Noboru Ishiguro

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For the Japanese Olympic athlete, see Noboru Ishiguro (athlete).
Noboru Ishiguro
石黒 昇
Ishiguro at Otakon 2009
Born(1938-03-24)24 March 1938
Tokyo, Japan
Died20 March 2012(2012-03-20) (aged 73)
Saiwai, Kawasaki, Japan
Occupations
Years active1958–2012
Known forFounder of Artland
Notable workSpace Battleship Yamato series, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Megazone 23 and Legend of the Galactic Heroes series
SpouseYumi Ishiguro

Noboru Ishiguro (石黒 昇, Ishiguro Noboru, August 24, 1938 – March 20, 2012) was a Japanese anime director, anime producer, and animator.[1] He was the founder and chairman of the animation studio Artland.[1]

Ishiguro is an anime director who has been active in the Japanese animation industry since the 1970s. His representative works include Space Battleship Yamato, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Megazone 23 and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.[2][3]

As a director, he did not emphasize his own style, and instead entrusted important positions to talented and motivated people, regardless of their career.[4]

For Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Megazone 23, he selected young artists such as Haruhiko Mikimoto, Ichirō Itano, and Toshihiro Hirano (currently Toshiki Hirano), most of whom were amateurs except for Itano, and placed them at the core of the production to create works of youthful sensibility.[4][5] Hiroyuki Yamaga and Hideaki Anno of later Gainax, who were still in college, also joined as part-time workers.[5] They only gathered at Artland for about three years, but many of them got their break through with Macross, and later became representative of Japanese animation.[5]

Ishiguro became interested in the animation industry after seeing Disney's animated feature film Sleeping Beauty.[6] As an animator, he specializes in effects animation and has made it widely known to the Japanese animation industry that such techniques exist.[6] In Space Battleship Yamato, he worked on many of the effects scenes, which was one of the factors that made the work so special.[6] These techniques were then passed on to Ichiro Itano and Hideaki Anno.[6] Anno refers to himself as a "third generation" in the lineage of Ishiguro and Itano's realism-based effects.[7] These animators, along with Yoshinori Kanada, have led the Japanese animation industry by positioning the effects animator in animation as the F/X or VFX creative director in live action.[7]

Ishiguro was good at music, especially classical music, and was one of the few directors in the anime industry who could read music.[8] His participation in the Space Battleship Yamato project was due to the fact that he was favored by producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, who had musical experience.[8] He also used classical music as background music for the fleet battle scenes with space battleships in Legend of the Galactic Heroes.[8]

Ishiguro was a science fiction enthusiast, and the success of Space Battleship Yamato was greatly influenced by Ishiguro's sci-fi imagination in terms of visuals.[6]

Biography[edit]

Ishiguro began drawing manga when he was in elementary school, fascinated by Osamu Tezuka's Shin Takarajima, and debuted as a manga artist for rental manga in his third year of high school (1956).[9] On the other hand, he was also into movies in high school.[10]

In 1957, he entered the Department of Cinema at Nihon University College of Art. He gave up on continuing as a manga artist as rental manga began to decline due to the gekiga boom that occurred around that time.[11] After giving up on his career as a manga artist, he next formed a Hawaiian music band with his friends and began touring cabarets.[11] Around the same time, he was making independent animation on 8 mm film in college with a group of friends.[12] He also began frequenting the Mushi Production of Osamu Tezuka, a man he admired, located near the university. He eventually attended Nihon University for seven years, and upon graduating in 1964 pursued a career as an animator.

He joined the animation studio Televi Dōga (currently Fuji Television Enterprises), a subsidiary of Fuji Television.[12] After moving from Televi Dōga to Onishi Productions, he then became an independent and founded the Institute of Moving Image Technology in 1966 and JAB (Japan Art Bureau) in 1969 with his friends. However, both were dissolved. Since then, he has worked as a freelance director and storyboardist.[13]

Ishiguro was the animation director for the TV series Space Battleship Yamato, which began airing in 1974.[2] The work was a huge hit and became an epoch-making work in the history of science fiction animation and Japanese animation, as it was made into a movie and a sequel was also made.[3]

Ishiguro founded the animation studio Artland in September 1978.[3][14] It started when he rented a room for lodging jointly with his fellow animators in case they couldn't go home.[1][5]

