was a Japanese illustrator and animator.
Biography
Mutsumi Inomata was born in
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
on December 23, 1960.
An
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
fan, Inomata began working for
Ashi Productions
is a Japanese anime studio, located in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan, known for its four magical-girl anime, especially '' Magical Princess Minky Momo''. It was established by Toshihiko Sato and other artists on December 20, 1975, as ''Ashi Productio ...
, working as an animator, key animation director and character designer on several anime television series.
In 1982, she joined some of the younger staff of Ashi Productions who established , where she worked as an animator, animation director, and character designer on several of its series. In 1983, she also made her debut as a
manga artist
A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...
, with her work ''GB Bomber'' being featured in
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company's product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, man ...
's ''The Motion Comic''. Later, in 1984, she left Kaname Productions and continued her work as a freelance animator.
Inomata is noted for her work as an animator, character designer and animation director on several anime titles, including ''
Windaria'', ''
Plawres Sanshirō'', ''
Future GPX Cyber Formula'', and ''
Brain Powerd''.
Inomata was also a prolific novel illustrator, known for her vivid watercolor paintings which often center around young women with wide, jewel-like eyes. Many of her illustrations are collected in her
artbooks, which include ''Voice of the Stars'', ''Dreams of the Moon'' (星の聲月の夢), ''Eccelente'', ''SAI'', and numerous others. Her representative works as a novel illustrator are for the ''
Utsunomiko'' (宇宙皇子) series written by Keisuke Fujikawa (藤川圭介) and ''
Weathering Continent'' (風の大陸) series by author Sei Takegawa (竹河聖). She is also noted for being the main character designer on a number of titles in
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...
's ''
Tales of'' series of video games.
Inomata died on March 10, 2024, at the age of 63.
Works
Manga
*''GB Bomber'' (''Motion Comics'')
*''Nyan no Ohanashi'' (''Anime Juke Mix'') - based on her love for cats.
Artbooks
* ''Inomata Mutsumi Lovely Collection''
* ''Inomata Mutsumi Art Collection - Utsunomiko'' (いのまたむつみ画集 宇宙皇子)
* ''Voice of the Stars, Dreams of the Moon'' (星の聲月の夢)
* ''Utsunomiko 2'' (宇宙皇子2)
* ''Mikan Story'' (みかんSTORY)
* ''Dragon Quest''
* ''Eccellente''
* ''SAI'' (彩)
* ''Tales''
* ''Un Ballo En Maschera, The Weathering Continent''
Anime
* ''Kujira no Josefina'' (animation)
* ''Zukkoke Knight Don De La Mancha'' (animation)
* ''
Space Warrior Baldios'' (animation)
* ''
Gekijōban Uchū Senshi Baldios'' (key animation)
* ''
Sengoku Majin GoShōgun'' (animation director, key animation)
* ''Sasuga no Sarutobi'' (animation director, key animation)
* ''
Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko'' (character designs, animation director (ep.1))
* ''
Windaria'' (character designs, animation director)
* ''
Acrobunch'' (character designs, animation director)
* ''
Plawres Sanshiro'' (character designs, animation director)
* ''
Urusei Yatsura
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were collected in 34 ''tankōbon'' volum ...
'' (key animation)
* ''
City Hunter'' (animation director)
* ''
City Hunter 2'' (animation director)
* ''
Utsunomiko'' (original character design)
* ''
The Weathering Continent'' (original character design)
* ''Watt Poe to Bokura no Ohanashi'' (character design)
* ''
Magical Princess Minky Momo'' (key animation)
* ''
Future GPX Cyber Formula'' (original character design)
* ''
Brain Powerd'' (original character design)
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, ''Gundam SEED'' takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has devel ...
'' (design coordinator)
* ''
My-HiME'' (original seifuku (school uniform) design)
* ''
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny'' (design coordinator)
* ''
Sacred Seven'' (original character design)
Games
*''
Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...
'' (
Square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
)
*''Dungeon of Windaria'' (
Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
,
Compile Heart
is a Japanese video game developer founded on June 2, 2006 as a subsidiary of Idea Factory. The company was formerly managed by Compile (company), Compile's former executive Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, most well known as the creator of the ''Madou ...
; original character design)
*''EMIT'' (PC game)
*''Surging Aura''
*''Yami no Ketsuzoku'' (Sega Saturn game)
*
''Tales'' series (
Bandai Namco Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
)
**''
Tales of Destiny''
**''
Tales of Eternia''
**''
Tales of Destiny 2''
**''
Tales of Rebirth''
**''
Tales of Breaker''
**''
Tales of Eternia Online''
**''
Tales of the Tempest''
**''
Tales of Innocence''
**''
Tales of Hearts
is an action role-playing game released for the Nintendo DS in Japan and the PlayStation Vita worldwide. It is the twentieth main entry in the ''Tales'' series, developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Bandai Namco Games. The Japan-exc ...
''
**''
Tales of Graces
is an action role-playing game, action role-playing video game developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Wii. It was initially only released in Japan in December 2009. It is the twenty-first main installment of ...
''
**''
Tales of Xillia''
**''
Tales of Xillia 2
is an action role-playing game for the PlayStation 3 released on November 1, 2012, in Japan. It is the twenty-third core product in the ''Tales'' series and was developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. The game was localized for North Ame ...
''
**''
Tales of Zestiria''
**''
Tales of Berseria''
**''
Tales of Crestoria''
*
''Tekken'' series (
Bandai Namco Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
)
**''
Tekken 5
is a 2004 fighting game developed and published by Namco for arcade game, arcades, before being ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is the fifth main game in the ''Tekken'' series, marking the tenth anniversary of the series. The game is set ...
'' (
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
;
Ling Xiaoyu and
Jin Kazama
is a fictional character and the protagonist of Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco's ''Tekken'' series. Introduced in the 1997 game ''Tekken 3'', he has been the central character of the series from that game onwards. Trained by his grand ...
's third costume designs)
**''
Tekken 6'' (
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
;
Zafina's third costume design)
**''
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is a 2011 fighting game, the eighth installment in the ''Tekken'' fighting game series and the sequel to ''Tekken Tag Tournament''. It was released for the arcade game, arcades in September 2011. It received an updat ...
'' (
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
,
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
;
Jaycee's second costume design)
*''BB Ball''
''Tokusatsu''
*''Dennō Keisatsu Cyber Cop'' (Luna design)
Note
External links
*
Inomata's profile on her print publisher's site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inomata, Mutsumi
1960 births
2024 deaths
Anime character designers
Japanese animators
Japanese women animators
Japanese women illustrators
Manga artists from Kanagawa Prefecture
Japanese video game artists
Women manga artists
Women video game designers