Izubuchi is also known for his manga and illustrations, but most of his fame comes from his design work. He mainly designs robots and other mecha in anime works, while he designs characters and creatures in Tokusatsu productions.[4]
He is also interested in dress design, especially German military uniforms, and by extension European armor.[5][6]
This influence is also evident in the design of mecha and the costumes of the characters.[6]
The design of robots such as Gundam and Galient incorporates the image of armour, and the character costume designs he is entrusted with are mainly military uniforms and other uniforms.[3]
He also created the Protect-Gear armor used in the Kerberos saga (Jin-Roh, etc.), based on German military helmets.[6]
He is not only a designer, but also a scriptwriter, director and producer of numerous video works.[4][7]
In addition, he has several original works which he owns the copyright to.[3]
For the Patlabor series, he was heavily involved in its production as one of the members of the copyright holder group Headgear.[8][a]
Biography
When Izubuchi was in nursery school, the Japanese TV anime series Astro Boy began airing.[3]
During his primary and junior high school years, Tokusatsu TV series such as Ultra Series and Kamen Rider began to be broadcast and became very popular.[3]
Tokusatsu films such as Godzilla and foreign television series such as Thunderbirds and Star Trek were also broadcast, and he was fascinated by these Tokusatsu programs. He was particularly fond of UFO in foreign series.[3]
After that, all Tokusatsu programs focused on family and children's entertainment, which made Izubuchi no longer enjoyable.[3]
Later, as if to replace them, anime series with complex stories that appealed to adults began to be produced, and his interest shifted to that.[3]
Gradually, anime directors such as Isao Takahata, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and Osamu Dezaki and their works began to attract public attention, and Izubuchi was particularly fond of Tomino and his directorial work Triton of the Sea and Reideen The Brave.[3][9][b]
He also became interested in Sci-Fi and fantasy as a high school student.[3]
He then became a big fan of Space Battleship Yamato, aired in 1974.[3]
In 1978, Izubuchi made his debut as a guest robot designer for Tōshō Daimos.[1]
It all started when he went on a tour of Sunrise, which had produced many robot animations, and was invited by Tadao Nagahama, the director of those works, to design enemy robots.[9]
Since then, he has been involved in mecha designs for the Gundam series, the Patlabor series and other anime productions.[4]
As of 2006, Izubuchi said that the design work he was most proud of was on WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3.[10]
Not just limited to anime, he also branched out into Tokusatsu shows in Toei's Super Sentai Series, designing characters and costumes for creatures and villains.[11]
The design of the Predator in the Hollywood filmPredator was adapted from the design of the villainous Adjutant Booba in Dengeki Sentai Changeman, which was designed by Izubuchi.[12]
The designer directly told Izubuchi that he had imitated his design.[12]
On the other hand, Izubuchi also began working as a manga artist with the serialisation of Rune Masquer, and as an illustrator by drawing illustrations for novels in the 1980s.[4]
He is particularly well known for his character designs for the fantasy-themed series Record of Lodoss War. He created the standard for Western-style fantasy visual imagery in Japan by taking images popular worldwide and drawing them in a sophisticated manner.[12]
Izubuchi made his debut as an animation director in 2002 with RahXephon, for which he wrote the original story.[2][b]
Izubuchi did some additional design work for Tomoki Kyoda's Eureka Seven, while Kyoda was an assistant director and episode director on RahXephon and directed its theatrical adaptation.
^ abcdOkamoto, Daisuke (January 29, 2024). "出渕裕に聞いた『メタリックルージュ』ができるまで①" [Interview with Yutaka Izubuchi about the creation of "Metallic Rouge" ①]. Febri (in Japanese). Ichijinsha. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
^ abcdIto, Seinosuke (May 14, 2018). "『ロードス島戦記』出渕裕×『ペルソナ』副島成記：対談【新生・王道ファンタジーを求めて②】（1/3）" ["Record of Lodoss War" Yutaka Izubuchi x "Persona" Shigenori Soejima: Conversation [In search of new & classic fantasy ②] (1/3)]. Denfaminicogamer (in Japanese). Mare Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
^ abcIto, Seinosuke (May 14, 2018). "『ロードス島戦記』出渕裕×『ペルソナ』副島成記：対談【新生・王道ファンタジーを求めて②】（2/3）" ["Record of Lodoss War" Yutaka Izubuchi x "Persona" Shigenori Soejima: Conversation [In search of new & classic fantasy ②] (1/3)]. Denfaminicogamer (in Japanese). Mare Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
^"制作スタッフが語るぶっちゃけ制作秘話! 機動警察パトレイバー トークイベント『暴走トークショー』レポート" [Behind-the-scenes stories from the production staff! Mobile Police Patlabor talk event “Bousou Talk Show” report]. Spice (in Japanese). eplus Inc. November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
^Ishii, Makoto (November 24, 2023). "『機神幻想ルーンマスカー』誕生秘話! 誕生のきっかけとなった"海洋堂"主催のイベントとは!?" [The secret story behind the birth of "Rune Masquer"! What was the event sponsored by “Kaiyodo” that led to its birth?] (in Japanese). Hobby Japan. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
^ abcIto, Seinosuke (May 14, 2018). "『ロードス島戦記』出渕裕×『ペルソナ』副島成記：対談【新生・王道ファンタジーを求めて②】（3/3）" ["Record of Lodoss War" Yutaka Izubuchi x "Persona" Shigenori Soejima: Conversation [In search of new & classic fantasy ②] (1/3)]. Denfaminicogamer (in Japanese). Mare Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