Ishiguro was the chief director of the TV series Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which began airing in 1982. Following Yamato, he was to participate in a hit production that would go down in the history of Japanese animation.[3] Macross was a project developed by Studio Nue and adopted by advertising agency Bigwest, which secured broadcast slots for sponsoring companies and commercial TV stations.[15] Nue brought the project to Ishiguro, so he was involved from the planning stage.[2] Since Nue was not capable of producing animation, Ishiguro's company, Artland, was to produce it.[15] However, Artland, which specializes in subcontracting, was deemed insufficient, and Tatsunoko Production was selected as the prime contractor. Artland undertook the work as a subcontractor along with Tatsunoko subsidiary Anime Friend.[15]

In 1985, Ishiguro and Artland produced Megazone 23, featuring the core members of Macross.[5] Although Macross itself was highly popular and acclaimed, Ishiguro and Artland, who did not own the copyright, were out of the loop regarding revenue from royalties.[5] So Ishiguro launched this work as an original project on his own, and it became an unusual hit for an OVA.[5] Since Ishiguro wrote the original story, directed the video, and even wrote the novel version, and Artland was the production contractor, they should have made a substantial profit.[5] However, there were problems with the distribution of profits between affiliated companies, Artland actually earned very little profit.[5] Eventually, the production entity was changed to AIC for the sequel, and only the 2nd studio established with a mechanical specialist group participated from Artland.[5] Despite producing two hit works in a row, Artland found itself in financial difficulties, and Ishiguro felt disappointed with the in-house production.[5] In order to concentrate on management, Ishiguro first separated his staff, which had grown to over 50 people, from the studio and made them independent.[5][a]

In 1988, Artland was offered work on the OVA series Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Ishiguro directed the series.[5] The series gained great popularity and ran for 12 years, making it an exceptionally long-running series for an OVA that is not a TV series.[5][16] In addition, the longer production period of the OVA compared to the TV series allowed Ishiguro to concurrently produce the animation and run the studio, and the regularity of the work improved the business situation at Artland.[5]

Around this time, Artland moved from Ōkubo to Musashi Sakai, renting a four-story building, but in February 2000, the second floor was destroyed by the catch a fire from a neighboring newspaper distributor.[5] Fortunately, since the production had already been digitized, the data could be recovered to some extent. Thanks to this, the studio was spared fatal damage.[5]

In 2005, Artland was contracted to produce the TV series Mushishi.[5] Ishiguro gradually stopped working as a director as he grew tired of the animation industry's increasing emphasis on character business.[5] This work was the first in a long time to spark his passion after he had lost interest in animation for quite some time. He was scheduled to draw a storyboard for one episode, but that was cancelled due to a mistake.[5]

In April 2006, Artland became a subsidiary of Marvelous Entertainment.[5] Ishiguro stayed on as president, but he said he was relieved of the financial and emotional burdens of running a studio.[5] The studio reached its peak since its inception in the fall when it simultaneously produced three TV series as a prime contractor.[5] In addition, the studio has decided to provide social insurance coverage for all employees at the will of Marvelous headquarters.[5][b].

Ishiguro died on 20 March 2012 in Kawasaki City Hospital of a lung infection which was the result of a follow-up surgery procedure to the aneurysm surgery he underwent two years prior.[17][18][19]

Works[edit]

