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{{rewrite|it needs to be Mario-centric as there is a lot of non-Mario things covered. Feels like a Wikipedia article}}
{{person infobox
[[File:Yoichi Kotabe.jpg|thumb|200px|'''Yoichi Kotabe''' during an interview conducted by [[Satoru Iwata]] in 2008.]]
|image=[[File:Yoichi Kotabe.jpg|200px]]
{{LLQuote|When I first saw all the movements [[Mario]] was performing in [[Super Mario Bros.]], I thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting.|Yoichi Kotabe|Iwata Asks}}
|born=September 15, 1936 (age {{age|September 15, 1936}})
|role=Illustrator for various 2D character artworks, animator
}}


'''Yoichi Kotabe'''  (小田部 羊一 ''Kotabe Yōichi'', born September 15, 1936) is a Japanese animation artist and former employee of [[Nintendo]]. In 1959, he entered the Japanese animation industry by joining [[wikipedia:Toei Animation|Toei Animation]]. After leaving the company, he also worked with other animation studios. During about two decades, Kotabe was involved in the making of many anime, such as ''[[wikipedia:Hols: Prince of the Sun|Hols: Prince of the Sun]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Panda! Go, Panda!|Panda! Go, Panda!]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:Heidi, Girl of the Alps|Heidi, Girl of the Alps]]''. In the late 1970s, he left the animation company he was employed at and started working freelance. Kotabe joined Nintendo in 1985, accepting a new challenge, and played an integral role in the development of the art and character design of different franchises, including the [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]]. With the instructions of [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], Kotabe redefined the look of major characters such as [[Mario]], [[Princess Peach]] and [[Bowser]]. He quit Nintendo in 2007 after 21 years, and is currently active as a freelancer.
{{quote|When I first saw all the movements [[Mario]] was performing in [[Super Mario Bros.]], I thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting.|Yoichi Kotabe|Iwata Asks}}


==Life and work==
'''Yoichi Kotabe'''  (小田部 羊一 ''Kotabe Yōichi'') is a Japanese animation artist and former employee of [[Nintendo]]. Kotabe was the primary artist on the ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' franchise, drawing much of the 2D promotional artwork for the games and refining many of [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]'s early sketches into the character's definitive designs. He also worked as an art supervisor on various ''[[bulbapedia:Pokémon|Pokémon]]'' games.
===Early life===
Yoichi Kotabe was born in 1936 in Taipei, Taiwan during the Japanese occupation of that country. In 1945, after World War II, he went back to Japan and grew up in Hitachi, Ibaraki prefecture.<ref name="anido">[http://www.anido.com/html-e/kotabe-e.html Yoichi Kotabe: Biographical Notes at Anido]</ref> Early in his life, Kotabe became interested in art. His father painted oil paintings, and Yoichi Kotabe was always reading manga and copying the pictures as a child. When he learned from his mother how flip book animation worked, he started to draw some flip book animation himself. After that he was always interested in moving pictures. At school, Kotabe did hardly anything but doodle.<ref name="iwata_asks1">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=1 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 1) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref>


When Yoichi Kotabe got out of high school, he studied Japanese-style painting at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Kotabe graduated, but initially he couldn't find a job. However, then the animation production company [[wikipedia:Toei Animation|Toei Animation]] began recruiting. As a student, Kotabe was impressed by Toei's anime ''[[wikipedia:The Tale of the White Serpent|The Tale of the White Serpent]]'' (also known as ''Panda and the Magic Serpent''). Kotabe invited two of his classmates to join the company, but unlike his classmates, he didn't get a job at Toei. Kotabe was crushed, but it wasn't long before they started recruiting again, and he finally joined the company in 1959.<ref name="iwata_asks1"/><ref name="anido"/>
Prior to joining Nintendo, Yochi Kotabe worked in the animation industry, primarily for [[wikipedia:Toei Animation|Toei Animation]] where he was animator on productions such as ''[[wikipedia:Hols: Prince of the Sun|Hols: Prince of the Sun]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Panda! Go, Panda!|Panda! Go, Panda!]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:Heidi, Girl of the Alps|Heidi, Girl of the Alps]]''. He left Nintendo in 2007 after 21 years, and is currently active as a freelancer.


