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54-513: His best known works as a director are Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo and Kirby: Right Back at Ya! , as a scriptwriter are Future Boy Conan and Armored Trooper Votoms , and as a character designer is Fang of the Sun Dougram . He has played most of the roles in anime production, from animator, episode director, storyboard artist, scriptwriter to director, and has directed each production process. In addition to anime, he also created

108-473: A caste -based dystopia. The main resource of highly concentrated orbital-based solar power has become unavailable after the disappearance of Lana's grandfather, Dr. Lao, who has gone into hiding after the war in order to avoid further military usage of his research: a power that could rebuild the world, but which was also the weapon that brought humanity to the brink of apocalypse during the last conflict. Soon another crew from Industria manages to locate Lana. In

162-563: A Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an At or Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS' trademark Armored Trooper mecha). Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Alone Again ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 孤影再び , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Koei Futatabi ) , released as Chirico's Return by Maiden Japan, is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as sequel to the Shining Heresy and prequel to the Phantom Arc . VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since

216-439: A different story was favored, but eventually, The Incredible Tide novel was chosen. There was a preparation time of three months for the layout . Six months passed between the start of the key animation work and the airing of the first episode. Although a stock of eight episodes was already produced by that time, the show still went behind schedule. According to Miyazaki it "took [them] from ten days to two weeks to produce

270-458: A group of people to flee to outer space failed, with their spaceships being forced back on Earth and crashing on a small desert and dry island. Although initially desperate, the survivors discover that the crash landing has opened a freshwater well, and gradually life returns to the island. The crew members of the spaceship gradually settle on what they call 'Remnant Island' and they lead a simple and happy life as an extended family. A new baby, Conan,

324-478: A representative member of the Japanese anime world, along with Hayao Miyazaki , Isao Takahata , and Osamu Dezaki . He was a big anime fan from the beginning, making animation with an 8mm camera. He was also a fan of manga artist Osamu Tezuka . He has been a fan of science fiction since he read Shōnen Shōjo Sekai Kagaku Bōken Zenshū by Kodansha when he was a kid. A fan of Osamu Tezuka's works, when Yoshikawa

378-468: A simple society has re-developed in close contact with the nature. She has ended up on Conan's island while trying to escape from abduction by the crew of the Barracuda, a sailing ship from the leftover of the old world, Industria. Industria is in desperate need of energy, having barely managed to continue its highly industrialized economy through careful husbandry of a backup nuclear reactor, and devolving into

432-474: A single episode" and that if "NHK hadn't inserted a special program in there as a padding, it probably would have turned into a real wreck of a series. If we hadn't been working for NHK, we never could have pulled Conan off." The staff was happy to work on a more upbeat story after 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother . In a 1983 interview with Yōkō Tomizawa from Animage , Miyazaki stated that he only worked on

486-516: A three-disc box set along with the two soundtracks. It was released on Blu-ray as part of the Perfect Soldier Box on February 25, 2021. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Brilliantly Shining Heresy ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 赫奕たる異端 , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Kakuyakutaruitan ) is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994. It is a sequel to the original TV series. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Pēruzen Fairuzu )

540-408: A time when mankind is faced with the threat of extinction . A devastating war fought with ultra- magnetic weapons far greater than anything seen earlier brings about a post-apocalyptic world , resulting in several earthquakes and tsunamis. The Earth is thrown off its axis, its crust rocked by massive movements, and the continents are torn completely apart and sink deep below the sea. An attempt by

594-664: A very low chance of survival and are commonly referred to instead as "Bottoms", the lowest of the low ("Votoms" and "Bottoms" are written and pronounced the same way in Japanese). The series follows a main character named Chirico Cuvie, a special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union. Chirico

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648-422: Is a spin-off centered around a boy named Taiga and his adventure in the world of magical artifacts known as OOPArts . The central OOPArt, known as Obats ( オーバッツ , Ōbattsu ) , is a giant living statue, and it is on its path to bring forth doom to the world as it collects other OOPArts and becomes more powerful. Armored Trooper Votoms Armored Trooper VOTOMS ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu )

