Satoru Utsunomiya

Satoru Utsunomiya(うつのみや　理, also 宇都宮　さとる) was born in 1959 in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. He joined Telecom Animation in 1982 because his idol Yasuo Otsuka worked there, after graduating from the design department in Nishinoda Technical High School in Osaka. Leading member of the realist school. Has had as big an impact on the industry as his contemporaries Mitsuo Iso and Shinya Ohira. A perfectionist who never remains content with his accomplishments¹.

Watching old Toei Doga films rebroadcast on TV as a kid piqued his interest in animation, but it was being shown an artbook by Sadao Tsukioka by a friend that caused him to enter the industry. He considered quitting after seeing how anime’s pragmatic limitations prevented him from making the type of fluid and life-like animation found in his favorite Toei Doga and Disney films. Animating alongside Yasuomi Umetsu, Koji Morimoto, and particularly Takashi Nakamura (who Utsunomiya copied in writing his name in hiragana) renewed his confidence. His first major cut was the opening fight for the Battle Royal High School OVA. After brief stints at Madhouse and Junio he became freelance¹.

Utsunomiya’s animation and design philosophy overlap, as he tends to redraw characters in his own idiosyncratic style radically different from the base models while animating. Influenced by Takashi Nakamura’s designs, his characters have slender limbs, rectangular heads, and pronounced joints and lips, in appearance similar to marionettes or puppets. His drawings are rounded with a spareness in line and a minimum of excess detail. As a mover, Utsunomiya is renowned for realistic timing within anime’s limited fps, being able to produce stunningly well-realized scenes on the 2s and 3s. In both his KA and his few directorial projects he has shown a preference towards a pallid, grayish color palette, usually in blues and greens¹.

Sent shockwaves through the industry with his character design and animation direction for Mamoru Oshii’s Gosenzosama Banbanzai. Utsunomiya had an abnormally proactive role in the OVA’s animation, improvising bits of character acting that weren’t in the storyboards and focusing purely on the motion and timing above all else while doing corrections. The plausible, intuitive, yet strangely stylized motion was effectively his mission statement that sophisticated animation was possible within anime’s production limits. It’s one of the few works that Utsunomiya has remained satisfied with¹.

Though still mainly employed as an animator, he’s expressed interest in direction and the immense control he exerts in his cuts like the subway scene in Ghiblies 2 and Kemonozume 3’s avant testifies to this ambition. His first full directorial project was Hakkenden 9, which managed to stand out in Hakkenden’s already stacked lineup even though Utsunomiya has called the episode a failure. His biggest directorial accomplishment was the black comedy Paranoia Agent 8, a standalone story animated and directed completely in his unique style. Most controversially, he directed, Ad'ed, designed, and planned out the backgrounds for Genesis of Aquarion 19. The scenes of the ‘parallel world’ proved extremely divisive with fans and Shoji Kawamori had to defend the episode publicly¹.

Evidently a fan of new technology and likes to try new stuff. During his episode(#19) in Sousei Aquarion he pushed the use of digital, 3D layouts, which are now commonplace in anime production. Thanks to Utsunomiya, Ryo-chimo’s work on that episode is actually the first time he was able to draw digitally in his professional anime career, and he trained webgen animators like Kenichi Kutsuna while animating for Noein at Satelight. Ryo-chimo regards him as an extraordinary animator². He is a big fan of Richard Linklater’s rotoscoped Waking Life, and has recently has been getting involved with CG animation; he was behind the CG for Production I.G’s Mercedes Benz ad “Next A-Class”¹.

MAD - Interview - SakugaBooru - Japanese Wiki Page

Works

• Meitantei Holmes(1984~1985/TV)

1. In-betweens: #2, #3, #5.

• Kojika Monogatari(1983~1985/TV)

1. Key Animation.

• SF Shinseiki Lensman(1984/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Galactic Patrol Lensman(1984~1985/TV)

1. Key Animation: #6.

• Urusei Yatsura(1981~1986/TV)

1. Key Animation: #143, #147.

• Kamui no Ken(1985/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Lupin III: Babylon no Ougon Densetsu(1985/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Doubutsu Hachimasu Kaiichishuu(1985/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• Lupin III Part 3(1984~1985/TV)

1. Key Animation: #48.

• Time Gal(1985/AC)

1. Key Animation.

• Arion(1986/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Go-Q-Choji Ikkiman(1986/TV)

1. Key Animation.

• Megazone 23 Part II Himitsu Kudasai(1986/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Windaria(1986/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Love City(1986/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ(1986~1987/TV)

1. Key Animation.

• Mujigen Hunter Fandora Fantos Final Story(1986/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• Dirty Pair(1987/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Black Magic M-66(1987/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• Shinma Shinden Battle Royal High School(1987/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru(1988~1989/TV)

1. Key Animation.

• Mister Ajikko(1987~1989/TV)

1. Key Animation: #33.

• Akira(1988/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Vinus Senki(1989/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai!(1989~1990/OVA)

1. Character Design.
2. Animation Direction.
3. Key Animation.

• Maroko(1990/Movie)

