Yasuichiro Yamamoto
| Yasuichiro Yamamoto | |
|
| |
| Profile | |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | January 6, 1961 |
| Place of birth: | Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Location: | Saitama Prefecture, Japan |
| Position: | Director Chief director Supervisor Screenplay Organizer Storyboard Episode director Assistant technical director Sub-character design Key animation Layout |
| Years active: | 1983-present |
Yasuichiro Yamamoto (山本 泰一郎 Yamamoto Yasuichirō), born January 6, 1961 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a Japanese anime director, and storyboard artist from Saitama Prefecture. He directed Detective Conan from episode 119 to 332, before being replaced by Masato Sato. He later became the director from movie 8 to movie 14, chief director for movie 15 and movie 16, and supervisor for movie 17.
In September 2012, he came back as the director for the anime since episode 667, and still directing the anime until now (except for episodes 678-679, which is directed by Koujin Ochi). Since episode 975, he co-directs the series along with Nobuharu Kamanaka.
Contents
Biography
Yamamoto joined Studio Boomerang in 1983. After serving as an animator, he then became a director in 1991. In the same year, he was also involved in the production of the anime Red Baron (レッドバロン), working with Masato Sato already (the two of them both joined the Detective Conan production later). Afterwards, Yamamoto joined the production of the Detective Conan anime in 1996. At first, he did several organizer, storyboard, and episode director works within the anime, representing Studio Boomerang, starting with the first part of Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case.
When his teacher Kenji Kodama resigned as director and only served as the chief director for the anime, Yamamoto became the director of the Detective Conan anime. At the same time, he also quit Studio Boomerang and went freelance; therefore, he no longer worked on episodes outsourced to the studio. Minoru Tozawa thus took over the job as an episode director for most Studio Boomerang episodes (even until the present). During this period when he first directed the Detective Conan anime, the TV rating of each episode had increased to a great extent; the animation quality of the episodes during his directional era were also fairly high, by virtue of his animation background before he became the director.
He then suceeded the director role for the movies from Kenji Kodama as well, being the director of seven Detective Conan movies. The movies that he directed for Detective Conan possess the highest evaluation among the industry, compared to the other two directors. Starting with movie 10, the Detective Conan movies (under his direction) invariably appeared in the list of "eminent animated films" of Japan Academy Film Prize (日本アカデミー賞). Whereas movie 9, is also the only Detective Conan work to win an award at the Tokyo Anime Award (東京アニメアワード) - one of Japan's most important animation awards. What is more, most of his directed movies contain splendid story settings, in terms of the story premises: from plane to ship, from ship to airship... On the other hand, he also attempted to mingle elements such as romance, friendship, and even action into the movies. After he directed movie 14, he stepped down from the movie director role and served as the chief director for movies 15-16, and the supervisor for movie 17. Later on, the Detective Conan movie director position was passed down to Kobun Shizuno.
After quitting the direction of Detective Conan movies, he returned to anime, continued to contribute storyboards, and became the anime director once again after Koujin Ochi's resignation, until present. He then continued Ochi's legacy by introducing a proper "Animation Supervisor" (作画監修 ) role for the anime to maintain the stability of the anime quality (the role didn't become regular until 2014 with episode 738). During this second trial for his direction of the anime, the episodes remain of high TV ratings and compliments; the case Shinichi Kudo's Aquarium Case and the series The Scarlet Return are highly rated, the original author Gosho Aoyama also praised them (via the game Animal Crossing). In addition, he also manifested repects towards the original manga, in which he recified the fault character design of Wataru Takagi that was caused by the loss of character sheet in early anime production; he also corrected the scenario "Akemi's death" by releasing the TV special Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small in 2016; and allegedly, he often asks the original author for lines' adjustments when executing manga adaptations.
However, some of his storyboard/technical director works for the Detective Conan openings and endings, especially during his 2nd directional era, are not very innovative, a lot of the fans constantly make jokes with regards to them. This is because most of the storyboards he drew for these openings and endings are merely stretching shots and using animation effects (in contrast to those by Koujin Ochi which they are mostly narrating a story). Another thing worth mentioning, is that in these openings that he was in charge of, tree and grassland are the indispensable components, and characters usually run on the grassland. This type of opening already existed since OP7 Mysterious Eyes.
