The Art of

Akihiro Yamada

1
c o n t e n t s
Biographey 4

Illustrations 6

Sketches 10

Character 14
Design

Twelve Kingdoms 15

mystic ark 18

RAhXEPhON 21

Beast of East 24

References 27

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2 cover Biography Illustrations Sketches References
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B i o g r a p h y
Akihiro Yamada (山田 章博), born February 10, ephon as well as a variety of video games. Aside from Yamada attracted attention outside of Japan through

1957, is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist. He illustration and character design he had worked as his illustrations of Fuyumi Ono’s long-running The

was born in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture on the island of concept designer of the movie Shinobi: Heart Under Twelve Kingdoms light novel series. He specially

Shikoku in Japan, and now resides in Kyoto. Yamada Blade. Yamada’s character design credits for anime designed the rich cover illustrations for the home

is known for delicate images reminiscent of suiboku include RahXephon. His work on video games in- DVD releases of the anime adaptation of this series.

and depiction of fantasy subjects. He is the 1996 cludes Saiyuki: Journey West on the Sony PlaySta- Within Japan he has illustrated covers for numerous

Seiun Award winner in art category. tion, various Might and Magic and Wizardry titles translated anthologies of Cthulhu Mythos literature,

for the TurboGrafx-16, both versions of Mystic and is currently working with Kurodahan Press on

The Seiun Award (星雲賞 Seiunshō) is a Japanese Ark, Enix’s role-playing video game for the Super their translation of a four-volume Japanese anthology

speculative fiction award for the best science fiction Famicom and PlayStation and character designs for of Cthulhu Mythos literature, The Lairs of the Secret

published in Japan during the preceding year, as Shinkai Densetsu Meremanoid and Terra Phantastica. Gods (秘神界 Hishinkai). Yamada is drawing covers

voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Con- Yamada also worked on a game called Chaos Gear that are exclusive to the English translation.

vention. “Seiun” is the Japanese word for “nebula”, and a PC game, Black Rainbow.

but the award is not related to the American Nebula

Award, and is the Japanese equivalent to the Hugo Yamada’s designs can also be found in Castlevania:

Award. Dracula X for the Super NES and in Front Mission

3 for the PlayStation. Yamada has produced many

While he has created many manga, Yamada is widely anime artbook compilations

known as a novel illustrator and as a character

designer. As an illustrator his best known works are Yamada drew the manga Record of Lodoss War: The

Fuyumi Ono’s Twelve Kingdoms series and Mizuno Lady of Pharis in conjunction with writer Ryo Mizu-

Ryo’s Record of Lodoss War. His character design no, and is currently working on an Asian-themed solo

credits include concepts for the anime series RahX- manga, Beast of East.

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i l l u s t r at i o n s

The following illustrations shows the different styles of art that Yamada has experimented with, and has no

association with a particular anime, manga, movie, novel, or video game. These are independent works o art.

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 Character 9
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s k e t c h e s

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 Character 13
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Character Designs Twelve Kingdoms

Twelve Kingdoms mystic ark

The Twelve Kingdoms (十二国記 Jūni Kokuki?, also known as “Record of 12 Countries” or “Juuni Kokki,”) is a

Japanese series of light novels written by Fuyumi Ono and illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. Aside from being

RAhXEPhON beast of east the illustrator of the novels, Yamada was also involved in the overall art production of the anime adaptation.

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 Character 17
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mystic ark

Mystic Ark was a game released in 1995 by Enix, we’ll be playing the former unless someone has ob-

back when they were churning out superbly difficult jections and prefers the other one. Mystic Ark follows

games like The 7th Saga. The game was never re- the main character traveling to eight different worlds,

leased outside of Japan, but has received two fan- each telling a different story with a different moral

translations by Aeon Genesis and Dynamic Designs, lesson to be learned.

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 RAhXEPhON

RahXephon (ラーゼフォン Rāzefon) is a Japanese anime se- through the silhouette of a dove., the French Surrealism

ries about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control movement, from the dreamlike sequences associated with

a mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey some Dolems, to all the references to retuning and rework-

to find a place in the world. His life as a student and artist ing the world and the desires of man. Surrealists said that

in Tokyo is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious stalker, artists should express the subconscious uninhibited by

strange planes invading the city and strange machines conscious thought and reason, and that the dream world

fighting back. The anime makes references to the Surreal- of the subconscious was more real than the real world —

ist artist René Magritte’s La Grande Famille, showing a sky surreal.

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 Character 23
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beast of east

Beast of East is one of the few solo mangas that Yamada’s has had published, while most were collaborations with authors

or artists. Released in 2002 and still ongoing, the story plot takes place a thousand years before Christ, the last king of an

ancient dynasty has had to sacrifice his own life, friends and allies to seal away a demon fox causing chaos in his land and

driving people to despair. During the Heian period that golden-haired nine-tailed vixen, known as Daji in China and Kayo

in India, whose malign influence led to the dramatic downfall of the governments, reappears in Japan...

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 r e f e r e n c e s
Websites Position in:
Animation Runner Kuromi (OAV) : Recording Assistant
Akihiro’s official Website
http://kirakuya-honpo.hustle.ne.jp/yamada-akihiro/ Beast of east (manga) : Story & Art

Akihiro Yamada at Anime News Network’s Encyclopedia Kekkaishi (TV) : Production Advancement
www.theanimenetwork.com/
Last Continent (manga) : Story & Art

Exhibitions 2011 Mobile Suit Gundam UC (OAV) : Production Desk

Yamada Akihiro Exhibition - Worlds from a Magic Brush - RahXephon (OAV) : Character Design
Kyoto International Manga Museum
RahXephon (TV) : Character Design, Illustration (ED)

Art books
Rahxephon BIBLE【Analysis Phase】(Resource Book) :
Character Design
Wikia. Manga - Anime character designers: Akemi Takada,
Akihiro Yamada, Akira Toriyama, Atsuko Nakajima, Ayumi
RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio (movie) : Character De-
Kurashima, Fumitoshi Oizaki, Hajime Watanabe, ... Osaka,
sign
Hiroshi Kanazawa, Hiroyuki Kitazume. Memphis: Books
LLC, 2012.
Record of Lodoss War: The Lady of Pharis (manga) : Art

Yamada, Akihiro. Fantasy Art Works. Tokyo: Soft Bank

SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade (live-action movie) : Charac-
Publishing, 2006.
ter Conceptual Design

Yamada, Akihiro. A Collection of Paintings. Tokyo: Chuouk-

(The) Twelve Kingdoms (TV) :
ouron Shin Sha, 2004.
Original Character Design

Yamada, Akihiro. Souvenir. Tokyo: Nihon Editors, 2004.

Wolf’s Rain (TV) : Design
(“Tsuki no Sho” [Book of the Moon])
Yamada, Akihiro. RahXephon Artworks. Tokyo: Soft Bank
Publishing, 2003.
Yakitate!! Japan (TV) :
Production Advancement
Yamada, Akihiro. Mystic Ark Art Works. Japan, 2000.

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28 cover Biography Illustrations