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Yoshiaki Itou

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Yoshiaki Itou
伊藤 良明
Born1967
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Animator, character designer
Years active1987–present
EmployerShaft (1987–present)
Known forKino's Journey: Country of Illness -For You-
Gakuen Alice
Hidamari Sketch

Yoshiaki Itou (Japanese: 伊藤良明, Hepburn: Itō Yoshiaki) is a Japanese animator and character designer best known for designing the characters to Hidamari Sketch (2007–2013).

Career

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Itou joined Shaft in 1987 as an in-between animator, and by 1989 he was promoted to key animator. In 1995, the studio produced its first original televised work, Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger, which featured Itou's promotion to animation director. Shaft received numerous outsourcing jobs throughout the 90s of varying genres and styles, some of which had cute characters and comedy-oriented stories, and others which were more serious and had less-than-cute characters. Itou was particularly involved with the mecha series Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (1998), which may have led to his other mecha work on Dai-Guard (1999) and Sakura Wars (2000), in which he was also given the responsibility of mecha animation director (メカ作監) for a few episodes alongside general key animation and animation direction roles. Itou's first role as a character designer wasn't in-house on a Shaft work, but rather at Group TAC to whom he was lent to.[1] Shaft had developed a relationship with Atsuhiro Iwakami, at the time a producer from SME Visual Works (now called Aniplex) after Shaft was outsourced to for a few episodes of Android Kikaider: The Animation (2001); and Group TAC, needing a character designer for Gakuen Alice (2004), received Itou's help as both character designer and chief animation director due to Iwakami's connection to Shaft.[1]

Three years later, Itou took on the job of character designer for both Hidamari Sketch and a short film adaptation of Kino's Journey,[2][3] the former of which began a long-running franchise of anime. Although he had worked on Shaft's titles with director Akiyuki Shinbo (who began a long-standing collaboration with the studio in 2004) prior to Hidamari Sketch, the series was Itou's first time directly working with Shinbo; and having seen Shinbo's prior works, such as Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (2004), Itou was initially nervous.[4] Both Shinbo and Ume Aoki, the creator of the Hidamari Sketch manga, thought that he seemed "delicate."[4] Ironically, despite Itou's prior abilities as a mecha animator, he likes cute and warm works, so he felt instantly attracted to Aoki's drawings in the manga.[5] He had trouble with designing and drawing the characters, but was able to succeed with Aoki directly helping with the key elements of her drawings.[5] Aoki stated that she was relieved for the anime seeing that Itou understood the characters–not just in the style of the drawings themselves, but also in the way that he poses the characters–and said that his drawings were cute.[5] Although Itou also had the role of "chief animation director", he mentioned that he didn't touch the drawings for the second episode of the first season due to the quality of animation director Hideyuki Morioka's drawings.[6] Until 2013, when the anime series ended, Itou continued to design the characters for and act as chief animation director for Hidamari Sketch (and even storyboarded an episode), occasionally helping out as a chief animation director on other series like Natsu no Arashi (2009).[7]

Around 2015, Itou was given the offer by Mitsutoshi Kubota, Shaft's president, to act as a meal designer (メシデザイン) and meal animation director (メシ作監)[a] for Gourmet Girl Graffiti.[8] Itou was given the opportunity since he worked a lot with food-related scenes in the anime he worked on, saying that cooking scenes in TV anime ended up getting passed to him in many cases.[8] Since Gourmet Girl Graffiti is mainly focused on cooking, such a role unifying all of the animators' works into a cohesive approach as far as drawings and even color was necessary.[8] Attaining a visual style proved to be somewhat difficult, as Shinbo's only advice when presented with a design was that it "wasn't quite there yet."[8] He worked closely with the color designer, Yasuko Watanabe, and the director of photography, Takayuki Aizu, to achieve what became the result used in the anime itself.[8] Itou himself was in charge of the design and drawings of the food–and he'd also choose which colors to keep and leave out, as well as things like the brightness–and Watanabe would color them per her tastes, and the compositors (Aizu) would then add textures and give more input.[8] Itou ended up focusing on the series' odd episodes and splitting the "meal animation director" role with Hirotoshi Arai, who took on the even episodes.[8] Another aspect of the animation front for the series was using a lot of layers for the food to show depth and, generally, to make it look as good as possible;[8] however, such a method isn't particularly workable under most TV schedules, especially on series where the food isn't a focus, so on a scene Itou was responsible for on March Comes In like a Lion (2016), he made sure that the staff only used two or three layers for the food drawings to reduce the time stress on the production staff's plate.[9]

Works

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This is an incomplete list.

