A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Masao Maruyama | |
|---|---|
 Maruyama in 2011 | |
| Born | June 19, 1941 Shiogama, Japan |
| Education | Hosei University, Faculty of Letters |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | |
Masao Maruyama (Japanese: 丸山 正雄, Hepburn: Maruyama Masao, born June 19, 1941) is a Japanese anime producer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Madhouse, as well as the founder of MAPPA and Studio M2 animation studios. He is the current Chairman of MAPPA and President of Studio M2[1][2][3] and Board member of N LITE Japan.[4][5]
Maruyama has been involved in the Japanese animation business for more than 50 years. He has worked with many well-known and up-and-coming animators, established several animation production companies, worked on dozens of series, films, planned and produced various works.[1][6][7]
Maruyama is one of the most experienced producers in the Japanese animation industry, and has given opportunities to individuals who went on to become accomplished directors in their own right.[8] Among the talents he picked up were Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Hosoda, and Sunao Katabuchi. He also gave Masaaki Yuasa and Mitsuo Iso the chance to direct an animated television series early in their directing careers.[6][8] He also gave Mamoru Hosoda, who was thinking of returning to his hometown to change careers after he was forced to drop out of directing Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle, a chance to direct his first theatrical film after resigning from Toei Animation.[9][10] Yuichiro Hayashi, Munehisa Sakai, and Sunghoo Park, who became MAPPA's main directors, and Sayo Yamamoto, his direct protégé at Madhouse, are also people whose talents were discovered by Maruyama. His ability to find talented people helped Madhouse and MAPPA to make great strides.[8] He was also the one who inspired manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo to become an animated film director.[11]
Maruyama is a regular guest at Otakon, having attended or been confirmed to attend 15 times since 2001. In 2009, the convention named him an honorary staff member.[12]
Masato Marukawa, the president of the fictional animation studio Musashino Animation, in the TV animation series Shirobako, which depicts the inner workings of the animation industry, is modelled on Maruyama.[8]
In recognition of his contribution to the industry, he received the Special Award at the 7th Animation Kobe in 2002 and the Encouragement Award at the 23rd Fujimoto Award in 2003.[13][14][15]
Early life
Maruyama was born in Shiogama in Miyagi Prefecture in 1941.[1]
Maruyama graduated from Hosei University in 1963.[16] After hanging around for a while without a regular job, he joined Mushi Production in 1965, which a friend introduced him to.[16] Those were the early days of Japanese TV animation, and Mushi Pro, a pioneer in this field, was always short on staff.[16] It was not a job he particularly wanted, but he was fascinated by animation after experiencing culture shock by Osamu Tezuka, the head of Mushi Pro.[6][16]
Career
In 1972, Maruyama left Mushi Productions, which was facing a financial crisis, to found Madhouse, along with his colleagues including Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and in 1980, he became the president.[1][6][17] Since then, he has focused on planning, producing and production design for numerous Madhouse TV series, OVAs and theatrical film.[2] After the film Genma Taisen, for which Katsuhiro Otomo designed the characters, Maruyama and director Rintaro invited Otomo to make a film. Otomo then made his directorial debut with the short film Construction Cancellation Order, one of the anthology film Neo Tokyo in 1987.[11] The 1993 film Jūbē Ninpūchō, produced by him and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, was released on video in North America under the title Ninja Scroll, and sold nearly half a million copies.[18]
As the main producer and studio head of Madhouse, Maruyama was personally responsible for green-lighting new projects. As a result, projects were often directly pitched to him by outside interests or brought to him by creators within the company. He also had a significant amount of influence in determining the staff of these new projects, particularly in the assignment of directorial duties. In addition, he was frequently involved in the planning phase of major studio productions at Madhouse.
