Yasuo Ōtsuka
Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Template:Nihongo was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation, Nippon Animation, TMS Entertainment, and Studio Ghibli.<ref name=animeency>Template:Cite book</ref> He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.<ref name="jim2003-1">Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Biography
Ōtsuka was born in Shimane Prefecture. During a visit to Tsuwano at the age of 10, he saw a steam locomotive for the first time. He began to take an interest in locomotives and their operation and would frequently sketch them.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In 1945, his family moved to Yamaguchi Prefecture where there was a military base. He began to draw the array of military vehicles located there while also drawing a variety of subjects in different styles. Otsuka also collected cuttings of cartoon strips into scrapbooks to learn more about drawing styles.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Otsuka joined Yamaguchi's Bureau of Statistics but later wanted to become a political cartoonist in Tokyo. However at the time, permission was needed to move to Tokyo so he applied to the Health and Welfare Ministry. After passing the exam, he was assigned to the drug enforcement division as an assistant who maintained the firearms of the agents.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Around this time he suffered from tuberculosis.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Career
In 1956, Otsuka saw an advertisement in the Yomiuri Shimbun where Toei was soliciting job applications for animators. After passing the test, Otsuka worked with Yasuji Mori and Akira Daikubara on The Tale of the White Serpent and learnt their approaches. Wanting to learn more animation theory, he began to seek out textbooks and was shown a textbook on US animation written by Preston Blair.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> After working on Magic Boy in 1959, his animation of a skeleton was unintentionally considered comical due to its realism. This led to comical bad guy characters becoming Otsuka's specialty. He came to believe that genuine realism doesn't suit animation and "constructed realism" is more suitable. Hayao Miyazaki compared Otsuka to Kenichi Enomoto in the use of this approach.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> After completion of his next film, The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots, Otsuka left Toei to join A Production.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Otsuka has written several books about the anime industry. His Template:Nihongo is considered "a prime resource for the history of 1960s and 1970s anime".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In July 2002, an exhibition of his work and personal pieces was held in Ginza.<ref name="jim2003-1" />
From 2003 until his death, Otsuka was an advisor to Telecom Animation Film.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Works
| Year | Work |
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| 1957 | Template:Nihongo |
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| 1958 | Template:Nihongo |
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| 1959 | Template:Nihongo |
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| 1960 | Template:Nihongo |
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| 1968 | Template:Nihongo |
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| 1971 | Template:Nihongo |
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