1. Character Design.
2. Animation Direction.

• Tobe! Kujira no Peak(1991/Movie)

1. Character Design.
2. Animation Direction.
3. Key Animation.

• Hashire Melos(1992/Movie)

1. Animation.

• Calimero(1992~1993/TV)

1. Key Animation.

• Yuu Yuu Hakusho(1992~1995/TV)

1. Key Animation: #19, #26.

• Yadamon(1992~1993/TV)

1. Key Animation: #164.

• Gensou Jotan Ellcia(1992~1993/OVA)

1. Key Animation: #4.

• The Hakkenden(1993~1995/OVA)

1. Storyboard: #3.
2. Episode Direction: #3.
3. Key Animation: #3.

• Yuugen Kaisha(1994~1995/OVA)

1. Key Animation: #2, #4.

• Ninku: Knife no Bohyou(1994/Special)

1. Key Animation.

• Choujikuu Seiki Orguss 02(1993~1995/OVA)

1. Key Animation: #5.

• Armitage III(1995/OVA)

1. Key Animation: #3.

• Hajimari no Boukensha-tachi: Legend of Crystania(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Arslan Senki(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Memories: Kanojo no Omoide(1995/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• PoPoLoCrois(1996/PS)

1. Key Animation.

• X(1996/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Legend of Crystania(1996~1997/OVA)

1. Key Animation: #3.
2. Animation: OP, ED.

• Glay Survival(1999/PS)

1. Key Animation.

• Ghiblies episode 2(2002/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Macross Zero(2002~2004/OVA)

1. Kadun(カドゥン) Design.
2. Key Animation: #2, #5.

• The Animatrix: Beyond(2003/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• Gad Guard(2003/TV)

1. Key Animation: #10, #24.

• Ghost in the Shell INNOCENCE(2004/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Mousou Dairinin(2004/TV)

1. Storyboard: #8.
2. Episode Direction: #8.
3. Animation Direction: #8.
4. Key Animation: #8.

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood(2003~2004/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP4, #47.

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 2 Akaki Elixir no Akuma(2004/PS2)

1. Key Animation.

• Tennis no Ouji-sama=: Futari no Samurai - The First Game(2005/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Beck Monogrian Chop Squad(2004~2005/TV)

1. Key Animation: #22.

• Sousei no Aquarion(2005/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP, #2, #19, #25.
2. World Setting: #19.
3. Episode Direction: #19.
4. Animation Direction: #19.

• Eureka Seven(2005~2006/TV)

1. Storyboard: OP3.
2. Episode Direction: OP3.
3. Animation Direction: OP3.
4. Key Animation: OP1, OP3, #43.

• Tales of Legendia(2005/PS2)

1. Key Animation: OP.

• Noein(2005~2006/TV)

1. Animation Direction: #22.
2. Key Animation: #12, #15, #19, #22, #24.

• Baldr Force Exe Resolution(2006~2007/OVA)

1. Key Animation: OP.

• Kemonozume(2006/TV)

1. Storyboard: #3 Avant-Title.
2. Episode Direction: #3 Avant-Title.
3. Key Animation: #3 Avant Title.

• Kite Liberator(2008/OVA)

1. Key Animation.

• The Sky Crawlers(2008/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Uchuu Kaitakushi(2009/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos(2011/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Blade(2011/TV)

1. Key Animation: #7, #9, #12.

• Kingdom(2012~2013/TV)

1. 3DCG: #1.

• Next A-Class(2012/WEB)

1. 3DCG.

• Ohanashi no Kuni Classic(2012)

1. Director: #14.
2. Animation: #14.
3. Art: #14.

• Lexus Short Films(2013)

1. Key Animation: A Better Tomorrow.

• Ohanashi no Kuni Dai 2 Ki(2013)

1. Director: OP.
2. Storyboard: OP.
3. Episode Direction: OP.
4. Art Design.
5. Animation.

• Z/X Ignition(2014/TV)

1. Key Animation: OP(#6~#12), #1, #6, #10, #11.

• Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil(2014/TV)

1. Storyboard: #4.

• Giovanni Island(2014/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke no Bohyou(2014/Movie)

1. Key Animation.

• Sengoku Basara: Judge End(2014/TV)

1. Action Supervision: #11.
2. Key Animation: #1.

• Nihon Animator Expo Three Fallen Witnesses(2015/WEB)

1. Draft.
2. Director.
3. Screenplay.
4. Storyboard.
5. Scene Setting(場面設定).
6. Layout.
7. Character Design.
8. Animation Direction.
9. Key Animation.

• Lupin III: Part 5(2015/TV)

1. Prop Design: #3(Joint), #4, #7(Joint).
2. Art Setting: #3(Joint).

• Lupin III Italian Game(2016/TVSP)

1. Prop Design(Joint).

• Terra Formers Revenge(2016/TV)

1. Action Animation Direction: OP(Joint), #1, #6, #8.
2. Key Animation: #1.

• Persona 5(2016/PS4)

1. Key Animation: OP.

• Soushin Shoujo Matoi(2016/TV)

1. Key Animation: #12.

• Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta(2017/Movie)

1. Key Animation.