Maruyama has also planned and produced some of the best-known and rising films of famous directors, such as all of Satoshi Kon's films (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika), Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, and Sunao Katabuchi's Mai Mai Miracle.[17][19] After the release of Paprika, Maruyama had been preparing for Satoshi Kon's next film, Dreaming Machine, but the film's production has been suspended when Kon passed away suddenly in August 2010.[20][21]
In 2010, Maruyama served as the executive producer for an anime project based on the TV show Supernatural, entitled Supernatural The Animation, and is the world's first animated project from a Japanese anime studio based on an overseas drama series.[22]
From 2010 to 2011, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Blade, three works from the Marvel Anime Project, of which Maruyama is one of the planners, were broadcast on Animax in Japan.[23]
In June 2011, Maruyama left Madhouse and established a new animation production company, MAPPA (an acronym for Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association), at the age of 70.[2][3][17][19][24][25] MAPPA had a production room for Sunao Katabuchi's In This Corner of the World since the very beginning in 2016.[17] Maruyama first started working with Katabuchi for the film in 2010 during the Madhouse era, but it took three to four years to start production due to difficulties in raising funds.[3][17]
Then in April 2016, Maruyama handed over the presidency of MAPPA to founding member Manabu Otsuka and newly established Studio M2, specializing in planning and pre-production.[3][26] At the age of 75, Maruyama wanted to execute at least two more big projects, so he established the studio to prepare for the execution of his projects even if he was gone.[3]
In 2023, Maruyama joined N LITE Japan, led by its CEO and producer Shin Koyamada, as the Board member, and is set to produce an anime film Mfinda. [27][28]
Works
Movies
| Year | Title | Japanese Name | Director | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Natsu e no Tobira | 夏への扉 | Mori Masaki | Coordinator |
| 1982 | Haguregumo | 浮浪雲 | Mori Masaki | Coordinator |
| 1983 | Unico in the Island of Magic | ユニコ 魔法の島へ | Moribi Murano | Coordinator |
| 1983 | Barefoot Gen | はだしのゲン | Mori Masaki | Coordinator |
| 1983 | Genma Wars | 幻魔大戦 | Rintaro | Coordinator |
| 1984 | Lensman | SF新世紀レンズマン | Kazuyuki Hirokawa, Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Producer |
| 1985 | The Dagger of Kamui | カムイの剣 | Rintaro | Coordinator, Producer |
| 1985 | Bobby ni Kubittake | ボビーに首ったけ | Toshio Hirata | Producer |
| 1986 | Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger | 時空の旅人 | Mori Masaki | Producer |
| 1986 | Neo Tokyo | 迷宮物語 | Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Katsuhiro Otomo | Story Editor, Producer |
| 1986 | Phenix Hō-ō-hen | 火の鳥 鳳凰編 | Rintaro | Producer |
| 1987 | Barefoot Gen 2 | はだしのゲン2 | Mori Masaki | Coordinator |
| 1987 | Hoero Bun Bun | ほえろブンブン | Shigeru Omachi | Producer |
| 1987 | Wicked City | 妖獣都市 | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Coordinator |
| 1987 | Gokiburi-tachi no Tasogare | ゴキブリたちの黄昏 | Hiroaki Yoshida | Producer |
| 1988 | Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars | 銀河英雄伝説 わが征くは星の大海 | Noboru Ishiguro | Production Producer |
| 1993 | Ninja Scroll | 獣兵衛忍風帖 | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Production Producer |
| 1995 | The Diary of Anne Frank | アンネの日記 | Akinori Nagaoka | Producer |
| 1997 | Perfect Blue | パーフェクトブルー | Satoshi Kon | Producer |
| 1999 | Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie | 劇場版カードキャプターさくら | Morio Asaka | Planning |
| 2000 | Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust | バンパイアハンターD | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Producer |