Teleivison series

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Year Title Director(s) Studio CD[b] CAD[c] AD[d] KA[e] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1987 Hiatari Ryōkō! Gisaburō Sugii
Hiroko Tokita 		Group TAC No No No No In-between animator
1989 Idol Densetsu Eriko Tetsurō Amino Ashi Productions No No No Yes In-between animator
1990 Kyatto Ninden Teyandee Kunitoshi Okajima Tatsunoko Production No No No Yes
1991 Oh! My Konbu Tetsuo Imazawa [ja] Studio Koriumi No No No Yes
1992 Thumbelina: A Magical Story Hiromitsu Morita Enoki Films No No No Yes
1993 The Irresponsible Captain Tylor Kōichi Mashimo Tatsunoko Production No No No Yes
1994 The Legend of Snow White Kunitoshi Okajima Tatsunoko Production No No No Yes
1995 Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger Kunitoshi Okajima Shaft No No Yes Yes
1996 Kiko-chan's Smile Setsuko Shibuichi Magic Bus No No No Yes
1997 Revolutionary Girl Utena Kunihiko Ikuhara J.C.Staff No No No Yes
Battle Athletes Victory Katsuhito Akiyama AIC No No Yes Yes
1998 Silent Mobius Hideki Tonokatsu
Nobuyuki Takeuchi 		Radix
Shaft 		No No Yes Yes
Generator Gawl Seiji Mizushima Tatsunoko Production No No No Yes
1999 Space Pirate Mito Takashi Watanabe Triangle Staff No No No Yes
Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures Katsuhito Akiyama AIC No No Yes Yes
A Pair of Queens Takashi Watanabe Triangle Staff No No No Yes
Dai Guard Seiji Mizushima Xebec No No Yes Yes Mecha animation director
Now and Then, Here and There Akitaro Daichi AIC No No No Yes
Magic User's Club Junichi Sato Triangle Staff
Madhouse 		No No Yes Yes
2000 Boogiepop Phantom Takashi Watanabe Madhouse No No Yes No
Sakura Wars Ryūtarō Nakamura Madhouse No No Yes Yes Mecha animation director
Android Kikaider: The Animation Tensai Okamura Radix
Studio Ox 		No No No Yes
Dotto Koni-chan Shinichi Watanabe
Kenji Yasuda 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
2001 Sister Princess Kiyotaka Oohata [ja] Zexcs No No No Yes
The SoulTaker Akiyuki Shinbo Tatsunoko Production
Tatsunoko VCR 		No No No Yes
Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier Jun Kawagoe Japan Vistec No No No Yes
Mahoromatic Hiroyuki Yamaga Gainax
Shaft 		No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
2002 Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful Hiroyuki Yamaga Gainax
Shaft 		No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
Seven of Seven Yasuhiro Imagawa A.C.G.T No No Yes Yes
G-On Riders Shinichiro Kimura TNK No No No Yes
2003 Popotan Shinichiro Kimura Shaft No Yes Yes Yes
Kino's Journey Ryūtarō Nakamura A.C.G.T No No Yes No
Maburaho Shinichiro Kimura J.C.Staff No No Yes Yes
2004 Gakuen Alice Takahiro Omori Group TAC Yes Yes Yes No [1]
Tetsujin 28-gou Yasuhiro Imagawa Palm Studio No No No Yes
This Ugly yet Beautiful World Shouji Saeki Gainax
Shaft 		No No Yes Yes
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft No No No No Assistant animation director (Blu-ray version)
2005 Pani Poni Dash! Akiyuki Shinbo
Shin Oonuma 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
Eyecatch
2006 REC Ryūtarō Nakamura Shaft No No Yes Yes
Negima!? Akiyuki Shinbo
Shin Oonuma 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
2007 Hidamari Sketch Akiyuki Shinbo
Ryouki Kamitsubo 		Shaft Yes Yes Yes Yes [3]
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft No Yes No Yes
Ef: A Tale of Memories Shin Oonuma Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
2008 Hidamari Sketch x 365 Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Yes Yes Yes Yes [10]
Ef: A Tale of Melodies Shin Oonuma Shaft No No Yes No
2009 Natsu no Arashi! Akiyuki Shinbo
Shin Oonuma 		Shaft No Yes Yes Yes [7]
Maria Holic Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No Yes Yes [11]
Bakemonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No No Yes
2010 Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenichi Ishikura 		Shaft Yes Yes Yes No [12]
And Yet the Town Moves Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft No No Yes Yes
2011 Hidamari Sketch x SP Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft Yes Yes Yes Yes Storyboard artist
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
2012 Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Yes Yes Yes Yes [13]
Nisemonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft No No Yes No
2013 Monogatari Series Second Season Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura
Naoyuki Tatsuwa
Yuki Yase 		Shaft No No Yes No Assistant animation director
2014 Nisekoi Akiyuki Shinbo
Naoyuki Tatsuwa 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
Mekakucity Actors Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft No No No Yes
Hanamonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
2015 Gourmet Girl Graffiti Akiyuki Shinbo
Naoyuki Tatsuwa 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Meal designer
Meal animation director 		[8]
Nisekoi: Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No No Yes
Owarimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
2016 March Comes In like a Lion Akiyuki Shinbo
Kenjirou Okada 		Shaft No No No Yes Assistant animation director
2017 March Comes In like a Lion 2nd Season No No Yes Yes
2018 Fate/Extra: Last Encore Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant animation director
2nd key animator
2019 The Quintessential Quintuplets Satoshi Kuwabara Tezuka Productions No No No Yes
Zoku Owarmonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft No No Yes Yes
2020 Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Doroinu
Yukihiro Miyamoto
Kenjirou Okada
Midori Yoshizawa 		Shaft No No Yes No Main animator [14]
Lapis Re:Lights Hiroyuki Hata Yokohama Animation Lab No No Yes No
Assault Lily Bouquet Shouji Saeki
Hajime Ootani 		Shaft No No Yes No 2nd key animator
2021 Pretty Boy Detective Club Akiyuki Shinbo
Hajime Ootani 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
Magia Record: The Eve of Awakening Doroinu
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No Yes Yes Yes [15]
2022 Magia Record: Dawn of a Shallow Dream Doroinu
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No No Yes
RWBY: Ice Queendom Toshimasa Suzuki
Kenjirou Okada 		Shaft No Yes Yes Yes [16]
Luminous Witches Shouji Saeki Shaft No No No No Assistant animation director
2023 Mashle Tomonari Tanaka A-1 Pictures No No Yes No
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Kazuki Kawagoe Bug Films No No Yes No
2024 Mashle: The Divine Visionary Candidate Arc Tomonari Tanaka A-1 Pictures No No Yes No
2025 A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof Yukihiro Miyamoto Shaft No No Yes Yes Main animator

