{"id":987486,"date":"2026-01-07T05:20:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=458153"},"modified":"2026-01-07T05:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:20:19","slug":"my-favorite-anime-studio-ghibli-animator-akihiko-yamatsura-on-the-anime-that-changed-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/my-favorite-anime-studio-ghibli-animator-akihiko-yamatsura-on-the-anime-that-changed-his-life\/","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Anime: Studio Ghibli animator Akihiko Yamatsura on the anime that changed his life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Akihiko Yamashita, who\u2019s worked on titles as wide reaching as The Big O<\/a><\/em> and Evangelion 2.0<\/a><\/em>, has quite the anime resume. Since 2001, he\u2019s been working with Studio Ghibli, having done work on Spirited Away<\/a> <\/em>all the way through The Boy and the Heron<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yamashita\u2019s foray into anime came a bit slowly. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a child, I watched various animations without really being aware that this was this incredible medium,\u201d Yamashita told Polygon via a translator. That all changed when he was in junior high school. \u201cI happened to see The Castle of Cagliostro<\/em>, and that was the one that really made me aware that you could really have a fantastically beautiful and excellent film.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was, \u201cby coincidence\u201d directed by Hayao Miyazaki, whom Yamashita went on to work with closely, starting with a more direct relationship on Howl\u2019s<\/em><\/a> Moving Castle<\/a><\/em>. To say this job was a dream come true for him would be putting it mildly. The Castle of Cagliostro<\/em> was the catalyst for him seeing all that animation could be. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought: This shows that animation can be really fun,\u201d Yamashita says. \u201cAnd then even with simple lines we could express so much in terms of how to show movement, how to show animation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Yamashita credits the movie\u2019s many car chases in the film with catching his eye \u2014 with a little special love for the film\u2019s beginning one. \u201cThat really amped up my voltage […] when I saw the car chase, I thought that was just amazing that that could be done by such simple animation.\u201d <\/p>\n

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