===Career in the animation industry===
==Life and work==
[[File:Heidi concept art.jpg|thumb|Concept art for ''Heidi, Girl of the Alps'', one of Yoichi Kotabe's most famous works.]]
During his first years at Toei Animation, Yoichi Kotabe had to learn about movement in animation. Someone else drew the main points, called key frames, within a movement, while newcomers like Kotabe cleaned up the work and drew the frames that would come in between. After about three years, Kotabe began to draw key frames himself. After that, he worked on a number of projects during about ten years. However, as stated by Kotabe in an interview, Toei Animation gradually came to prioritize profits. Even his own desire to create something fresh began to disappear. But then Kotabe worked on the anime film ''[[wikipedia:Hols: Prince of the Sun|Hols: Prince of the Sun]]'', which was directed by [[wikipedia:Isao Takahata|Isao Takahata]] and released to theaters in 1968. The director gave it all he had, and Kotabe was trying to keep up with him. After Kotabe was done working on the film, he was never afraid to work on anything else.<ref name="iwata_asks2">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=2 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 2) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref> In 1963, Kotabe married fellow animator [[wikipedia:Reiko Okuyama|Reiko Okuyama]] (d. 2007<ref name="okuyama_death">[http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?title=reiko_okuyama_passes_away&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 Reiko Okuyama passes away (2007-09-14) at AniPages Daily]</ref>).<ref name="anido"/>
 
After working at Toei Animation for about 12 years, he left the company in 1971. The production company known as A Production contacted Kotabe and his colleagues Isao Takahata and [[wikipedia:Hayao Miyazaki|Hayao Miyazaki]] about adapting the Swedish children's book ''[[wikipedia:Pippi Longstocking|Pippi Longstocking]]''.<ref name="anido"/> The three animators left Toei, but the book's author [[wikipedia:Astrid Lindgren|Astrid Lindgren]] didn't give the permission. Kotabe and his fellow animators were at a complete loss, but then they were allowed to work on the film ''[[wikipedia:Panda! Go, Panda!|Panda! Go, Panda!]]'', which was produced by [[wikipedia:TMS Entertainment|Tokyo Movie Shinsha]]'s film and released to theaters in 1972. Afterwards, the company [[wikipedia:Nippon Animation|Zuiyo Eizo]] approached Kotabe and his colleagues. The three men decided to leave Tokyo Movie and entered the next animation company. At Zuiyo, one of the productions they worked on was the anime series ''[[wikipedia:Heidi, Girl of the Alps|Heidi, Girl of the Alps]]'', an adaption of [[wikipedia:Heidi|the Swiss novel]] first broadcast in 1974.<ref name="iwata_asks2"/> Kotabe designed the titular protagonist Heidi and other characters.<ref name="anido_book">[http://anido.com/html-e/bookkotabe-e.html ''Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings'' at Anido]</ref>


===Career at Nintendo===
===Career at Nintendo===
{{LLQuote|I only intended to be at Nintendo one or two years, though. That became 21 years!|Yoichi Kotabe|Iwata Asks}}
{{quote|I only intended to be at Nintendo one or two years, though. That became 21 years!|Yoichi Kotabe|Iwata Asks}}


In the late 1970s, Yoichi Kotabe left Zuiyo and started working freelance, as he began to feel like "water that's beginning to stagnate" after working on animation on the same place for a long time. As a freelancer, Kotabe only undertook pieces of larger works. While it was relieved of stress, it was not interesting for him. In 1985, he met Hiroshi Ikeda in a coffee shop, who was the manager of [[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development|Nintendo EAD]] then. The two men knew each other from their work at Toei Animation. Ikeda asked Kotabe if he would like to join [[Nintendo]] and give advice about animation, as video games were going to require an increasing amount of know-how in animation. Kotabe knew very little about video games, but he believed Ikeda and agreed. Kotabe intended to be at Nintendo for only one or two years.<ref name="iwata_asks3">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=3 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 3) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref>
In the late 1970s, Yoichi Kotabe left [[wikipedia:Nippon Animation|Zuiyo Eizo]] and started working freelance, as he began to feel like "water that's beginning to stagnate" after working on animation on the same place for a long time. In 1985, he met Hiroshi Ikeda, the then-manager of [[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development|Nintendo EAD]] and a former colleague at Toei Animation, in a coffee shop. Ikeda asked Kotabe if he would like to join [[Nintendo]] and give advice about animation, as video games were going to require an increasing amount of know-how in animation. Kotabe knew very little about video games, but he believed Ikeda and agreed. Kotabe intended to be at Nintendo for only one or two years.<ref name="iwata_asks3">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=3 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 3) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref>


