Yoshiyuki Tomino facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yoshiyuki Tomino
富野 喜幸
Tomino in 2021
Born	(1941-11-05) November 5, 1941 (age 83) Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan
Other names	Rin Iogi Minoru Yokitani Minami Asa
Alma mater	Nihon University
Occupation	Director, songwriter, screenwriter, novelist
Years active	1964–present
Employer	Sunrise
Known for	Gundam

Yoshiyuki Tomino (富野 由悠季, Tomino Yoshiyuki, born 富野 喜幸; November 5, 1941) is a famous Japanese anime director, screenwriter, songwriter, and novelist. He is best known for creating the super popular Gundam anime series.

Early Life and Dreams

Yoshiyuki Tomino was born on November 5, 1941, in Odawara, Japan. His family had a long history in the area. His grandfather was even a mayor!

His father, Kihei Tomino, loved photography and studied art. He worked as an engineer during a war, helping to make special suits for fighter planes. This inspired young Yoshiyuki. He dreamed of working with planes or machines.

However, he didn't pass the entrance exam for a technical high school. So, he changed his focus to writing. He spent his last year of high school learning how to write stories and novels. After high school, he went to Nihon University to study film. He was very interested in the American science fiction movies that became popular after the war.

A Career in Anime

Tomino started his career in anime on March 2, 1964. He joined Osamu Tezuka's company, Mushi Productions. He began as a production assistant. He learned how to work with animators and manage projects. Soon, he was drawing storyboards and writing scripts for Astro Boy.

Later, Tomino became a very important person at the anime studio Sunrise. He directed many anime series in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He is most famous for changing the "Super Robot" style of anime. He created the "Real Robot" style with his 1979 series, Mobile Suit Gundam. This show was the first in the huge Gundam series.

Tomino has won many awards for his work. He won "Best Director" at the 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair. Two of his series, Mobile Suit Gundam and Space Runaway Ideon, won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award.

Tomino sometimes uses different names for his work. He uses Minami Asa (阿佐 みなみ, Asa Minami) and Minoru Yokitani (斧谷 稔, Yokitani Minoru) for writing scripts and storyboards. He uses Rin Iogi (井荻 麟, Iogi Rin) for writing song lyrics. He has worked with famous musicians like Yoko Kanno and Neil Sedaka on songs.

Some of his other well-known anime series include Aura Battler Dunbine and Brave Raideen. More recently, he directed Brain Powerd (1998), Turn A Gundam (1999), Overman King Gainer (2002), and Gundam Reconguista in G (2014).

Early Directing Work: The 1970s

Tomino directed his first show in 1972. It was called Triton of the Sea (海のトリトン, Umi no Toriton). This show was different from typical "good vs. evil" stories. It showed that things are not always black and white.

In 1975, Tomino worked on Brave Raideen. This was his first show with giant robots, called mecha. Raideen was special because its giant robot had mysterious, magical origins. It inspired many other directors. Tomino also worked on Voltes V in 1977.

In 1977, Tomino directed Zambot 3. This series had many characters die. Because of this, some fans jokingly called him "Kill 'Em All Tomino." But many of his other shows had most characters survive.

In 1978, Tomino created and directed Daitarn 3. This show mixed spy adventures, drama, science fiction, and humor. It introduced many fun elements that became popular in the 1980s. The main character, Haran Banjo, is seen as one of the most interesting anime characters ever.

Creating Gundam

In 1979, Tomino directed and wrote Mobile Suit Gundam. This show completely changed the Super Robot mecha genre. It created the new Real Robot genre. Mark Simmons, in his book "Gundam Official Guide," explained its impact:

With its new, realistic approach to giant robots, Gundam changed the face of mecha anime and split the genre into two. Single-handedly inventing the "Real Robot" subgenre, Gundam forced all of its predecessors to be redefined as part of the "Super Robot" subgenre. Not surprisingly, Real Robots became all the rage after Gundam.

Tomino wanted to make a more realistic robot series. He imagined robots that started as worker machines in space colonies. They would then become advanced weapons. He wanted a story set in space that felt real.

The original Mobile Suit Gundam TV show was cut short. But its popularity grew a lot after three movies were released in 1981 and 1982. Mobile Suit Gundam led to many sequels, spin-offs, and toys. It became one of the longest-running and most popular anime series ever. In 2005, it was even chosen as the number one anime on TV Asahi's "Top 100 Anime" list.

The 1980s and Beyond

In 1980, Tomino directed Space Runaway Ideon. This series was also canceled early but later had movies. It was known for its darker story. Tomino then made a lighter series called Xabungle. But the darker themes returned with Aura Battler Dunbine in 1983.

In 1984, he released Heavy Metal L-Gaim. The next year, he directed Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. This was the first sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. In 1986, he directed Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, which had a more upbeat and funny tone. In 1988, Tomino finished the first Gundam story with the movie Char's Counterattack.

With Shinsuke Suematsu at an award ceremony in 2021.

In 1991, Tomino directed another Gundam movie, Mobile Suit Gundam F91. This movie started a new Gundam story with new characters. In 1993, he directed Victory Gundam, another Gundam series with a new cast.

He also wrote and directed Garzey's Wing (1996) and Brain Powerd (1998). In 1999, he returned to Gundam with Turn A Gundam. He later directed two movies for it in 2002. Also in 2002, he directed Overman King Gainer. In 2005, he directed three movies that summarized the Zeta Gundam series.

His next big project was The Wings of Rean, a 6-episode series released online in 2005-2006. In 2006, Tomino even made a small appearance in the movie Japan Sinks.

In 2009, Tomino spoke at a conference. He criticized the gaming industry. He said video games "bring no productivity" and "consoles are just consuming electricity." He wanted game developers to focus more on good stories, like the animation industry. His comments caused a lot of discussion online.

For Gundam's 30th anniversary in 2009, Tomino worked on a short CGI film called Ring of Gundam. He returned to the franchise again for its 35th anniversary in 2014. He wrote and directed Gundam Reconguista in G.

Tomino is also the president of the Anime Tourism Association, which started in 2016. He was present at the opening of the huge, moving Gundam statue in Yokohama.

Filmography

Television Series

Movies

• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie (1981 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (1982 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (1982 – director, writer)
• The Ideon: A Contact (1982 – director)
• The Ideon: Be Invoked (1982 – director)
• Xabungle Graffiti (1983 – director)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991 – director, writer)
• Turn A Gundam I: Earth Light (2002 – director, writer)
• Turn A Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly (2002 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation I – Heirs To The Stars (2005 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation II – Lovers (2005 – director, writer)
• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation III – Love is the Pulse of the Stars (2006 – director, writer)
• Japan Sinks (2006 – actor)
• Ring of Gundam [jp] (2009 – director, writer)
• Gundam Reconguista in G (2019–22 – director, writer)

Original Video Animations (OVAs)

• Heavy Metal L-Gaim (1986–87 – director)
• Garzey's Wing (1996–97 – director, writer)
• The Wings of Rean (2005–06 – director, writer)

Discography (as Rin Iogi)

Awards and Recognition

• Person of Cultural Merit (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Yoshiyuki Tomino para niños