Masayuki (animator)

, more commonly known mononymously as , is a Japanese animator and director. He is best known for working on the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion and co-directing the first three Rebuild of Evangelion films.

Life and career

Masayuki Yamaguchi was born on January 3, 1961, in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. While in high school, he was inspired to enter the animation industry after seeing Hayao Miyazaki's 1978 anime series Future Boy Conan.

In 1982, Masayuki worked on "Key Animation" in several OVA and television anime, including: Acrobunch, Cream Lemon, Fist of the North Star, Cream Lemon Part 4: POP CHASER, Bavi Stock, Gunbuster, Doomed Megalopolis, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He has also worked under the pseudonym on some media, including: Macross Plus, ', and '.'

Masayuki is a close friend of the famed Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno. Together, they have collaborated on many OVAs, films, and television programs, such as Gunbuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion, ', The End of Evangelion, GAMERA1999, Cutie Honey, ', ', ', Shin Godzilla, ', and Shin Ultraman. Masayuki's friendship with Anno has become very close, with the former spending half a year editing Anno's wedding video, which apparently had more than 1000 cuts.

Filmography

Film

• ' (1995) - Animation director [as Wase Emishi]
• ' (1997) - Director [Evangelion:Death segment], animation director, design director, storyboard artist, and key animation [Evangelion:Death segment]
• The End of Evangelion (1997) - Storyboard artist, design director, key animation, and visual water artist
• GAMERA1999 (1999) - Director [with Hideaki Anno]
• Cutie Honey (2004) - Associate director and storyboard artist
• ' (2007) - Director [with Kazuya Tsurumaki] and key animation
• ' (2009) - Director [with Kazuya Tsurumaki], storyboard artist, and key animation
• ' (2012) - Director [with Kazuya Tsurumaki and Mahiro Maeda] and storyboard artist
• Shin Godzilla (2016) - Storyboard artist, D Unit director [with Ikki Todoroki and Hideaki Anno], D Unit cinematographer [with Ikki Todoroki and Hideaki Anno], and D Unit recording [with Ikki Todoroki and Hideaki Anno]
• ' (2021) - Draft storyboard artist, key animation, and screen assistant (for animated underwater scenes)
• Shin Ultraman (2022) - Assistant director, storyboard artist [with Akitoshi Yokoyama, Shinji Higuchi, Hideaki Anno, Ikki Todoroki, Kazuyoshi Katayama, and Linto Ueda] and cinematographer

Television

• Acrobunch (1982) - Key animation
• Fist of the North Star (1984-1987) - Key animation [episode 56]
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996) - Assistant director, storyboard artist [8 episodes], key animation [5 episodes], episode director [episodes 19, 24 and 26], and design assistant [episode 19]

OVA

• Cream Lemon (1984-1987) - Key animation [episode 4]
• Cream Lemon Part 4: POP CHASER (1985) - Key animation
• Bavi Stock (1985-1986) - Key animation [episode 1]
• Gunbuster (1988-1989) - Opening animation and key animation [episodes 5 and 6]
• BAOH (1989) - Character designer and animation director
• Doomed Megalopolis (1991-1992) - Character designer, animation director [episodes 1, 2, and 4], key animation [episodes 3 and 4], storyboard artist [episodes 3 and 4], and screenwriter [episode 4]
• Macross Plus (1994-1995) - Animation director [episode 1; as Wase Emishi]
• ' (2004) - Animation director [episode 3; as Wase Emishi]