Noboru Ishiguro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Noboru Ishiguro
石黒 昇
Ishiguro at Otakon 2009
Born	(1938-03-24)24 March 1938 Tokyo, Japan
Died	20 March 2012(2012-03-20) (aged 73) Saiwai, Kawasaki, Japan
Occupation	Manga artist animator anime director anime producer studio executive
Years active	1958–2012
Known for	Founder of Artland
Notable work	Space Battleship Yamato series, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Megazone 23 and Legend of the Galactic Heroes series
Spouse(s)	Yumi Ishiguro

Noboru Ishiguro (石黒 昇, Ishiguro Noboru, August 24, 1938 – March 20, 2012) was a famous Japanese anime director, anime producer, and animator. He was also the person who started and led the animation studio Artland.

Ishiguro was a very active anime director in Japan, starting in the 1970s. Some of his most well-known works include Space Battleship Yamato, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Megazone 23, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He was known for letting talented people take important roles, no matter how much experience they had.

For shows like Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Megazone 23, he chose young artists. Many of these artists, like Haruhiko Mikimoto and Hideaki Anno, became very famous in Japanese animation later on. They worked together at Artland for about three years.

Ishiguro became interested in animation after watching Disney's movie Sleeping Beauty. He was especially good at creating effects animation, which makes things like explosions or water look realistic. In Space Battleship Yamato, his effects work made the show very special. He taught these skills to other animators, influencing many future works.

Ishiguro also loved music, especially classical music. He was one of the few directors who could read music notes. This skill helped him get involved in the Space Battleship Yamato project. He also used classical music in the exciting space battles of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He was a big fan of science fiction, and his ideas helped make Space Battleship Yamato's visuals amazing.

Noboru Ishiguro's Journey in Anime

Early Life and Starting in Manga

Noboru Ishiguro started drawing manga when he was in elementary school. He was inspired by Osamu Tezuka's Shin Takarajima. He even became a professional manga artist for rental manga in 1956, when he was in high school. He also loved watching movies during this time.

In 1957, he went to Nihon University to study cinema. He stopped drawing manga because a new style called gekiga became popular. After that, he played in a Hawaiian music band with his friends. At the same time, he made his own independent animation films in college. He also often visited the studio of his idol, Osamu Tezuka. He studied at the university for seven years and became an animator in 1964.

Becoming an Animator and Director

Ishiguro joined an animation studio called Televi Dōga. He then worked at other studios and eventually became a freelance director and storyboard artist. He helped create his own animation companies, but they didn't last.

In 1974, Ishiguro became the animation director for the TV series Space Battleship Yamato. This show was a huge success and changed the world of science fiction and Japanese animation. It was so popular that it was made into a movie and had sequels.

Founding Artland and Big Hits

Ishiguro started his own animation studio, Artland, in September 1978. He began it by renting a room for animators to stay in when they worked late.

In 1982, Ishiguro was the main director for the TV series Super Dimension Fortress Macross. This was another huge hit that made history in Japanese animation. Artland helped produce Macross alongside other studios.

In 1985, Ishiguro and Artland created Megazone 23. This project was special because Ishiguro wanted to create an original story. It became a big hit as an OVA (Original Video Animation), which means it was made directly for home video. Even though it was successful, Artland didn't make much money from it due to business issues. This made Ishiguro feel disappointed with producing his own works.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1988, Artland began working on the OVA series Legend of the Galactic Heroes, with Ishiguro as director. This series became very popular and ran for 12 years, which is a very long time for an OVA. This project helped Artland's financial situation.

In 2000, Artland's studio had a fire, but luckily, most of their work was digital, so they didn't lose everything.

Around 2005, Ishiguro started to feel less excited about the anime industry because it focused more on character sales. However, working on the TV series Mushishi brought back his passion.

In 2006, Artland became part of a larger company called Marvelous Entertainment. Ishiguro stayed as president and felt relieved from the stress of running the studio alone. Artland became very successful, producing three TV series at once.

Noboru Ishiguro passed away on March 20, 2012, due to a lung infection. He left behind a huge impact on the anime world, known for his amazing works and for helping many young animators become successful.

Noboru Ishiguro's Works