Entert ...

'' (key animator) * ''

Mahoromatic is a Japanese manga series written by Bunjūrō Nakayama and illustrated by Bow Ditama. The series follows Mahoro, a female android former soldier who, driven by guilt from her actions during her combat days, decides to dedicate the rest ...

'' (key animator) * ''

Medabots ''Medabots'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese role-playing video game franchise created by Rin Horuma (Horumarin) and currently owned by Imagineer. The main series of RPGs focus on collecting and battling with the titular robots. The bulk of t ...

'' (key animator) * '' One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island'' (key animator) * ''

Valkyrie Profile or is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology. Comm ...

'' (concept art, character designer) *'' Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria'' (concept art, character designer) * ''

FLCL is an anime created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. The series tells the adventures of the ...

'' (storyboard artist, key animator) *''

Diebuster ''DieBuster'', also known as and ''GunBuster 2'', is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido and animated by Gainax. It was created to commemorate the studio's 20th anni ...

'' (key animator) *''

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World is a Japanese anime television series created by Shouji Saeki and Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was animated by Gainax and Shaft. The series aired on BS-i from April 2, 2004 to June 18, 2004, totaling 12 episodes. A manga adaptation, illustrated by ...

'' (key animator, creature design) *'' Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance'' (key animator) * ''

Gurren Lagann ''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyu ...

'' (mechanical design) * ''

Gurren Lagann Parallel Works This is a list of episodes of ''Gurren Lagann'', a Japanese anime series produced by Gainax and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. The anime premiered on the TV Tokyo and other TXN stations on April 1, 2007 containing twenty-seven episodes. The Engli ...

'' (director, animation director, storyboard artist, key animator, ep. 8) * ''

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gainax, as well as a series of Media franchise, tie-in media developed around it. The series ran from October to December 2010 on BS NTV. The rights to the series were later acquired by Stud ...

'' (concept art, animation director, key animation, ep. 12B) * ''

'' (concept creator, director, character designer, animation director) * ''

Kill la Kill is a Japanese anime television series created and produced by Trigger. The series follows vagrant schoolgirl Ryuko Matoi on her search for her father's killer, which brings her into violent conflict with Satsuki Kiryuin, the iron-willed st ...

'' (storyboard artist, key animator) * ''Kizumonogatari'' (key animator, part 1, 3) * ''

Space Patrol Luluco is a Japanese anime television series created by Hiroyuki Imaishi and produced by Studio Trigger. It aired from April to June 2016 as part of the Ultra Super Anime Time programming block. Plot Luluco is a normal girl living in the Solar Sys ...

'' (effect artist) *''

Promare is a 2019 Japanese animated science fiction action film co-produced by Trigger and XFLAG. It was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima. It features character and mecha designs by Shigeto Koyama, 3DCG animation by Sanzig ...

'' (storyboard artist, key animator) * '' BNA: Brand New Animal'' (director) * '' Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'' (character designer)

References

External links

*
Yoh Yoshinari anime
at Media Arts Database 1971 births Japanese animators Japanese animated film directors Anime directors Anime people from Tokyo Living people {{animator-stub