Furthermore, when he was still the director of the Detective Conan movies, he also drew some key animation frames for the movies, but was not credited in the ending of the movies.
Works in Detective Conan
Anime
Participation in: 78 cases (100 episodes)
| Jpn# | Int# | Episode title | Original broadcast | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 35 | Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case (Part 1) | October 21, 1996 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 39 | 40 | Wealthy Daughter Murder Case (Part 1) | November 25, 1996 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 40 | 41 | Wealthy Daughter Murder Case (Part 2) | December 2, 1996 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 45 | 46 | Facial Mask Murder Case | January 27, 1997 | Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 47 | 48 | Sports Club Murder Case | February 10, 1997 | Storyboard | |
| 52 | 53-54 | The Mist Goblin Legend Murder Case | March 17, 1997 | Storyboard, Episode director | 1 hour |
| 57 | 59 | Holmes Freak Murder Case (Part 1) | May 5, 1997 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 58 | 60 | Holmes Freak Murder Case (Part 2) | May 12, 1997 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 62 | 64 | A Ghost Ship Murder Case (Part 2) | June 9, 1997 | Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 68 | 70 | Night Baron Murder Case (The Case) | July 21, 1997 | Episode director | |
| 74 | 76 | The Death God Jinnai Murder Case | September 1, 1997 | Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 78 | 81 | Distinguished Family's Consecutive Accidental Death Case (Part 2) | October 27, 1997 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 81 | 84 | The Kidnapping of a Popular Artist Case (Part 1) | November 17, 1997 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 82 | 85 | The Kidnapping of a Popular Artist Case (Part 2) | November 24, 1997 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 87 | 90 | The Crane's Return of a Favor Murder Case | January 19, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 91 | 94 | The Bank Robber's Hospitalization Case | February 16, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 96 | 99-102 | The Cornered Famous Detective! Two Big Murder Cases | March 23, 1998 | Episode director | 2 hours |
| 97 | 103 | The Farewell Wine Murder Case | April 13, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 101 | 107 | The Memories of First Love Case (Part 2) | May 18, 1998 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 107 | 113 | The Mysterious Mole Alien Case (Part 1) | June 29, 1998 | Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 108 | 114 | The Mysterious Mole Alien Case (Part 2) | July 6, 1998 | Storyboard | |
| 111 | 117 | Cooking Classroom Murder Case (Part 2) | August 3, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 113 | 119 | The White Sandy Beach Murder Case | August 17, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 118 | 124-125 | The Naniwa Serial Murder Case | September 21, 1998 | Episode director | |
| 128 | 135 | The Black Organization: One Billion Yen Robbery Case | December 14, 1998 | Storyboard | |
| 135 | 145 | The Disappearing Weapon Search Case | February 15, 1999 | Storyboard | |
| 140 | 150 | SOS! Messages from Ayumi | April 11, 1999 | Storyboard | |
| 144 | 154 | The North Star No.3 Express Leaving Ueno (Part 1) | May 3, 1999 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 145 | 155 | The North Star No.3 Express Leaving Ueno (Part 2) | May 10, 1999 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 166 | 177 | Tottori Spider Mansion Demon (The Case) | November 1, 1999 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 177 | 191 | Reunion with the Black Organization (Conan) | January 24, 2000 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 191 | 206 | The Desperate Revival - The Black Knight | May 22, 2000 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 198 | 213 | The Super Car's Trap (Part 2) | July 10, 2000 | Storyboard | |
| 209 | 225 | The Falling from Mt. Ryujin Case (Part 1) | October 16, 2000 | Storyboard | |
| 219 | 235-238 | The Gathering of the Detectives! Shinichi Kudo vs. Kaitou Kid | January 8, 2001 | Organizer, Storyboard | 2 hours |
| 235 | 254 | The Locked Wine Cellar | May 28, 2001 | Storyboard | |
| 239 | 258 | The 3 "K"s of Osaka Case (Part 2) | June 25, 2001 | Storyboard | |