[[File:Magic Carpet screenshot.png|left|frame|The [[Magic Carpet]], here seen in its final in-game form, was the first video game work [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] requested from Yoichi Kotabe.]]
[[File:Magic Carpet screenshot.png|left|frame|The [[magic carpet|flying carpet]], seen in its final in-game form.]]
At Nintendo, Kotabe was introduced to [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] and other developers. When they showed him the game ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', Kotabe saw the movements [[Mario]] was performing in the game, and he thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting. However, for a while after Kotabe joined Nintendo, he didn't work on animation at all and instead sat around doodling whatever came to his mind, as he said in an interview.<ref name="iwata_asks3"/> According to Miyamoto, the first animation Kotabe drew for Nintendo was of [[Luigi]] spinning around in circles, but it couldn't be used in a game as it had too many frames at the time. The first video game work Miyamoto requested from Kotabe was to draw the [[Magic Carpet]] in motion found in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]''. Miyamoto wanted it to move like a real rug, and so he asked Kotabe "Please, draw me a rug!" However, Kotabe's smoothly moving animation had too many frames, so their number had to be reduced while still keeping a smooth movement.<ref name="iwata_asks4">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=4 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 4) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref>
At Nintendo, Kotabe was introduced to [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] and other developers. When they showed him the game ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', Kotabe saw the movements [[Mario]] was performing in the game, and he thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting. However, for a while after Kotabe joined Nintendo, he didn't work on animation at all and instead sat around doodling whatever came to his mind, as he said in an interview.<ref name="iwata_asks3"/> According to Miyamoto, the first animation Kotabe drew for Nintendo was of [[Luigi]] spinning around in circles, but it couldn't be used in a game as it had too many frames at the time. The first video game work Miyamoto requested from Kotabe was to draw the [[magic carpet]] in motion found in ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]''. Miyamoto wanted it to move like a real rug, and so he asked Kotabe "Please, draw me a rug!" However, Kotabe's smoothly moving animation had too many frames, so their number had to be reduced while still keeping a smooth movement.<ref name="iwata_asks4">[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/ds/dsi/7/0 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 4)]</ref>


Miyamoto also asked Kotabe to do many illustrations for Mario. As Mario was pixel art, the only reference was the package illustration for ''Super Mario Bros.'' Kotabe learned that Miyamoto was its artist, so he asked him many questions on how to draw Mario. With the instructions of Miyamoto, Kotabe created the image of Mario that became the new base for the visual development of Nintendo's mascot. Kotabe also redefined the look of other characters in the series. For example, Princess Peach completely changed, now being notably taller and wearing a different dress. Miyamoto told everything he wanted to Kotabe, like how he wanted her eyes to be a little cat-like, and how she should look stubborn, but charming. Bowser changed a lot as well. In Miyamoto's artwork, Bowser loosely resembled an ox as a homage to the ox king seen in the ''[[wikipedia:Journey to the West|Journey to the West]]'' anime adaption that was renamed ''[[wikipedia:Alakazam the Great|Alakazam the Great]]'' in the United States. Through their discussions, the developers began to see similar lines between Bowser and the [[Koopa Troopa]]s and partly based Bowser's appearance on them. Bowser's new design eventually came together.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/> The following gallery shows a comparison between the designs of the three mentioned characters by Miyamoto and Kotabe:
Miyamoto also asked Kotabe to do many illustrations for Mario. As Mario was pixel art, the only reference was the package illustration for ''Super Mario Bros.'' Kotabe learned that Miyamoto was its artist, so he asked him many questions on how to draw Mario. With the instructions of Miyamoto, Kotabe created the image of Mario that became the new base for the visual development of Nintendo's mascot. Kotabe also redefined the look of other characters in the series. For example, Princess Peach completely changed, now being notably taller and wearing a different dress. Miyamoto told everything he wanted to Kotabe, like how he wanted her eyes to be a little cat-like, and how she should look stubborn, but charming. Bowser changed a lot as well. In Miyamoto's artwork, Bowser loosely resembled an ox as a homage to the ox king seen in the ''[[wikipedia:Journey to the West|Journey to the West]]'' anime adaption that was renamed ''[[wikipedia:Alakazam the Great|Alakazam the Great]]'' in the United States. Through their discussions, the developers began to see similar lines between Bowser and the [[Koopa Troopa]]s and partly based Bowser's appearance on them. Bowser's new design eventually came together.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/> The following gallery shows a comparison between the designs of the three mentioned characters by Miyamoto and Kotabe:
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:Mario SMB.png|Mario by Miyamoto
Mario and mushroom SMB1 artwork.png|Mario by Miyamoto
File:Bowser and Peach original SMB.png|Peach and Bowser by Miyamoto
Bowser and Peach original SMB.png|Peach and Bowser by Miyamoto
</gallery>
</gallery>
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:SMB-Mario Jumping.png|Mario by Kotabe
SMB Mario Jumping Artwork.png|Mario by Kotabe
File:PrincessSML.png|Peach by Kotabe
PrincessSML.png|Peach by Kotabe
File:BowserSMB1.PNG|Bowser by Kotabe
BowserSMB1.png|Bowser by Kotabe
</gallery>
</gallery>


