Naoko Yamada (å±±ç"° å°šå , Yamada Naoko) is a Japanese animator,
television and film director. Working at Kyoto Animation, she directed
the K-On! and Tamako Market anime series, and the anime films A Silent
Voice and Liz and the Blue Bird.Yamada was born in Kyoto Prefecture.
She enjoyed drawing as a child and would copy images from the Patlabor
and Dragon Ball series. She joined the volleyball club in primary
school and the tennis and photography clubs in high school. At the
Kyoto University of Art and Design, she studied oil painting and was a
member of the special effects club.Yamada intended to work in film
after university, but she decided to join Kyoto Animation after seeing
an advertisement. Her first assignment at KyoAni was drawing in
between frames for Inuyasha. She was eventually promoted to a key
animator for Air.After working as an episode director of Clannad, she
was asked to make her chief directorial debut with K-On!, an
adaptation of a slice-of-life manga. The series was very successful,
spurring a second season and a film. In 2013, she directed Tamako
Market, and followed it with the film Tamako Love Story in 2014. For
Tamako Love Story, she was awarded the New Face Award at the Japan
Media Arts Festival. She storyboarded the entire film herself, and
also wrote the lyrics for the opening theme song, Everybody Loves
Somebody. Yamada's next project was the feature film A Silent Voice,
an adaptation of the manga of the same name, that reflected on
elements of bullying and physical impairment in Japan. The film opened
at #2 in the Japanese Box Office and grossed a total of ¥2.3 billion,
the 19th highest-grossing film in Japan in 2016. The film also
received multiple award nominations, including Best Animation Film in
the Mainichi Film Awards and the Excellent Animation of the Year in
the Japan Academy Prize.
television and film director. Working at Kyoto Animation, she directed
the K-On! and Tamako Market anime series, and the anime films A Silent
Voice and Liz and the Blue Bird.Yamada was born in Kyoto Prefecture.
She enjoyed drawing as a child and would copy images from the Patlabor
and Dragon Ball series. She joined the volleyball club in primary
school and the tennis and photography clubs in high school. At the
Kyoto University of Art and Design, she studied oil painting and was a
member of the special effects club.Yamada intended to work in film
after university, but she decided to join Kyoto Animation after seeing
an advertisement. Her first assignment at KyoAni was drawing in
between frames for Inuyasha. She was eventually promoted to a key
animator for Air.After working as an episode director of Clannad, she
was asked to make her chief directorial debut with K-On!, an
adaptation of a slice-of-life manga. The series was very successful,
spurring a second season and a film. In 2013, she directed Tamako
Market, and followed it with the film Tamako Love Story in 2014. For
Tamako Love Story, she was awarded the New Face Award at the Japan
Media Arts Festival. She storyboarded the entire film herself, and
also wrote the lyrics for the opening theme song, Everybody Loves
Somebody. Yamada's next project was the feature film A Silent Voice,
an adaptation of the manga of the same name, that reflected on
elements of bullying and physical impairment in Japan. The film opened
at #2 in the Japanese Box Office and grossed a total of ¥2.3 billion,
the 19th highest-grossing film in Japan in 2016. The film also
received multiple award nominations, including Best Animation Film in
the Mainichi Film Awards and the Excellent Animation of the Year in
the Japan Academy Prize.
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