| 255 | 274 | The 14th Round of the Matsue Tamatsukuri Linked Verse Contest (Part 1) | October 29, 2001 | Storyboard | |
| 294 | 316 | The Smash of Determination and Love (Part 1) | September 9, 2002 | Storyboard | |
| 345 | 371-375 | Head-to-Head Match with the Black Organization: A Dual Mystery on a Full Moon Night | January 5, 2004 | Storyboard | 2.5 hours |
| 383 | 414-417 | Miracle at Koshien Ball Park! The Defiants Face the Dark Demon | December 20, 2004 | Organizer, Storyboard | 2 hours |
| 400 | 434 | Ran's Suspicions | May 30, 2005 | Episode director | |
| 453 | 493 | Preview Screening of Fate and Friendship | October 23, 2006 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 489 | 534-535 | Courtroom Confrontation III: Prosecutor as Eyewitness | November 26, 2007 | Storyboard, Episode director | 1 hour |
| 513 | 560 | Coffee Aroma with Murderous Intention (Part 1) | September 1, 2008 | Episode director | |
| 536 | 587 | The Secret of the Vanished Masterpiece | May 30, 2009 | Storyboard | |
| 539 | 590 | A Fool's Inheritance | July 4, 2009 | Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 583 | 634 | Kobayashi-sensei's Love | August 14, 2010 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 584 | 635 | Inspector Shiratori's Lost Love | August 21, 2010 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 585 | 636 | Timeless Sakura's Love | August 28, 2010 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 589 | 640 | The Worst Birthday (Part 1) | September 25, 2010 | Episode director | |
| 627 | 678 | Conan & Kid's Battle For Ryoma's Treasure (Part 1) | August 20, 2011 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 628 | 679 | Conan & Kid's Battle For Ryoma's Treasure (Part 2) | August 27, 2011 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 667 | 719 | Wedding Eve (Part 1) | September 1, 2012 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 678 | 730 | Nagasaki Mystery Theatre (End of the Edo) | September 1, 2012 | Key animation | |
| 692 | 744 | The Evening Cherry Blossom Viewing Route on Sumida River (Part 1) | March 23, 2013 | Key animation | |
| 704 | 756 | The Jet-Black Mystery Train (Destination) | August 3, 2013 | Episode director | |
| 779 | 832 | The Scarlet Prologue | May 30, 2015 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 780 | 833 | The Scarlet Pursuit | June 6, 2015 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 783 | 836 | The Scarlet Truth | June 27, 2015 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation | |
| 795 | 836 | The Secret of the Missing Young Lady | October 10, 2015 | Episode director | |
| 805 | 859-860 | Conan and Ebizo's Kabuki Jūhachiban Mystery (Part 2) | January 16, 2016 | Episode director | 1 hour |
| 853 | 908 | Memories from Sakura Class (Ran GIRL) | March 18, 2017 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 854 | 909 | Memories from Sakura Class (Shinichi BOY) | March 25, 2017 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 883 | 938 | The Pop-up Book Bomber (Part 1) | December 02, 2017 | Picture book design | |
| 884 | 939 | The Pop-up Book Bomber (Part 2) | December 09, 2017 | Picture book design | |
| 889 | 944 | The New Teacher's Skeleton Case (Part 1) | January 20, 2018 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 890 | 945 | The New Teacher's Skeleton Case (Part 2) | January 27, 2018 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 926 | 981 | The Heartfelt Strap (Part 2) | December 22, 2018 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 927 | 982-983 | The Scarlet School Trip (Bright Red Arc) | January 05, 2019 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | 1 hour |
| 928 | 984-985 | The Scarlet School Trip (Red Love Arc) | January 12, 2019 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation | 1 hour |
| 943 | 1000 | The Tokyo Barls Collection | June 15, 2019 | Storyboard | |
| 954 | 1011 | The Unsolved Cocktail Case (Part 3) | September 14, 2019 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 955 | 1012 | The Secret of the Insect Man | September 28, 2019 | Storyboard | |
| 956 | 1013 | The Mystery-Solving Water Taxi (Part 1) | October 12, 2019 | Storyboard | |
| 957 | 1014 | The Mystery-Solving Water Taxi (Part 2) | October 19, 2019 | Storyboard | |
| 965 | 1022 | Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Prologue) | January 04, 2020 | Storyboard, Key animation | |
| 967 | 1024 | Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Climax) | January 18, 2020 | Storyboard | |