702-399: Is a 12-episode OVA series that was released from October 26, 2007 to August 22, 2008. It was also released as a feature film on January 17, 2009. It is a prequel to the main series and a sequel to Origin of Ambition . Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Phantom Arc ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 幻影篇 , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Gen'ei-hen ) , released as Genei ~ Phantom Arc by Maiden Japan, is a six-part OVA series that

756-729: Is a 50-minute OVA released on August 21, 1985. The storyline takes place after the Woodoo storyline in the TV series. It details Chirico meeting with his old comrades in his old military unit, and their plan to get revenge on General Pailsen. A 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline features Chirico and his comrades participating in a mecha gladiatorial match. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Red Shoulder Document - Origin of Ambition ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ レッドショルダードキュメント 野望のルーツ , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Reddo Shorudā Dokyumento Yabō no Rūtsu ) , released as just Origin of Ambition by Maiden Japan,

810-521: Is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988. The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and especially The Last Red Shoulder . It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen. Leechers Army Merowlink ( 機甲猟兵メロウリンク , Kikō Ryōhei Merourinku ) is a twelve episode anime science fiction action OVA series spinoff of Armored Trooper Votoms . It premiered on November 21, 1988. It takes place in

864-571: Is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon Sunrise , created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara . Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi's previous series, Fang of the Sun Dougram , VOTOMS continued the trend towards hard science in the mecha anime subgenre. The series was supplemented by numerous original video animation releases and also inspired several spin-off works whose media ranges from serialized light novels to video games . The TV anime

918-490: Is a Japanese post-apocalyptic science fiction anime series. It is an adaptation of American science-fiction writer Alexander Key 's 1970 novel The Incredible Tide . It was broadcast for twenty-six episodes on NHK General TV between April and October 1978. A spin-off series, Future Boy Conan II: Taiga Adventure aired for twenty-four episodes on TBS from October 1999 to April 2000. The story begins in July 2008, during

972-496: Is eventually born within the community in October 2016. Year after year the older survivors die off in their isolation and unaware of the sort of humanity beyond the small island, until the only people left are Conan and his adoptive grandfather. One day Conan finds on the beach a young girl named Lana, the first stranger and person of his own age whom he had ever known. Lana was raised on another surviving island called High Harbor, where

1026-481: Is eventually brought to Industria and separated and reunited again various times, as the situation on that island further degenerates due to further natural disasters and the deteriorating social fabric, turning more and more into a dictatorship under the Director. Over the course of the story, he is the only irredeemable figure, devoid of any scruples and ever greedy for power at any cost. All the other characters, including

1080-459: Is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding in the theft of secrets from what appears to be his side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and is tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes, triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by

1134-614: The 100th episode of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime contained some problems, inconsistencies, and heavy-handedness in the plot and development is that Yoshikawa, who wrote the final episode, learned that his wife was in critical condition at the time and had to rush through the script and leave it in incomplete form in order to be present for her dying moments. Future Boy Conan Future Boy Conan ( 未来少年コナン , Mirai Shōnen Konan ) , also known as Conan, The Boy in Future ,

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1188-540: The Giants , Moomin , Ashita no Joe , Lupin the 3rd Part I , and Future Boy Conan , and made his directorial debut with Tensai Bakabon . In 1978, at the age of 31, he directed the first Lupin III film, The Mystery of Mamo . While Miyazaki's second Lupin film, The Castle of Cagliostro suffered at the box office when it was released, this film was a huge hit with distribution revenue of 900 million yen. However, due to

1242-455: The Industria facilities. The rubbish is mined by the impoverished and still war-traumatized local population, in exchange for simple trinkets, alcoholic beverages and surrogate cigarettes. Conan and Jimsy soon begin to socialize and also decide to raid the ship, respectively to save Lana and to steal its goods. The attempt fails and they are punished and forced into labor by the captain. The group