Year Title Format Studio Role Remarks column
1963 Gigantor TV series TJC Inbetweening Joined as a part-time worker.
1964 O-sen Hayato [ja] TV series P Productions Inbetweening Joined as a part-time worker.
1965 Kaitō Pride [ja] TV series Televi Dōga Inbetweening, key frame His professional debut.
1965[c] Astro Boy (1963 TV series) TV series Mushi Production Key frame
1966 Hang On! Marine Kid TV series Televi Dōga Key frame, episode director
1967-1968 Golden Bat TV series Dai-ichi Dōga Episode director
1968-1971 Star of the Giants TV series Tokyo Movie Key frame
1968-1969 The Monster Kid (1st series) TV series A Production, Studio Zero Episode director
1968-1969 Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae TV series Mushi Production, Tōei Dōga, Studio Zero Episode director
1969 Sobakasu Pucchi TV series Fuji TV Enterprise Script
1969 Umeboshi Denka [ja] TV series A Production, Studio Zero Episode director
1969 Dororo TV series Mushi Production Episode director
1969-1970 Pinch & Punch TV series Fuji TV Enterprise Script
1969-1970 Moomin (1969 TV series) TV series A Production, Mushi Production Episode director
1970 Chippo the Mischievous Angel [ja] TV series Dai-ichi Dōga Script
1970-1971 Ashita no Joe TV series Mushi Production Episode director, storyboards
1971 Andersen Monogatari TV series Mushi Production Episode director
1971 -1972 Tensai Bakabon TV series A Production Storyboards
1971-1972 Kunimatsu-sama no Otoridai! TV series Mushi Production Episode director
1972 New Moomin TV series Mushi Production Episode director
1972-1973 Akadō Suzunosuke  [ja] TV series A Production Storyboards
1972-1974 The Gutsy Frog TV series A Production Storyboards
1973 Jungle Kurobe TV series A Production Storyboards
1973 Doraemon (1973 TV series) TV series Nippon TV Dōga Storyboards
1973 Little Wansa TV series Mushi Production Episode director, storyboards
1973-1974 Kōya no Shōnen Isamu TV series A Production Storyboards
1973-1974 Zero Tester TV series Sunrise Storyboards
1973-1974 Karate Master TV series A Production Storyboards
1973-1974 Aim for the Ace! TV series A Production Storyboards
1973-1974 Samurai Giants [ja] TV series A Production Storyboards
1974-1975 Vicky the Viking TV series Zuiyo, Nippon Animation Episode director
1974 Hoshi no Ko Chobin TV series Studio Zero Storyboards for all episodes
1974–1975 Tamageta kun [ja] TV series Studio Zero Animation director, episode director
1974 Space Battleship Yamato Pilot Television pilot Office Academy Storyboards[d]
1974-1975 Space Battleship Yamato TV series Office Academy Animation director, episode director for all episodes, storyboards He assisted Leiji Matsumoto, a manga artist who became a director without any experience in actually producing anime, and did the actual direction. He checked all the storyboards and reflected the images of Matsumoto and producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki in the work.[1][20]
1975-1994 Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi [ja] TV series Group TAC Episode director
1975-1976 Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures TV series Nippon Animation Storyboards
1975-1977 Grendizer TV series Tōei Dōga Storyboards
1976-1977 Chōdenji Robo Combattler V TV series Tohokushinsha, Soeisha Storyboards
1976-1977 Little Lulu and Her Little Friends TV series Nippon Animation Storyboards
1976-1979 Dokaben TV series Nippon Animation Storyboards
1976-1979 Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi TV series Madhouse Episode director
1976-1977 Robokko Beaton [ja] TV series Soeisha Episode director, storyboards
1977-1979 Yatterman TV series Tatsunoko Production Episode director
1977 Jetter Mars TV series Tōei Dōga, Madhouse Episode director
1977 Space Battleship Yamato (1977 film) Feature film Office Academy Animation director Toshio Masuda, the director of the live-action film, who was credited as a supervisor in the TV series but was not involved in the production, edited the footage from the TV series and was credited as the film director.[e]
1977 Glacier Warrior Gaislugger [ja] TV series Tokyo Movie Chief Director, Episode Director
1977-1978 Temple the Balloonist TV series Tatsunoko Production Episode director
1977-1980 Lupin the 3rd Part II TV series Tokyo Movie Episode director, storyboards
1977–1978 Manga Nihon Emaki [ja] TV series World Television Supervising director
1978 Future Boy Conan TV series Nippon Animation Storyboards
1978 Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato Feature film Tōei Dōga Technical director Unlike the previous film, Masuda actively participated in the production by directing and writing the script, while Ishiguro assisted him in the animation process.