| 968 | 1025 | Kaiju Gomera vs. Kamen Yaiba (Finale) | January 25, 2020 | Storyboard, Episode director, Key aimation | |
| 983 | 1040 | Kid vs. Komei: The Targeted Lips (Part 1) | October 03, 2020 | Key animation | |
| 989 | 1046 | The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary | December 05, 2020 | Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation | |
| 997 | 1054 | Intrigue at Smile Village | February 13, 2021 | Storyboard | |
| 1000 | 1057 | The Moonlight Sonata Murder (Part 1) | March 06, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard | Remake |
| 1001 | 1058 | The Moonlight Sonata Murder (Part 2) | March 13, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | Remake |
| 1009 | 1066 | The Lost Article That Smells Like a Case | June 19, 2021 | Storyboard | |
| 1018 | 1075 | The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 1) | September 11, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1019 | 1076 | The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 2) | September 18, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1020 | 1077 | The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden (Part 3) | September 25, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1024 | 1081 | Momiji Ooka's Challenge (Part 1) | October 30, 2021 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1033 | 1090 | Taiko Meijin's Shogi Board (Opening Move) | January 08, 2022 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1035 | 1092 | Taiko Meijin's Shogi Board (Checkmate) | January 22, 2022 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1038 | 1095 | Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Wataru Date | March 12, 2022 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director, Key animation | |
| 1040 | 1097 | The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary 2 | April 23, 2022 | Key animation | |
| 1052 | 1109 | The Detective Boys' Test of Courage | July 30, 2022 | Storyboard | |
| 1058 | 1115 | The Man Who Camped Out at the Police Station | October 01, 2022 | Storyboard | |
| 1061 | 1118 | Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Hiromitsu Morofushi | October 29, 2022 | Episode director | |
| R133 | 1134 | Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story CASE. Rei Furuya | March 11, 2023 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 1077 | 1135 | The Black Organization's Scheme (Hunt) | March 25, 2023 | Organizer, Storyboard | |
| 1079 | 1137 | The Black Organization's Scheme (Identity) | April 08, 2023 | Organizer, Storyboard, Episode director | |
| 1087 | 1145 | The Case of Ayumi's Illustrated Diary 3 | June 17, 2023 | Episode director, Key animation |
Openings and Endings
Participation in: 19 openings and 19 endings
- Unmei no Roulette Mawashite (Opening 4): Storyboard, Technical director
- TRUTH ~A Great Detective of Love~ (Opening 5): Key animation
- Mysterious Eyes (Opening 7): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- destiny (Opening 9): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Winter Bells (Opening 10): Storyboard
- I can't stop my love for you♥ (Opening 11): Storyboard, Technical director
- Kaze no Lalala (Opening 12): Storyboard
- Don't Wanna Lie (Opening 31): Technical director
- TRY AGAIN (Opening 35): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Q&A (Opening 36): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Butterfly Core (Opening 37): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Greed (Opening 38): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- WE GO (Opening 40): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Nazo (La PomPon) (Opening 41): Storyboard, Technical director
- Hane (Opening 42): Storyboard, Technical director
- Sekai wa Anata no Iro ni Naru (Opening 43): Technical director
- Ikusen no Meikyū de Ikusen no Nazo o Toite (Opening 44): Storyboard, Technical director
- Lie, Lie, Lie, (Opening 45): Storyboard, Technical director
- ANSWER (Opening 50): Storyboard, Technical director
- Still for your love (Ending 7): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Secret of my heart (Ending 9): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Natsu no Maboroshi (Ending 10): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Start in my life (Ending 11): Storyboard, Technical director
- Aoi Aoi Kono Hoshi ni (Ending 13): Storyboard, Technical director
- Overture (Ending 16): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Your Best Friend (Ending 40): Technical director
