Tensai Okamura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tensai Okamura (岡村天斎)
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Tensai Okamura, 2007 Chibi Japan Expo
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Okamura Yutaka
岡村豊 December 13, 1961 Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
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| Alma mater | Waseda University's department of science and engineering |
| Occupation | Anime director and animator |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Employer | Madhouse (formerly) Currently freelance |
| Known for | Wolf's Rain Darker than Black Blue Exorcist |
Tensai Okamura (岡村 天斎, Okamura Tensai), whose birth name was Yutaka Okamura (岡村 豊, Okamura Yutaka), was born on December 13, 1961, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He is a famous Japanese anime director and animator. An anime director guides the making of an anime series or movie, while an animator draws the many pictures that create the moving scenes.
Okamura grew up in Yokohama, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture. He studied at Waseda University in the science and engineering department. In 1991, he decided to change his first name to Tensai.
Contents
Tensai Okamura's Journey in Anime
Tensai Okamura loved reading manga when he was a kid. He especially enjoyed stories about ninjas, spies, and superheroes. A ninja manga by Shirato Sampei taught him a lot about the ninja world. Spy shows like The Fugitive also inspired him.
Starting His Anime Career
While at Waseda University, Okamura joined a manga research club. There, he and other future animators made their very first independent anime project. After finishing university, a friend helped him join Madhouse, a well-known animation studio, as an animator.
His first job as an animator was on the movie Lensman: Secret of The Lens. In 1989, he started directing episodes with Yawara!. He then became a full director in 1995 with a part of the movie Memories. Later, he left Madhouse to work on his own, taking on many different anime projects.
Creative Ideas and Influences
Tensai Okamura often gets ideas for his new projects from his past work. For example, the idea for Darker Than Black came to him while he was making Wolf's Rain.
How Darker Than Black Was Born
In Wolf's Rain, the main characters are heroes. But Okamura wanted the characters in Darker than Black to be different. He wanted them to have flaws and not always be perfect heroes. This made the characters more interesting and complex.
The way Darker than Black tells its story, with two episodes focusing on one mini-story, came from his time working on Cowboy Bebop. This style allowed him to explore new characters in each story arc.
Changes in Darker than Black Seasons
For the second season, Darker Than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini, Okamura thought about changing things up. He felt the first season's story could be confusing and the main character, Hei, was a bit rough. He wanted to make the new season's mood different.
He created a new character named Suo to be a contrast to Hei. Okamura hoped these changes would attract new viewers. The four special episodes called Darker than Black: Gaiden were made for fans who wanted to see what happened after the first series.
Tensai Okamura's Anime Works
Tensai Okamura has worked on many popular anime series and movies. He has been involved in different roles, from drawing the animation to directing the entire project.
Anime Television Series He Worked On
- Galactic Patrol Lensman (1984, helped with animation)
- Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl! (1989, helped direct episodes and plan scenes)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995, directed episodes, planned scenes, and drew key animation)
- Cowboy Bebop (1998, planned scenes)
- Medabots (1999, director, directed episodes, and planned scenes)
- Wolf's Rain (2003, director, planned scenes, directed episodes)
- Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha (2007, director, created the original idea, and organized the series)
- Soul Eater (2008, planned scenes, directed episodes)
- Darker Than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini (2009, director)
- Blue Exorcist (2011, director)
- World Conquest Zvezda Plot (2014, director, organized the series)
- The Seven Deadly Sins (2014, director)
- Kuromukuro (2016, director)
- My Hero Academia (2024, planned scenes)
Anime Movies He Directed or Helped With
- Lensman: Secret of The Lens (1984, helped with animation)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988, drew key animation)
- Memories Episode 2: Stink Bomb (1995, director)
- Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001, planned western scenes, drew key animation)
- Naruto: Snow Princess' Book of Ninja Arts (2004, director)
- My Hero Academia: You're Next (2024, director)
Original Video Animations (OVAs)
- Darker than Black: Gaiden (2010, director, writer)
Video Games He Contributed To
- Tales of Destiny (1997, directed opening animation)
- Tales of Phantasia (1998, directed opening animation)
Manga He Wrote
- Darker than Black (2007, writer)
Images for kids
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Tensai Okamura at Chibi Japan Expo in 2007
See also
In Spanish: Tensai Okamura para niños
