- Yamamoto worked as an animator and episode director for “Astro Boy” (1963) and as a director for “Kimba the White Lion” (1965) alongside the late Tezuka, who created and also helped animate those series.
- Other notable works from Yamamoto include the erotic animated films, “A Thousand and One Nights” (1969), “Cleopatra” (1970) and the dark psychedelic cult-classic “Belladonna of Sadness” (1973).
- Together with Tezuka, the duo was thought to have laid the foundation for modern anime with their studio’s particular style of limited animation.
- Beyond his animated works, Yamamoto also leaves behind his 1989 semi-fictionalized memoir and exposé, “The Rise and Fall of Mushi Pro: The Youth of Ani Meita,” where he wrote of scandals, his criticisms of the studio with Tezuka and the extremely draining work culture around “Anime Syndrome,” according to Animation Magazine.
- On Sept. 25, Yamamoto’s death was confirmed at a Tokyo screening of the restored “Belladonna of Sadness,” where fellow anime filmmakers and contributors Furukawa Masashi, Sugii Gisaburo and Maruyama Masao attended and paid their respects.
- Jason DeMarco, a senior vice president of anime at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, also penned a tribute to the late creator, alongside other fans.
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