Rare Materials from Yamato and Gundam; Original Char Illustration Unveiled for the First Time
Published by Mantan Web, November 18.
See the original article (and photo collection) here.
The retrospective exhibition The Artist, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, featuring manga artist and renowned character designer for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam, opened at the Shibuya City Shoto Museum of Art (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo) on November 18. This exhibition, previously held in Kobe, Shimane, Aomori, and Hokkaido, now comes to Tokyo. It runs until February 1, 2026.
The exhibition is organized into six chapters, broadly categorized by era and genre.
Chapter 1, “Born in Hokkaido,” looks back on his childhood in Engaru, Hokkaido; his high school years influenced by leftist ideology, and his university days immersed in student activism. On display are the manga The Distant Flow of the Tahoe River, drawn in notebooks during high school and university, and the campus magazine Konmiyun. Also on display is his “Key Points Notebook,” where he summarized class content during junior high school.
Chapter 2: “Drawing Motion“ looks back on his activities after dropping out of Hirosaki University, entering Mushi Production’s training program, and beginning his career as an animator. It covers works like Space Battleship Yamato, Brave Raideen, and Invincible Superhuman Zambot 3. Precious materials such as storyboards for Yamato and rough sketches for posters are also on display.
[See the Yamato storyboards here.]
Chapter 3: “The Birth of a Charismatic Animator” focuses on the blockbuster Mobile Suit Gundam. On display are character designs, original drawings for key scenes like Episode 17 Amuro’s Escape, Episode 29 Scattered at Jaburo!, and the Amuro vs. Char duel scene from Gundam III: Encounters in Space, along with rough drafts for the theatrical poster and the original artwork for the soundtrack record jacket.
The design of the MS (Mobile Suits) was handled by Kunio Okawara, but looking at the materials on display, it’s clear that Mr. Yasuhiko’s ideas were adopted for elements like the design of Gundam’s mouth.
The original illustration artwork for the laser disc (LD) jacket featuring Char is being shown in Tokyo for the first time. Previous exhibitions only displayed the corresponding original artwork for Amuro, but now both Amuro and Char’s original artworks will be together.
Materials from “phantom projects” like the unrealized OVA (Original Video Animation) Mikoto are also being exhibited. Among these, the structural proposal for Space Carrier Blue Noah has become a talking point since its unveiling at this exhibition, making it one of the highlights.
Chapter 4: “As Animator, As Manga Artist” overviews his work as an animation director, novel illustrator, and manga artist, displaying works like Crusher Joe, Giant God Gorg, Arion, and Venus War Chronicles. Giant God Gorg features extensive materials including early concepts, settings, image boards, and layouts, making it particularly compelling.
Chapter 5: “Depicting History” introduces his work as a historical manga artist, featuring Namuji, Yamato Takeru, Jeanne, Jesus, Rainbow-Colored Trotsky, The Dog of the Royal Path, and Heaven’s Bloodline. Namuji is a manga aiming for expression through the gradations of ink; viewing the original artwork reveals its astonishingly delicate rendering.
Chapter 6: “Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Today” covers his current work, focusing on his return to animation following the anime Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin. Materials from the 2022 theatrical anime Mobile Suit Gundam: Kukuruz Doan’s Island are also displayed.