1296-574: The Wind . On July 8, 2021, GKIDS licensed the TV series with a new English dub and a 4K restoration. GKIDS released a four-disc Blu-Ray set of the complete series on November 16, 2021, alongside a digital release. On September 28, 2021, Anime Limited announced they got the license for the series for the UK. Anime Limited released the show in a two part collector's edition set with Part 1 released on June 27 and Part 2 on July 25, 2022, on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD, making it

1350-452: The altercation, Conan's grandfather is killed and the boy is initially abandoned alone on the now-desert island. He decides to take his chances with the unknown ocean on a simple raft, in order to try and save his new friend Lana. In his journey he first meets another young boy, Jimsy, who grew up in semi-feral status on yet another island, where the Barracuda makes regular trips in order to acquire plastic rubbish to be converted back into oil at

1404-469: The army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is especially driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: a mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy. Ryōsuke Takahashi conceived of VOTOMS after watching the film Junior Bonner , in which the main character travels across towns performing rodeo shows, which gave Takahashi

1458-455: The battlefield", sucking on the blood of soldiers. "Armor Hunter" reflects a more faithful translation of the Japanese 機甲猟兵 (Kikō Ryōhei, lit. "Armor Hunter") The series is available for download on Bandai Visual's official website and the Japanese DVD box set was released on December 6, 2006. The series was previously issued twice on laserdisc , once as six individual volumes, and once as

1512-570: The development of the characters and their plight throughout Miyazaki's work. She sees Lana and Conan as precedents for his later heroines and characters, and mentions, among others, Sheeta's rescue by Pazu, from Miyazaki's 1986 animated feature film Castle in the Sky , as an example. In 2013, anime director Kenji Kamiyama , most known for the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, cited

1566-570: The first 4K release of the series anywhere in the world. A video game version of the series by Telenet Japan was released in 1992 on NEC 's PC Engine console. The game was released on the Super CD-ROM² format and was only available in Japan. On October 20, 1995, another game titled Conan, The Boy in Future: Digital Library (未来少年コナンノデジタルライブラリー), was exclusively released on the 3DO , and

1620-485: The idea of creating a story in a post-war setting, with mechs fighting each other for sport. Although several authors have noted similarities between Chirico and Steve McQueen , who played the main character in Junior Bonner , Takahashi stated that Chirico was not modeled after anyone in particular. A 1983 52-episode anime television series. Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ ザ・ラストレッドショルダー )

1674-519: The late 1970s and 1980s. He was initially scheduled to take over as director for Combat Mecha Xabungle . However, he requested to step down due to his busy schedule, and only participated in writing the script, with Tomino taking his place as director. He was deeply involved in the story as the main writer for Armored Trooper Votoms . In an interview, Yoshikawa said that he wanted to do what he left undone in The Mystery of Mamo . According to Takahashi,

Sōji Yoshikawa - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-551: The low social status of animation in Japan at the time, this hit did not lead to an increase in his subsequent work. Later, with the rise in popularity of Miyazaki and Cagliostro , this film became neglected, but with the spread of the Internet, the film began to be reevaluated through word-of-mouth and gained a reputation equal to that of Cagliostro . Yoshikawa participated in and provided scripts for many Sunrise robot animations directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Ryōsuke Takahashi in

1782-400: The main character, Chirico Cuvie, reflects quite a bit of Yoshikawa's personality. Yoshikawa was the chief director of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! , an anime version of the game Kirby series , which aired from 2001 to 2003. The anime was produced by A-Un Entertainment (later renamed Dyna-Method Inc.), a CG studio where Yoshikawa was a senior director and board member. One of the reasons that

