News
Kannagi/Wake Up, Girls! Director Yutaka Yamamoto Goes on Indefinite Leave to Recuperate
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Anime director Yutaka Yamamoto (Yamakan) announced on his Twitter account on Monday that he is taking an indefinite leave to recuperate after "far too unreasonable circumstances piling up" caused him to be in poor health. He clarifies that he will still check his mail and have a phone, but will refrain from further activity.
Yamamoto founded his studio Ordet in 2008 after leaving Kyoto Animation in 2007. The studio worked on Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens with A-1 Pictures, with Yamamoto as director. He has also directed the Fractale series, and directed and supervised the Wake Up, Girls! idol series and films. The franchise's latest entry, the Wake Up, Girls! Beyond the Bottom film, premiered in Japan last December.
Before leaving Kyoto Animation, he most notably served as the series production director on the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime. He is also credited as an assistant director for Munto 2: Beyond the Walls of Time, directed and storyboarded episodes of Air, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, and Kanon. His last work with the company was directing the first four episodes of Lucky Star.
Source: ITMedia's Netlab via Ameba News
Update: Freelance game and anime commentator Kiyoshi Tane mused on Twitter if this is essentially Yamamoto's retirement, and characterized Yamamoto as someone whose talent for entertainment and dislike of entertainment were at odds. Yamamoto responded on Twitter, "The incompetent critics' incompetent criticisms have started again (laughs)." [Via Yaraon!]
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