OVAs/ONAs

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Year Title Director(s) Studio CD[b] CAD[c] AD[d] KA[e] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1987 Taiman Blues: Naoto Shimizu-hen Takao Yotsuji Shaft No No No No In-between animator
1990 Hidan no O'Clock!! Osamu Inoue
Hiroaki Inoue 		Toei Animation No No No Yes
1994 Baki the Grappler Yuuji Asada [ja] Knack No No No Yes
1995 Inma Youjo Kazuma Muraki Magic Bus No No No Yes
SM Girls: Saber Marionette R Koji Masunari Zero-G Room No No No Yes
Weather Report Girl Kunihiko Yuyama Pastel No No No Yes
Legend of the Galactic Heroes Noboru Ishiguro
Masatoshi Tahara
Keizou Shimizu 		Shaft[f] No No No Yes
1996 Shadow Skill Hiroshi Negishi Zero-G Room No No No Yes
1997 Legend of Crystania: The Chaos Ring Ryūtarō Nakamura Triangle Staff No No No Yes
1998 Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden Noboru Ishiguro Shaft[f] No No No Yes
2000 Kita e. Pure Session Mitsuko Kase [ja] Studio D-Volt No No Yes No
2002 Arcade Gamer Fubuki Yuuji Mutou Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant chief animation director
Preview animation
2003 Papillon Rose Shinji Tobita [ja] Studio Kelmadick No No Yes No
2006 Negima: Spring Special Akiyuki Shinbo
Shin Oonuma 		Shaft No No No Yes Assistant animation director
2008 Goku Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No Yes No Assistant animation director
2011 Katteni Kaizō Akiyuki Shinbo
Naoyuki Tatsuwa 		Shaft No No Yes Yes Assistant chief animation director
Assistant animation director
2012 Palutena's Revolting Dinner Akiyuki Shinbo Shaft No No Yes No
2013 Hidamari Sketch: Sae & Hiro's Graduation Arc Akiyuki Shinbo
Yuki Yase 		Shaft Yes Yes Yes Yes
2015 Magical Suite Prism Nana Yukihiro Miyamoto (1) Shaft No No No No Main animator
2016 Koyomimonogatari Akiyuki Shinbo
Tomoyuki Itamura 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
2024 Monogatari Series Off & Monster Season Akiyuki Shinbo
Midori Yoshizawa 		Shaft No No Yes Yes

