Animation artist Nizo Yamamoto of Japanese studios Ghibli dies aged 70 – Observer

Animation art director and artist Nizo Yamamoto, who worked on the Ghibli films and the “Conan, the Boy from the Future” series, has died of cancer at the age of 70, his family announced on social media.

Yamamoto, who has worked with directors such as Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Hosoda and Makoto Shinkai, died on August 19 at his home in Saitama, north of Tokyo, his eldest son Takao Yamamoto announced in a statement on social media on Monday. .

His first work as artistic director was on the series “Conan, o Rapaz do Futuro” (“Mirai Shonen Konan”, 1978), directed by Hayao Miyazaki for the Nippon Animation studio, which arrived in Portugal in the 1980s, shown by RTP.

In 1985, Miyazaki invited him to join his new studio, Studio Ghibli, to participate in the production of “The Castle in the Sky” (“Laputa”, 1986), and he would participate in numerous works by Miyazaki or his partner Isao Takahaya, including “Grave of the Fireflies” (“Hotaru no Haka”, 1988) and “Princess Mononoke” (“Mononoke Hime”, 1997).

Yamamoto has also worked as an art director and background artist on cult films such as Satoshi Kon’s “Perfect Blue” (1997), Mamoru Hoshoda’s “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (“Toki wo Kakeru Shojo”, 2005). , and “O Tempo Contigo” (“Tenki no Ko”, 2019), by Makoto Shinkai, which established the perception of its characteristic clouds, nicknamed “Nizo clouds”.

Born on June 27, 1953 on the island of Goto in southwestern Nagasaki Prefecture, Yamamoto moved to Tokyo after studying architecture and painting at a secondary school in Gifu, central Tokyo, to graduate from the Faculty of Design of capital.

Yamamoto also joined Telecom Animation Film, where he was responsible for the sets for the film “The Castle of Cagliostro” (“Lupin III: Kariosutoro no shiro”, 1979).