Tatsuo Yoshida (吉田 竜夫) was a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, as well as anime pioneer who founded the animation studio Tatsunoko Production as a businessman and the original author of many anime works. As the first president of Tatsunoko Production, Yoshida supported the dawn of Japanese animation by producing numerous hits such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Hakushon Daimaō, and The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee. He took on challenges that other animation studios did not, such as insisting on producing his own original animation that was not based on manga or novels, or creating American-style animation. Character designs were also drawn in Yoshida's style, with a solid skeleton and intricate lines that were drawn with precision, influenced by American comic books, rather than the simplified, less-linear style that was mainstream in Japanese animation at the time, and this became the origin of Tatsunoko's designs.

Biography

Born in Kyoto in 1932 as the eldest son of the Yoshida family, Tatsuo grew up in the hardship of war-torn Japan. His parents died shortly after the war, and he became a self-taught artist at an early age, supporting his family by drawing illustrations for newspapers and magazines and sketches for Kamishibai (paper plays). After working for a local newspaper in Kyoto, he moved to Tokyo and began his career as a novel illustrator and E-monogatari artist. He made his debut in 1954, and after teaming up with Ikki Kajiwara in 1955, he continued to work mainly with him. Around 1960, Yoshida changed his career to manga artist. His Champion Futoshi with Kajiwara and Shōnen Ninja-butai Gekkō, which he drew alone, were hits, and both were adapted into TV dramas. In particular, Ninja-butai Gekkō was broadcast for two years and a movie was produced, playing a role in Japan's ninja boom. In October 1962, Yoshida founded Tatsunoko Production with his two younger brothers, Kenji Yoshida, who managed his manga, and Toyoharu Yoshida (a.k.a. Ippei Kuri), who was working as a manga artist, and became its first president. Initially, Tatsunoko was established as a production company specializing in manga, managing manga copyrights and assistants, but as Yoshida became interested in anime, the company began producing anime. In 1965, Tatsunoko Productions' first anime Space Ace was aired. The second anime, Mach GoGoGo, an animated racing series, was aired in Japan and then shortly after in the U.S. under the title Speed Racer, where it achieved resounding success. He continued to produce anime works that have left their mark on Japanese animation history, including Gatchaman (also known as Battle of the Planets and G-Force: Guardians of Space), Casshan (also known as Neo-Human Casshern), Hurricane Polymar and Tekkaman: The Space Knight. In 1972, he won the 17th Shogakukan Manga Award for his manga The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee. On September 5, 1977, he died of liver cancer. After his death, the presidency was taken over by his younger brother Kenji (from 1977 to 1987; chairman since 1995), followed by Ippei Kuri (since 1987), but they both left the company in 2005 when Tatsunoko became a subsidiary of major toy manufacturer Takara. At the Tokyo Anime Awards held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2005, he was awarded the Special Achievement Award as one of the 20 people who created Japanese animation.

Main works

Manga and illustrations

Anime

Notes and references