Yoshiji Kigami

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Yoshiji Kigami
木上 益治
Born(1957-12-28)28 December 1957
Died18 July 2019(2019-07-18) (aged 61)
Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Other namesIchirou Miyoshi, Fumio Tada
Occupation(s)Animator, television director and storyboarder
Years active1979–2019
Known forKyoto Animation employee

Yoshiji Kigami (Japanese: 木上 益治, Hepburn: Kigami Yoshiji, 28 December 1957 – 18 July 2019) was a Japanese animator, director and storyboarder. He started working at Shin-Ei Animation, later became part of Animaruya and then he became affiliated with Kyoto Animation.

Career

When he was young, Kigami was a big fan of

Disney movies and anime shows based on the manga series of Osamu Tezuka, and this lead him to becoming an animator. He started working at Shin-Ei Animation before joining Kyoto Animation. Kigami became well known in the industry for his work on Grave of the Fireflies and Akira as a key animator.[1] In 2003, Kigami directed his first work, Munto, and later became an instructor at Kyoto Animation's teaching program.[2] In Kyoto Animation productions, he used the pen name Ichirou Miyoshi (三好一郎) when storyboarding, and Fumio Tada (多田文男) when doing key animation.[3]

Death

On 18 July 2019, during the Kyoto Animation arson attack, Kigami was killed alongside 35 of his colleagues,[4] with 33 others wounded; Kigami was initially declared missing after the attack[5][6] due to his mother declaring that he could not be contacted immediately following the fire.[6] His death was confirmed on 2 August 2019.[7]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "WEBアニメスタイル_もっとアニメを観よう". www.style.fm. Retrieved Jul 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "京都アニメーション プロ養成塾". Kyoto Animation (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  3. ^ Cirugeda, Kevin (November 3, 2016). "Sound! Euphonium 2: Episode 5". Sakuga Blog. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  4. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (2 August 2019). "Kyoto Police Release Names of 10 Victims Who Died in Kyoto Animation Fire". Anime Network News.
  5. ^ "京アニ「社員の師匠」木上さん、なお不明 「キャラに生命」「あの優しい人が…」". 毎日新聞. Retrieved Jul 25, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Kyoto Animation Arson Attack: Veteran Animator of 'Akira' and Ghibli Feared Dead". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 July 2019. Retrieved Jul 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "犠牲者10人氏名公表、京アニ事件で府警 「涼宮ハルヒ」監督も". Kyoto Shimbun. 2 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Yoshiji Kigami biography". IMDB.com.
  9. ^ a b c "Yoshiji Kigami overview". Anime Planet.
  10. ^ Harding, Daryl (27 July 2019). "A Silent Voice's Brilliant Staff Behind The Kyoto Animation Classic". Medium.

External links