1836-421: The minor ones, develop significantly in response to events and in particular after being exposed to the selfless example of Conan. A pure love story also develops with Lana. After multiple separations and various challenges, the group eventually locates Dr. Lao, restores access to solar power just in time to salvage another ship and evacuate Industria just before another cataclysmic earthquake, and finally destroys

1890-472: The nature of the conspiracy that led to their deaths. While the official English title of the series is Leechers Army Merowlink according to the text seen on multiple video and music software releases, it is commonly referred to as Armor Hunter Mellowlink in English. This translation dates from issue 5 of the now-defunct English-language anime magazine Animag and has been repeated in various fan sources over

1944-487: The notion of High Harbor representing North America and Industria representing the Soviet Union. In order to do this, he even considered making the setting more Japanese. For example, in his version of the story, the people of High Harbor would grow rice instead of wheat and eat using chopsticks. But this "would have led to all sorts of other problems", so he eventually dropped the idea. One scene of Jimsy smoking cigarettes

1998-612: The original story, wrote the script, directed the play, and served as general director for the Theater Company Hikōsen . This began when Masaaki Ōsumi , the director of the 1969 anime TV series Moomin , asked him to help out with the troupe. He also worked as a novelist, mainly on novelizations and spin-offs of animation works. In an interview with Yasuo Ōtsuka for the Lupin III Perfect Book: Complete Collector's Edition , he cites Yoshikawa as

2052-436: The past. Spanning a total of 26 episodes, the series was produced by Nippon Animation and featured the directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki , who also contributed to character designs and storyboards . Other future prominent anime creators like Isao Takahata (storyboards, directing) and Yoshiyuki Tomino (storyboards) also worked on the series. Nippon Animation originally presented NHK with several proposals. At first

2106-537: The same universe (and time, and in some episodes, almost the same places) as Votoms , but the two stories are entirely independent of each other. Merowlink is the story of a soldier whose unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Merowlink Ality, manages to survive only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Merowlink escapes his captors and begins hunting down his former commanding officers, both to avenge his dead platoon members and to find out

2160-559: The same way. Future Boy Conan first aired across Japan on the NHK TV network between April 4 and October 31, 1978. It has been regularly broadcast across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax , who have also later translated and dubbed the series into English for broadcast across its respective English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia , under the title Conan, The Boy in Future . A compilation film of

2214-409: The series among the 15 best anime of all time. Future Boy Conan appears, renamed and redrawn to avoid copyright issues, in the anime series Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! , in which it is the foundation of the main character's love of anime, central to the story. Future Boy Conan II: Taiga Adventure  [ ja ] ( 未来少年コナンII タイガアドベンチャー , Mirai Shōnen Konan Tsū: Taiga Adobenchā )

Sōji Yoshikawa - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-450: The series was released in theaters on September 15, 1979, and shown together with Yakyū-kyō no Uta: Kita no Ōkami, Minami no Tora film. A compilation film of the last three episodes of the series, Future Boy Conan: The Big Giant Robot's Resurrection was released in theaters on March 11, 1984, and shown together with Witch Era . It was released the same day as Nausicaa of the Valley of

2322-688: The series' original airing. For a limited time, the Armored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen game included a Red Shoulder Custom model. Chirico also figures in the Sunrise Eiyuutan (Sunrise Heroes) game for the PlayStation 2. VOTOMS was a direct inspiration for the Heavy Gear role-playing game . VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game, Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Roleplaying Game , developed by R. Talsorian Games and using

2376-595: The show under the condition that he was allowed to change the story. He disliked the pessimistic world view of the original story, feeling it was a reflection of Alexander Key 's own fears and insecurities. He wanted a story aimed at children to be more optimistic, stating "[e]ven if someone's lost all hope for the future, I think it is incredibly stupid to go around stressing this to children. Emphasize it to adults if you have to, but there's no need to do so to children. It would be better to simply not say anything at all." Miyazaki further made an effort to distance himself from