Films

[edit]
Year Title Director(s) Studio CD[b] CAD[c] AD[d] KA[e] Other roles and notes Ref(s)
1988 Bikkuriman: Muen Zone no Hihou Junichi Sato Toei Animation No No No No In-between animator
Hiatari Ryōkō! Kasumi: Yume no Naka ni Kimi ga Ita Kimiharu Ogawa Group TAC No No No No In-between animator
1996 Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love Hiroshi Negishi AIC No No No Yes
1999 Adolescence of Utena Kunihiko Ikuhara J.C.Staff No No No Yes
2007 Kino's Journey: Country of Illness Ryūtarō Nakamura Shaft Yes Yes Yes No [2]
2013 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion Akiyuki Shinbo
Yukihiro Miyamoto 		Shaft No No Yes Yes
2017 Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu Akiyuki Shinbo
Tatsuya Oishi 		Shaft No No No Yes
Fireworks Akiyuki Shinbo
Nobuyuki Takeuchi 		Shaft No No No Yes 2nd key animator

Notes

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  1. ^ Otaquest translates the role as "Cuisine Coordinator", but "meal animation director" is a more accurate translation unless Itou is referring to the credit with a different name.
  2. ^ a b c Character designer.
  3. ^ a b c Chief animation director.
  4. ^ a b c Animation director.
  5. ^ a b c Key animator.
  6. ^ a b Kitty Film Mitaka Studio produced the first 86 episodes and was assisted by various studios, one of which was Magic Bus which contracted Shaft for some sub-contracting work. Following the demise of Kitty Films, K-Factory took over production and outsourced all animation to one of four studios, one of which was Shaft. Gaiden was likewise outsourced to Shaft and other studios by K-Factory.

Works cited

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  • Misaka, Taiji, ed. (2009). まりあ†ほりっく アニメ公式ガイドブック [Maria Holic Anime Official Guidebook]. Media Factory. ISBN 978-4840129312.
  • Shinbo, Akiyuki (2012). 新房語 [Shinbogatari] (in Japanese). Ichijinsha. ISBN 978-4758012591.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Shinbo 2012, p. 247.
  2. ^ a b 劇場版 キノの旅 the Beautiful World 病気の国 -For You- [Kino's Journey The Beautiful World: Country of Illness -For You-]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Shinbo 2012, p. 86.
  4. ^ a b Shinbo 2012, p. 87.
  5. ^ a b c Shinbo 2012, p. 89.
  6. ^ Shinbo 2012, p. 92.
  7. ^ a b 夏のあらし！ [Natsu no Arashi!]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Art Of Animating "Delicious": Interview With Yoshiaki Ito Pt. 1". Otaquest. October 10, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "The Art of Animating "Delicious": Interview With Yoshiaki Ito Pt. 2". Otaquest. October 25, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  10. ^ ひだまりスケッチ×365 [Hidamari Sketch x 365]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  11. ^ Misaka 2009, pp. 99–100.
  12. ^ ひだまりスケッチ×☆☆☆ [Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  13. ^ ひだまりスケッチ×ハニカム [Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Loo, Egan (September 8, 2019). "Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Anime's 1st Promo Reveals January Delay, More Cast & Staff, Song Artists". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  15. ^ マギアレコード 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ外伝 2nd SEASON -覚醒前夜- [Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2nd Season -The Eve of Awakening-]. Shaft (in Japanese). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 24, 2022). "Shaft Animates New RWBY TV Anime RWBY: Ice Queendom". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
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