1978–1979 Space Battleship Yamato II TV series Academy Seisaku Animation director, episode director for all episodes, storyboards As in the previous work, he assisted Matsumoto. Matsumoto, who was very busy, could hardly participate in the production, and Ishiguro played the role of acting director or assistant director.[1]
1978-1981 Galaxy Express 999 TV series Tōei Dōga OP key frame
1978-1979 Captain Future TV series Tōei Dōga Storyboards
1979-1980 The Ultraman TV series Sunrise Storyboards
1979 Yamato: The New Voyage Television film Artland Technical director He assisted producer Nishizaki, who had replaced Matsumoto as director himself.
1980 Ganbare Gonbe [ja] TV series Tsuchida Production Storyboards
1980 Phoenix 2772 Feature film Tezuka Productions Animation director[f]
1980–1981 Astro Boy (1980 TV series) TV series Tezuka Productions Director, script, storyboards
1981-1987 Ninja Hattori-kun TV series Shin-Ei Animation Script, storyboards
1982 Thunderbirds 2086 TV series Green Box, AIC Supervisor, Script
1982–1983 Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series Tatsunoko Production, Anime Friend, Artland Chief Director, script, episode director, storyboards, voice actor[g])
1982-1983 Tokimeki Tonight TV series Group TAC Storyboards
1983–1984 Super Dimension Century Orguss TV series Tokyo Movie Shinsha Chief Director[h], episode director, storyboards
1983 Prime Rose [ja] Television film Tezuka Productions Storyboards
1984 Noozles TV series Nippon Animation Episode director, storyboards
1984 Macross: Do You Remember Love? Feature film Tatsunoko Production, Anime Friend, Yū Entertainment Director[i]
1985 Megazone 23 - Part I OVA Artland Original author, director, mecha design[j]
1985-1986 Ninja Senshi Tobikage TV series Pierrot Episode director, storyboards
1985 Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū Independent film Daicon Film Provision of equipment
1986 Animated Classics of Japanese Literature (The Harp of Burma) TV series Nippon Animation, Artland Episode director, storyboards
1986 Megazone 23 Part II: Please Give Me Your Secret OVA AIC, Artland Original author, general supervisor
1988 Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars Feature film Kitty Films Director
1988 Topo Gigio (1988 TV series) TV series Nippon Animation, Trans Arts Director[k], script, storyboards
1988-1989 Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Series 1) OVA Kitty Films Supervising director, episode director, storyboards
1989 Twin OVA Lifework Supervising director , storyboards
1989 Star Cat Fullhouse [ja] OVA Artland Original author, director, lyrics for OP and ED theme songs
1990 Koiko's Daily Life [ja] OVA Artland Director, storyboards
1989 Megazone 23 Part III OVA AIC Original author[l]
1989 Locke the Superman: Lord Leon OVA Nippon Animation Director
1989 Aoki Honō [ja] OVA Artland, Nippon Animation Director, storyboards
1990 Heavy Feature film Nippon Animation Director, storyboards
1991 Shōnen Ashibe OVA Nippon Animation Director
1991 Bubblegum Crash OVA Artland Supervisor[m]
1991-1992 Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Series 2) OVA Kitty Films Supervising director, storyboards
1991 Meisō-Ō Border: Shakaifukki-hen [ja] OVA Artland Director, storyboards
1992 Hard & Loose: Shiritsu Tantei Toki Shozō Trouble Notes [ja] OVA Artland, Nippon Animation Director, script, storyboards
1992 Tottoi Television film Nippon Animation, Artland Supervisor
1992–1993 Mikan Enikki TV series Nippon Animation Director, storyboards
1994 Kunichan no Ikka Ran Ran Short film Nippon Animation Director A short anime included in the omnibus movie Dai 2-kai Kinchan no Cinema Jack [ja].
1994-1995 Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Series 3) OVA Kitty Films Supervising director, storyboards
1996 Bucket de Gohan [ja] TV series Magic Bus Storyboards
1996-1997 Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Series 4) OVA K Factory Supervising director, storyboards
1998 Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden (Series 1) OVA K Factory Supervising director , episode director, storyboards
1999–2001 Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden (Series 2) OVA K Factory Supervising director , storyboards
1999–2002 10 Tokyo Warriors OVA Zexcs Director, episode director, storyboards
2005-2006 Mushi-Shi TV series Artland Production management
2006 We Were There TV series Artland Production management
2006-2010 Reborn! TV series Artland Supervisor
2008–2009 Tytania TV series Artland Director, storyboards
2008 Pattenrai!! Feature film Mushi Production Director, storyboards
2014 Mushi-Shi: The Shadow that Devours the Sun Television film Artland Supervisor
2014 Mushi-Shi -Next Passage- TV series Artland Supervisor
2015 Mushi-Shi -Next Passage-: Bell Droplets Feature film Animation Studio Artland Supervisor