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Besides his skills in visual art, Kotabe also made use of other knowledge he acquired in the animation industry at Nintendo. For example, at Toei Animation, he was taught to look at "the real thing" and take it all inside oneself. Therefore, during the development of ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', Kotabe forced through a budget to inspect real go-karts. During their trip, the developers drove go-karts and observed their structure.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/>
Besides his skills in visual art, Kotabe also made use of other knowledge he acquired in the animation industry at Nintendo. For example, at Toei Animation, he was taught to look at "the real thing" and take it all inside oneself. Therefore, during the development of ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'', Kotabe forced through a budget to inspect real go-karts. During their trip, the developers drove go-karts and observed their structure.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/>


After Kotabe became involved with ''[[bulbapedia:Pokémon|Pokémon]]'', including both the games and the anime series, Miyamoto and him hardly spent any more time working together. For example, for ''[[bulbapedia:Pokémon Stadium (Japanese)|Pokémon Stadium]]'', Kotabe took part in the creation of the 3D models of the various Pokémon.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/>
After 21 years at Nintendo, Kotabe left the company in 2007.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/><ref name="anido"/> The last [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]] game in which his name appears in the credits was ''[[WarioWare: Smooth Moves]]''. In total, more than 40 ''Super Mario'' games list Kotabe in the credits.<ref name="mobygames">[http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,69462/ Yoichi Kotabe at MobyGames]</ref>
 
After 21 years at Nintendo, Kotabe left the company in 2007.<ref name="iwata_asks4"/><ref name="anido"/> The last [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]] game in which his name appears in the credits is ''[[WarioWare: Smooth Moves]]''. In total, more than 40 ''Mario'' games list Kotabe in the credits.<ref name="mobygames">[http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,69462/ Yoichi Kotabe at MobyGames]</ref>