2430-420: The super-weapon which the Director was trying to deploy in order to maintain his hegemony over High Harbour and all the other remaining lands. As the last legacy of the society responsible for the apocalypse dies off, nature continues its recovery process, new families are founded, and the younger, still innocent but now more mature Lana and Conan set sail to build a new world that keeps only the positive aspects of

2484-507: The war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. The main weapon of the conflict is the common Armored Trooper , a mass-produced humanoid combat vehicle piloted by a single soldier. Both the Armored Troopers and their pilots are also known as VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers). However, since Armored Troopers have extremely thin armor, and use a highly combustible liquid in their artificial muscle , their pilots have

2538-486: The years. However, the Mellowlink spelling is contradicted by text appearing in the animation itself. The meaning of "Leechers Army" is explained by how the armor hunters depicted in the series are soldiers who have lost their Armored Trooper combat vehicles and must depend on traps and tricks in order to survive, even going so far as to boobytrap the corpses of their own comrades. For this reason, they're considered "leeches of

2592-699: Was a sophomore in high school, he saw a "Mushi Production's first batch of animators wanted" news article and applied for the job, which led him to enter the anime industry. He originally planned to go to art school, but dropped out of high school to join Mushi Productions. He then worked as an animator on Japan's first anime television series Astro Boy . In 1964, Yoshikawa participated in the founding of Art Fresh with Gisaburō Sugii and Osamu Dezaki. After becoming independent, he continued to participate as an animator in Mushi Production's Works, which Art Fresh

2646-504: Was also released the same year. In a 1983 interview with Yōko Yomizawa, Hayao Miyazaki acknowledged that ratings for the show had not been very good, noting that episode 25 had received the highest rating at 14 percent. In her 1999 book Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation , Helen McCarthy identifies Conan as a "seminal" work and recognizes themes and story elements in this production which Miyazaki would continue to explore throughout his career. McCarthy also notes continuity in

2700-744: Was developed by Bandai Visual and published by Emotion Digital Software. The game also is exclusive in Japan, and is extremely rare. Two clips of the Intersound, Inc pilot English dub appeared in the game. Another video game adaptation of the series was released for the PlayStation 2 home console on August 25, 2005, only in Japan. In 2005, a pachinko game titled Future Boy Conan was released. In January 2011, NewGin announced another pachinko game titled Future Boy Conan: Love and Courage and Adventure ( 未来少年コナン〜愛と勇気と冒険と〜 , Mirai Shōnen Konan: Ai to Yūki to Bōken ) . A pachislot game titled Future Boy Conan

2754-399: Was involved in, such as Gokū no Daibōken . After that, he began to participate not only in works produced by Mushi Productions, but also in works produced by Tokyo Movie and A Production , where Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata worked. He has worked as an episode director and storyboard artist on works directed by Tadao Nagahama , Masaaki Ōsumi, Dezaki, Miyazaki, etc., including Star of

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2808-473: Was originally licensed by the now-defunct Central Park Media , which released the series on DVD and VHS. Currently, it is licensed by Maiden Japan , a unit of Section23 Films, which has also released all OVAs other than Leechers Army Merowlink . In the Astragius Galaxy, the Gilgamesh and Balarant nations had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now,

2862-452: Was released from March 26, 2010 to October 27, 2010. It is a sequel to the original TV series and Shining Heresy . Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine ( ケース;アービン ), an OVA that follows the story of Irvine Lester, a repairer of the tank-like robotic Armored Trooper (AT) mecha in the VOTOMS story world. Votoms Finder ( ボトムズファインダー ), an " alternate universe " OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno,

2916-405: Was removed by NHK before the airing of the episode. Miyazaki admitted that he put "way too much of [his] own feelings into episode eight", specifically the underwater "kiss" scene. He had grown fonder of Lana by episode 5 and 6 and "realized that [the show] incorporated the exact same story line of a manga [he] had created back in [his] student days" to the point where even the shots were arranged in

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