(born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

character designer Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * Character (novel), ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * Characters (Theophrastus), ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek se ...

game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

and

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

designer, who works under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Akiman". Yasuda is a former employee of the video game company

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

(joining in 1985) and has worked on many Capcom games, taking on various design roles for works such as the ''

Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Japanese publisher Capcom, which began with the arcade release of '' Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, within the '' Street Fighter'' universe, the games focus on ...

'' series and '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' (including their updates). He has also been involved in anime production, most notably ''

Turn A Gundam , also stylized as ''∀ Gundam'', is a 1999 Japanese mecha anime series produced by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, and aired between 1999 and 2000 on Fuji Television and other Fuji Network System, FNS stations. It was created for the ''Gunda ...

,'' ''

Overman King Gainer is a mecha anime television series, created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, and featuring character designs by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kinu Nishimura and Ken'ichi Yoshida. The series ran from September 7, 2002 t ...

'' and ''

Code Geass , often referred to as ''Code Geass'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. Set in an ...

''. He also went to the United States to work on ''

Red Dead Revolver ''Red Dead Revolver'' is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first entry in the ''Red Dead'' series, and was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in May 2004. Set in the 188 ...

'' for

Angel Studios Angel Studios, Inc. is an American independent Christian media company and Film distributor, film distribution studio based in Provo, Utah. It operates the Over-the-top media service, over-the-top video on demand, video on-demand service Angel. ...

. When the studio was bought by

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

, he returned to Japan, where he officially left

in 2003 and started working as a freelance artist.

Notable works

Anime

*''

'' (1999–2000) - character designer *''

'' (2002–2003) - mecha designer *''

'' (2006–2007) - mecha designer *''

Bodacious Space Pirates is a Japanese light novel series about space pirates written by Yūichi Sasamoto and illustrated by , published since October 2008. An anime television series adaptation produced by Satelight, under the title , aired in Japan from January ...

'' (2008–present) - animation character design *''

Gundam Reconguista in G , also referred to as , is a 2014 Japanese science fiction anime television series and the thirteenth installment in Sunrise's long-running ''Gundam'' franchise. Created for the Gundam 35th Anniversary celebration, it is the first ''Gundam ...

'' (2014–2015) - mecha designer

Video games

*''

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

'' (1985) -

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

version cover art *''

Hyper Dyne Side Arms is a 1986 side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. The player takes control of a flying mecha fighter who must battle an alien army. ''Side Arms'' uses a two-directional attacking system similar to Capc ...

'' (1986) - original artwork *''

Forgotten Worlds , originally titled , is a 1988 side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is notable for being the first title released by Capcom for their CP System arcade game hardware. Plot Set in the 29th century, ...

'' (1988) - game designer *''

'' (1989) - planner *'' Street Fighter II (series)'' (1991) - planner *''

Captain Commando is a 1991 beat 'em up, beat 'em up game developed and published by Capcom for Arcade video game, arcades. It was the seventeenth game produced for the company's CP System hardware. The game stars the titular superhero who was originally conceiv ...

'' (1991) - planner *''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

'' (1993) *''

Super Street Fighter II is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for Arcade video game, arcades. It is the fourth game in the ''Street Fighter II'' sub-series of ''Street Fighter'' games, following ''Street Fighter II Turbo'' (1992). It refines and ba ...

'' (1993) - planner *'' Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors'' (1994) *'' X-Men: Children of the Atom'' (1994) *''

Darkstalkers 3 ''Darkstalkers 3'' is a fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades in 1997. It is the third game in the ''Darkstalkers'' series. The story centers around a demonic nobleman from Makai named Jedah Dohma, who creates a pocket dime ...

'' (1997) *'' Marvel Super Heroes'' (1995) - object design:

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

*''

Street Fighter Alpha 2 ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'', known as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. The game is the sequel to the previous year's '' Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams'' an ...

'' (1996) *''

Star Gladiator is a 1996 weapon-based 3D computer graphics, 3D fighting game released by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation-based ZN-1 arcade game, arcade hardware. It was Capcom's first in-house polygonal fighting game (the earlier ''Battle Are ...