- Hitomi no Melody (Ending 44): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Kimi no Egao ga Nani Yori mo Suki Datta (Ending 45): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Ima Aitakute... (Ending 46): Storyboard, Technical director
- RAIN MAN (Ending 47): Storyboard, Technical director
- Muteki na Heart (Ending 48): Storyboard, Technical director
- Kimi e no Uso (Ending 49): Storyboard, Technical director
- Unmei no Roulette Mawashite (La PomPon) (Ending 50): Storyboard, Technical director
- Futari no Byōshin (Ending 51): Storyboard, Technical director
- SAWAGE☆LIFE (Ending 52): Storyboard, Technical director, Key animation
- Yume Monogatari (Ending 54): Storyboard, Technical director
- Togetsukyō ~Kimi Omou~ (Ending 55): Storyboard, Technical director
- Kimi to Koi no Mama de Owarenai Itsumo Yume no Mama ja Irarenai (Ending 59): Storyboard, Technical director
Movies
Participation in: 21 movies
- The Time-Bombed Skyscraper (Movie 1): Assistant technical director, Sub-character design, Key animation
- The Fourteenth Target (Movie 2): Key animation
- The Last Wizard of the Century (Movie 3): Key animation
- Captured in Her Eyes (Movie 4): Key animation
- Magician of the Silver Sky (Movie 8): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Strategy Above the Depths (Movie 9): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- The Private Eyes' Requiem (Movie 10): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (Movie 11): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Full Score of Fear (Movie 12): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- The Raven Chaser (Movie 13): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- The Lost Ship in the Sky (Movie 14): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Quarter of Silence (Movie 15): Chief director, Storyboard, Technical director
- The Eleventh Striker (Movie 16): Chief director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Private Eye in the Distant Sea (Movie 17): Supervisor, Key animation
- Lupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (Crossover movie): Key animation
- Dimensional Sniper (Movie 18): Key animation
- Sunflowers of Inferno (Movie 19): Key animation
- The Darkest Nightmare (Movie 20): Key animation
- The Crimson Love Letter (Movie 21): Key animation
- Zero the Enforcer (Movie 22): Key animation
- The Fist of Blue Sapphire (Movie 23): Key animation
Specials
Participation in: 2 specials
- The Disappearance of Conan Edogawa: The Worst Two Days in History (Special 5): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Episode One: The Great Detective Turned Small (Special 6): Director, Screenplay, Storyboard, Technical director
OVAs
Participation in: 11 OVAs
- Conan vs. Kid vs. Yaiba - The Grand Battle for the Treasure Sword!! (OVA 1): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- 16 Suspects!? (OVA 2): Director, Storyboard
- Conan, Heiji, and the Vanished Boy (OVA 3): Director
- A Challenge from Agasa! Agasa vs. Conan and the Detective Boys (OVA 7): Director
- The Casebook of Female High-School Detective Sonoko Suzuki (OVA 8): Director
- Shinichi Kudo, The Case of the Mysterious Wall and the Black Lab (Magic File 2): Director
- Shinichi and Ran, Memories of Mahjong Tiles and Tanabata (Magic File 3): Director
- The Osaka Okonomiyaki Odyssey (Magic File 4): Director
- Niigata~Tokyo Souvenir Capriccio (Magic File 5): Director, Storyboard, Technical director
- Flower of Fantasista (Bonus File 1): Director
- Amazing Creature Large Collection! (Shogakukan Illustrated Encyclopedia Series 11): Director
Other notable works
Anime
- Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time: Key Animation (TIME.4)
- Lupin III: Bye Bye Liberty Crisis: Key Animation
- Lupin III: Dragon of Doom: Key Animation
- Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure: Key Animation
- The Mischievous Twins: Episode Director
- Once Upon a Time (Windaria): Key Animation
- Project A-Ko 4: Final: Key Animation
- Puppet Princess: Key Animation
- SD Gundam Musha, Knight, Commando: Key Animation
- Space Adventure Cobra - The Movie: Animation
- Urusei Yatsura: Only You: Assistant Animator, In-Between Animation
Non-anime
- Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin: Animator
- Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats: Key Animation
See also
References
- 山本泰一郎 - Wikipedia (Japanese)
- MyAnimeList
- Anime News Network