| 2000 | Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card | 劇場版カードキャプターさくら 封印されたカード | Morio Asaka | Planning |
| 2001 | Metropolis | メトロポリス | Rintaro | Planning |
| 2002 | WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 | WXIII 機動警察パトレイバー | Takuji Endo | Producer |
| 2002 | Millennium Actress | 千年女優 | Satoshi Kon | Planning |
| 2003 | Nasu: Summer in Andalusia | 茄子 アンダルシアの夏 | Kitarō Kōsaka | Producer |
| 2003 | Tokyo Godfathers | 東京ゴッドファーザーズ | Satoshi Kon | Planner |
| 2006 | Paprika | パプリカ | Satoshi Kon | Planner |
| 2006 | The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | 時をかける少女 | Mamoru Hosoda | Planner |
| 2007 | Highlander: The Search for Vengeance | Highlander: The Search for Vengeance | Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Co-Producer |
| 2007 | Forest of Piano | ピアノの森 | Masayuki Kojima | Planner |
| 2007 | Cinnamoroll The Movie | シナモン the Movie | Gisaburō Sugii | Planner |
| 2007 | The Story of a Mouse-The Adventures of George and Gerald- | ねずみ物語 〜ジョージとジェラルドの冒険〜 | Masami Hata | Planner |
| 2008 | Hells Angels | HELLS ANGELS | Yoshinobu Yamakawa | Planner |
| 2009 | Summer Wars | サマーウォーズ | Mamoru Hosoda | Planner |
| 2009 | Mai Mai Miracle | マイマイ新子と千年の魔法 | Sunao Katabuchi | Planner |
| 2010 | Trigun: Badlands Rumble | TRIGUN Badlands Rumble | Satoshi Nishimura | Planner |
| 2010 | Redline | REDLINE | Takeshi Koike | Planner |
| 2011 | The Princess and the Pilot | とある飛空士への追憶 | Jun Shishido | Planner |
| 2012 | The Tibetan Dog | チベット犬物語 〜金色のドージェ〜 | Masayuki Kojima | Planner |
| 2012 | Wolf Children | おおかみこどもの雨と雪 | Mamoru Hosoda | Special Supporters |
| 2013 | Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge | 劇場版 HUNTER×HUNTER 緋色の幻影 | Yūzō Satō | Creative Producer |
| 2016 | In This Corner of the World | この世界の片隅に | Sunao Katabuchi | Planner |
| 2016 | Garo: Divine Flame | 牙狼〈GARO〉-DIVINE FLAME- | Yūichirō Hayashi | Creative Producer |
| 2018 | Usuzumizakura: Garo | 薄墨桜 -GARO- | Satoshi Nishimura | Creative Producer |
| TBA | MFINDA | ムフィンダ | Gisaburō Sugii | Producer[29] |
Television series
| Year | Title | Japanese Name | Director | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | The Amazing 3 | W3 | Osamu Tezuka | Assistant Director |
| 1967 | Princess Knight | リボンの騎士 | Osamu Tezuka | Coordinator |
| 1970 | Ashita no Joe | あしたのジョー | Osamu Dezaki | Coordinator |
| 1972 | Hazedon | ハゼドン | Makura Saki (Osamu Dezaki), Fumio Ikeno | Coordinator |
| 1973 | Aim for the Ace! | エースをねらえ! | Osamu Dezaki | Scriptwriter |
| 1976 | Gaiking | 大空魔竜ガイキング | Story Editor | |
| 1976 | Piccolino no Bōken | ピコリーノの冒険 | Masaharu Endō, Hiroshi Saitō | Story Editor |
| 1977 | Jetter Mars | ジェッターマルス | Rintaro | Story Editor |
| 1979 | Animation Travelogue: The Adventures of Marco Polo | アニメーション紀行 マルコ・ポーロの冒険 | Katsuhiko Fujita, Hiroshi Matsumura, Kenichi Murakami, Tetsuji Nakamura, Kazuyuki Sakai | Story Editor |
| 1989 | Yawara! | YAWARA! | Hiroko Tokita | Producer |
| 1994 | DNA² | D・N・A² 〜何処かで失くしたあいつのアイツ〜 | Junichi Sakata | Producer |
| 1998 | Master Keaton | MASTERキートン | Masayuki Kojima | Producer |
| 1998 | Trigun | TRIGUN | Satoshi Nishimura | Planner |
| 1998 | Super Doll Licca-chan | スーパードール★リカちゃん | Gisaburō Sugii | Animation Producer |
| 1999 | Reign: The Conqueror | アレクサンダー戦記 | Yoshinori Kanemori, Rintaro | Producer |
| 1999 | Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl The Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch | 十兵衛ちゃん -ラブリー眼帯の秘密- | Akitaro Daichi | Producer |
| 1999 | Pet Shop of Horrors | Petshop of Horrors | Toshio Hirata | Planner |
| 1999 | Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden V | Bビーダマン爆外伝V | Toshifumi Kawase | Planning Producer |
| 2000 | Boogiepop Phantom | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Masao_Maruyama_(film_producer)