Yoshiyuki Momose

Yoshiyuki Momose (百瀬 義行, Momose Yoshiyuki, born in 1953 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese animator, animation director and director. He was a regular collaborator of Hayao Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata at Studio Ghibli.

He formed his own studio in 2005, Studio Kajino, and continues to work on projects for Ghibli. Kajino was subcontracted by Ghibli to produce several music videos for Yasutaka Nakata, part of the musical duo Capsule (カプセル, Kapuseru). and other commercial shorts. He's also the animation director and character designer for the Ni no Kuni series.

In July 2011, he released Yoshiyuki Momose Studio Ghibli Works (百瀬義行 スタジオジブリワークス), published by Ichijinsha.

Career
Born on November 29, 1953 in Tokyo, Japan. During his subcontracting years at Studio Neo Media and A Pro, Momose worked on TV titles such as Tensai Bakabon (1971-1972), Dokonjo Gaeru (1972-1974), and Hajime Ningen Gyatorus (1974-1976) (scenes from which are featured in the NTV documentary A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition.

After Momose was recruited by Ghibli to do layout and other duties on Grave of the Fireflies, he continued with the studio as supervisor of key animation on Only Yesterday and Pom Poko. After doing key animation on Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, and Spirited Away, and CG work on Princess Mononoke, Momose returned to working with Takahata on My Neighbors the Yamadas where he worked alongside Osamu Tanabe doing storyboards, setting scenes, and directing the animation (Momose handled these duties for the first half of that film, Tanabe did the honors for the second half).

Animation scholar Ben Ettinger writes: "I've long felt Yoshiyuki Momose to be the person doing the most interesting and creative work at Studio Ghibli for years now - both in his many lovely and original shorts of recent years and, prior to that, as one of the unsung heroes of Takahata's films. Without his technical mastery in the layouts and concept design, those films would not have half their impact.

"He is one of the few creators involved in the studio who seems to have it all: the ability to come up with interesting stories and engaging characters and bring them alive in a compelling and original visual concept. He has the technical knowhow of a 40 year career during which he has touched on just about every aspect of animation, from traditional animation to CG animation to directing to concept illustration. In my mind, he is the obvious and only candidate to helm a Ghibli feature post M&T.

"Momose has drawn just about everything that it's possible for someone to draw in the animation process, including key animation drawings, concept drawings, layouts, character designs, and storyboards."

"His first decade working as a subcontract animator was an important period for him not just because it gave him his foundation, but also because it's during this time that he became acquainted with the work of (then) A Pro animator Yoshifumi Kondō, who is the one who recommended Momose when Takahata was struggling to find people to help him produce Grave of the Fireflies."

After working on My Neighbors the Yamadas, like Tanabe, Momose continued working with the art style and CG techniques developed for that film, either animating or directing the series of shorts the studio put out during that time, starting with Ghiblies Episode 2, then continuing with the House Foods CM spots, the three music shorts for the electronica duo Capsule (Portable Airport, Space Station No.9, and Flying City Plan), and the music short for Yui Aragaki's Piece. In addition to continuing to do feature work as a key animator on Tales from Earthsea, Momose also directed the animation for the PS3 game Ki no Kuni. He was in charge of character design for Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom.

Movies

 * 1984 Lensman (Animator)
 * 1987 Twilight of the Cockroaches (Animator)
 * 1987 Foxes of Chironupp Island (Animator)
 * 1988 Grave of the Fireflies (Assistant Layout and Animation Director)
 * 1990 The Story of Perrine (Animation Director)
 * 1991 Only Yesterday (Scene Design / Storyboard)
 * 1992 Porco Rosso (Animator)
 * 1994 Pom Poko (Image Building, Screen Composition)
 * 1995 On Your Mark (Animator)
 * 1995 Whisper of the Heart (Animator)
 * 1997 Princess Mononoke (CG Production)
 * 1999 My Neighbors the Yamadas (Storyboard, Scene Composition, Animation Director)
 * 2001 ''Spirited Away Original picture
 * 2002 Ghiblies Episode 2 (Screenplay, Director)
 * 2006 Portable Airport (Screenplay, Director)
 * 2006 Tales from Earthsea (Animator)
 * 2014 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Scene Design)
 * 2018 Modest Heroes (Screenplay, Director)
 * 2019 Ni no Kuni (Animation Director)

Commercial Movies

 * 2003 House Food Let's eat at home. (Summer Edition)
 * 2004 House Food Let's eat at home. (Winter Edition)
 * 2015 JR West Summer Train

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