RIP Eiichi Yamamoto

[Drunk Monk]

Yeah, I didn't know his name either. But I recognize his work. 

Belladonna of Sadness, Kimba the White Lion Director Eiichi Yamamoto Passes Away Aged 80

The seminal director and writer was a pioneer in the anime space
[b]Daryl Harding[/b]
September 26, 2021 3:34am PDT (9 days ago)




 
During a screening of the [i][b]Belladonna of Sadness[/b][/i] anime film in Tokyo yesterday, the organizers announced that the director of the film [b]Eiichi Yamamoto [/b]had passed away on September 7 due to heart failure. A funeral for the director was held on September 12 with close family in attendance.
 
The organizers of the screening, Anime Novecento, also revealed the news in a Facebook post, which explained that they were contacted by a family member of [b]Yamamoto[/b] after they saw a listing for the event on social media. The event organizers said that [b]Yamamoto[/b] had been sick for the last few years but continued to be enthusiastic about anime and creating works.
 
[b]Eiichi Yamamoto [/b]was born in Kyoto Prefecture on November 11, 1940, but was quickly moved to Kagawa Prefecture due to World War II. After graduating high school, the wannabe animator joined [b]Ryuichi Yokoyama[/b]'s Otogi Productions but soon learned of a new anime studio starting up with [b]Osamu Tezuka [/b]at the helm. After meeting with [b]Tezuka[/b], [b]Yamamoto[/b] became one of the founding members of Mushi Production in 1961 where he co-directed the studio’s first work [i][b]Tales of the Street Corner[/b][/i].
 
While at Mushi Production (before it declared bankruptcy in 1973), [b]Yamamoto[/b] directed episodes of [i][b]Astro Boy[/b][/i], the original [i][b]Kimba the White Lion[/b][/i] TV anime and film, the [i][b]Cleopatra[/b][/i] anime film, and many more. [b]Yamamoto[/b] went on to direct the cult-classic [i][b]Belladonna of Sadness[/b][/i] at MushiPro as his last anime film for the studio before it went bankrupt.
 
After the bankruptcy, [b]Yamamoto[/b] went to write screenplays for [i][b]Space Battle Yamato[/b][/i] TV anime and films, as well as co-direct [i][b]Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight[/b][/i] anime film and the [i][b]Space Battleship Yamato III [/b][/i]TV anime in 1980.
 
We give our deepest sympathies to the family of [b]Yamamoto[/b].
 
[b]Source: Anime Novecento on Facebook[/b]
 
[i]----[/i]
[i]Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram. [/i]