'' (1996) - character designer *''

X-Men vs. Street Fighter is a Crossover (fiction), crossover Fighting game, fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is Capcom's third fighting game to feature Marvel Comics characters, following ''X-Men: Children of the Atom (video game), X-Men: Chil ...

'' (1996) - character designer *''

Red Earth Red Earth may refer to: Music *Red Earth (band), a Native American rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico * ''Red Earth'' (Crash Vegas album), a 1989 album by Crash Vegas * ''Red Earth'' (Dee Dee Bridgewater album), a 2007 album by Dee Dee Bridge ...

'' (1996) - original artwork *''

Street Fighter III is a 1997 fighting game in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game. The game, which was designed as a direct sequel to ''Street Fighter II'' (1991), initially discarded every previous character exc ...

'' (1997) - original artwork *'' Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter'' (1997) - original artwork *'' Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes'' (1998) - original artwork *'' Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein'' (1998) - character designer *''

Street Fighter Alpha 3 ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1998 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, which ...

'' (1998) - character designer *'' Power Stone'' (1999) - character designer *'' Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike'' (1999) - character designer *''

Final Fight Revenge is a 1999 3D computer graphics, 3D fighting game released by Capcom, and the only one-on-one fighting game in the ''Final Fight'' series of beat 'em up games. Originally developed and released for the ST-V arcade hardware, a home version was rele ...

'' (1999) *'' Tech Romancer'' (2000) - design supervisor *'' Power Stone 2'' (2000) - character designer *''

'' (2004) - character designer *'' MS Saga: A New Dawn'' (2005) - main character & package design *'' Culdcept Saga'' (2006) - card illustration: Sword Princess *'' Fushigi no Dungeon: Furai no Shiren DS'' (2006) - cover art *'' Brave Story: New Traveler'' (2006) - character designer *'' Sangokushi Taisen DS'' (2007) - card illustration: Enclosure Empress *''Kidou Senshi Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui V'' (2009) - cover art *''

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and , both commonly referred to together as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'', are 2014 crossover fighting games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game cons ...

'' ( Ryu character illustration) *'' Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness'' (2016) - character designer *''

Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a 2016 fighting game developed by Capcom, Dimps and Taito and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows. The major follow-up to ''Street Fighter IV'' (2008) as part of Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' ...

'' (2016) - guest alternate costume designer *'' Star Ocean: Anamnesis'' (2016) - character designer *'' Star Ocean: The Divine Force'' (2022) - character designer

Other works

*'' Tomie: Re-birth'' (2001 film;

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

Waiter Waiting staff (British English, BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a Bar (establishment), bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food an ...

) *∀ Gundam: Wind of Moon (∀ Gundam: Tsuki no Kaze, 2004–2005) (manga) *Giga69 (magazine coverart) *Akira Yasuda ∀ Gundam Designs (

∀ Gundam , also stylized as ''∀ Gundam'', is a 1999 Japanese mecha anime series produced by Sunrise, and aired between 1999 and 2000 on Fuji Television and other FNS stations. It was created for the ''Gundam Big Bang'' 20th Anniversary celebrati ...

series artbook) *Akiman Cover Girls (poster book of Giga69 magazine covers) *"Haji" DVD cover (included in " ine*nine live audio compilation by Gackt, Oct. 29, 2008) *Kousoku M-ko figurine (character design and insert comic) *Eureka Magazine (magazine coverart) *Street Fighter Art Comic Anthology (cover art) *Street Fighter Artworks HA 20th Anniversary Art Book (cover art) *'' Gundam Rock'' Music Album (cover art)

References

External links

*
Akiman's blog
*
Video Interview with Yasuda on the Archipel channel

Interview with Yasuda for ''Star Ocean 6: The Divine Force''

Interview with Yasuda in the Japanese book ''The Style of Games''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasuda Akira 1964 births Anime character designers Capcom people Japanese animators Japanese video game designers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Sunrise (company) people