Bibliography[edit]

  • Ishiguro, Noboru; Ohara, Noriko (1980). Telebi Anime Saizensen Shisetsu Anime 17nen-shi テレビ・アニメ最前線 私説・アニメ17年史 [TV & Anime Frontline: Personal opinion 17 years of anime history]. Daiwa Shobo.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ichiro Itano and other members of the 2nd studio in Kichijoji became independent as D.A.S.T., and the background art section in Takadanobaba became independent as Atelier Booka.
  2. ^ This is rare in the Japanese animation studios, which lacks capital power, and with few exceptions, such as Studio Ghibli, few animation studios offer social insurance. Most animators are not contracted as employees, but as sole proprietors on a per-work or piece-rate basis.
  3. ^ The airing period was 1963-1966.
  4. ^ With Nobuhiro Okaseko.
  5. ^ At the time, animation was regarded as lower in rank than live-action in Japan. Therefore, when compilations of TV series such as Space Battleship Yamato and Hayao Miyazaki's Future Boy Conan were released in movie theaters, live-action film directors were invited in place of TV directors to edit the TV footage, and was credited as a director.
  6. ^ With Kazuko Nakamura.
  7. ^ He has a cameo role as Shaw Braxton, the director of the film Shao Pai Long, which is a play within a play.
  8. ^ With Yasumi Mikamoto.
  9. ^ With Shōji Kawamori.
  10. ^ With Ichiro Itano, Toshihiro Hirano, and Yasuomi Umezu.
  11. ^ With Shigeo Koshi.
  12. ^ Co-authored with Toshimitsu Suzuki.
  13. ^ With Shinji Aramaki.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Noboru Ishiguro's Yamato 2 Memories". THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE BLAZERS ANIMATED SERIES. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Hikawa, Ryusuke (March 28, 2012). "Interview 第3回 石黒 昇 (総監督)" [Interview No. 3 Noboru Ishiguro (General Director)]. Legend of the Galactic Heroes on the web (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "演出家・石黒昇さん逝去 ヤマト、マクロス、銀河英雄伝説で活躍" [Director Noboru Ishiguro, who was active in Yamato, Macross, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, passes away]. Anime!Anime! (in Japanese). iid. March 21, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Zusetsu Terebi Anime Zensho 1999, p. 370.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "プロダクション探訪 第2回 アートランド (後編)" [Exploring Production Vol. 2: Artland (Part 2)]. Web Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. January 10, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hikawa, Ryusuke (March 28, 2012). "『超時空要塞マクロス』の石黒昇監督、ご逝去を悼む" [I mourn the passing of Noboru Ishiguro, director of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross]. Anime!Anime! (in Japanese). iid. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Sudo, Tadashi (October 30, 2014). "庵野秀明が自身のキャリアを振り返る! アニメーター編】師匠でもある天才・宮崎駿の仕事を大いに語る! Part2" [Hideaki Anno looks back on his career! Animator Edition] He talks a lot about the work of the genius Hayao Miyazaki, who is also his mentor! Part 2] (in Japanese). Movie Walker. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "【明田川進の「音物語」】第6回 OVA「銀河英雄伝説」のBGMにクラシック音楽を使った意外なきっかけ" [Susumu Aketagawa's "Sound Story" No.6 The Unexpected Reason for Using Classical Music as the BGM for the OVA The Legend of the Galactic Heroes]. Anime Hack (in Japanese). eiga.com. June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Animation Interview 2018, p. 86.
  10. ^ Animation Interview 2018, p. 89.
  11. ^ a b Shisetsu Anime 17nen-shi 1980, p. 49.
  12. ^ a b Zusetsu Terebi Anime Zensho 1999, p. 355.
  13. ^ Zusetsu Terebi Anime Zensho 1999, p. 360.
  14. ^ Animage May issue 1983, p. 148.
  15. ^ a b c "『マクロス』シリーズの大ヒットはこうして生まれた…「スタジオぬえ」がアニメビジネスで成功をつかむまで" [This is how the "Macross" series became a smash hit... How "Studio Nue" found success in the animation business]. Gendai Business (in Japanese). Kodansha. February 7, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Sudo, Tadashi (April 18, 2018). "新アニメシリーズに実写映画化も決定! アニメ史に輝く一大叙事詩「銀河英雄伝説」をひも解く!" [The new anime series will also be made into a live-action movie! Unraveling the great epic of anime history, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes"!] (in Japanese). Movie Walker. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  17. ^ "石黒昇氏死去…「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」を演出" [Noboru Ishiguro dies...Director of "Space Battleship Yamato"]. Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. March 21, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "Yamato, Macross Director Noboru Ishiguro Passes Away". Anime News Network. March 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  19. ^ "アニメ監督の石黒昇さん死去". The Asahi Shimbun Digital. March 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  20. ^ "科学救助隊テクノボイジャー：伝説のSFアニメ"復活"" [Science Rescue Team Techno Voyager: Legendary SF Anime "Resurrection"]. mantan-web (in Japanese). Mantan. January 19, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

Sources[edit]

  • Hoshi, Makoto (2018). Animation Interview: Densetsu no Anime Creator-tachi アニメーション・インタビュー 伝説のアニメ職人（クリエーター）たち [Animation Interview Legendary Anime Creators]. Mandarake.
  • Misono, Makoto (1999). Zusetsu Terebi Anime Zensho 図説テレビアニメ全書 [Illustrated TV anime complete book]. Hara Shobo.
  • Animage May 1983 issue (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten.

External links[edit]

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