===After Nintendo===
===After Nintendo===
[[File:Kotabe drawing Mario in FS.jpg|thumb|Yoichi Kotabe drawing Mario in ''Flipnote Studio'' on the Nintendo DSi.]]
[[File:Kotabe drawing Mario in FS.jpg|thumb|Yoichi Kotabe drawing Mario in ''Flipnote Studio'' on the Nintendo DSi.]]
Yoichi Kotabe is currently active as a freelancer. He holds the post of a lecturer at Toei Animation Institute.<ref name="anido"/> In 2008, a book titled ''Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings'' was released in Japanese, with a few contents also being in English.<ref name="anido_book"/> It also includes information on Nintendo-related works of him.<ref name="iwata_asks5">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=5 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 5) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref> In the same year an "[[Satoru Iwata|Iwata]] Asks" interview was held with Yoichi Kotabe, Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi. It focused on Yoichi Kotabe himself as well as the application ''[[wikipedia:Flipnote Studio|Flipnote Studio]]'' for the [[Nintendo DS|Nintendo DSi]]. Kotabe created four animations with ''Flipnote Studio'', including one of Mario, which were all made available at the Flipnote Hatena website.<ref name="hatena">[http://flipnote.hatena.com/0B8D56BA1BD441B8@DSi/ Yoichi Kotabe at Flipnote Hatena]</ref> He returned to Nintendo in 2011, designing Peach's letters in ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]''.
Yoichi Kotabe is currently active as a freelancer. He holds the post of a lecturer at Toei Animation Institute.<ref name="anido">[http://www.anido.com/html-e/kotabe-e.html Yoichi Kotabe: Biographical Notes at Anido]</ref> In 2008, a book titled ''Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings'' was released in Japanese, with a few contents also being in English.<ref name="anido_book">[http://www.anido.com/publication/books/113?lang=en ''Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings'' at Anido]</ref> It also includes information on Nintendo-related works of him.<ref name="iwata_asks5">[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=5 Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 5) at NintendoDSi.com]</ref> In the same year an "[[Satoru Iwata|Iwata]] Asks" interview was held with Yoichi Kotabe, Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi. It focused on Yoichi Kotabe himself as well as the application ''[[wikipedia:Flipnote Studio|Flipnote Studio]]'' for the [[Nintendo DS|Nintendo DSi]]. Kotabe created four animations with ''Flipnote Studio'', including one of Mario, which were all made available at the Flipnote Hatena website.<ref name="hatena">[https://archive.sudomemo.net/user/0B8D56BA1BD441B8@DSi Yoichi Kotabe on the Flipnote Archive]</ref>
 
Kotabe is given a "With Thanks" [[List of The Super Mario Bros. Movie staff|credit]] in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Kotabe created pre-existing sketches years prior that served as the basis for [[Mario and Luigi's family]].<ref>https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-super-mario-bros-movie-shigeru-miyamoto-koji-kondo-nintendo-interview-easter-eggs-1234706449/</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 52: Line 48:


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.nintendodsi.com/iwata-asks-chapter.jsp?interviewId=1&volumeId=8&chapterId=1 Iwata Asks: Yoichi Kotabe]
{{NIWA|Bulbapedia=1}}
{{Wikipedia|Yōichi Kotabe|Yoichi Kotabe}}
*[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/ds/dsi/7/0 Iwata Asks: Yoichi Kotabe]
*[http://flipnote.hatena.com/0B8D56BA1BD441B8@DSi/ Yoichi Kotabe at Flipnote Hatena]
*[http://flipnote.hatena.com/0B8D56BA1BD441B8@DSi/ Yoichi Kotabe at Flipnote Hatena]


{{Wikipedia}}
{{People}}
{{People}}
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Nintendo]]
[[Category:Nintendo]]
[[it:Yoichi Kotabe]]

Latest revision as of 19:18, July 3, 2024

Yoichi Kotabe
Yoichi Kotabe during an interview conducted by Satoru Iwata in 2008.
Born September 15, 1936 (age 88)[?]
Super Mario–related role(s) Illustrator for various 2D character artworks, animator
“When I first saw all the movements Mario was performing in Super Mario Bros., I thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting.”
—Yoichi Kotabe, Iwata Asks

Yoichi Kotabe (小田部 羊一 Kotabe Yōichi) is a Japanese animation artist and former employee of Nintendo. Kotabe was the primary artist on the Super Mario franchise, drawing much of the 2D promotional artwork for the games and refining many of Shigeru Miyamoto's early sketches into the character's definitive designs. He also worked as an art supervisor on various Pokémon games.

Prior to joining Nintendo, Yochi Kotabe worked in the animation industry, primarily for Toei Animation where he was animator on productions such as Hols: Prince of the Sun, Panda! Go, Panda! and Heidi, Girl of the Alps. He left Nintendo in 2007 after 21 years, and is currently active as a freelancer.

Life and work[edit]

Career at Nintendo[edit]

“I only intended to be at Nintendo one or two years, though. That became 21 years!”
—Yoichi Kotabe, Iwata Asks

In the late 1970s, Yoichi Kotabe left Zuiyo Eizo and started working freelance, as he began to feel like "water that's beginning to stagnate" after working on animation on the same place for a long time. In 1985, he met Hiroshi Ikeda, the then-manager of Nintendo EAD and a former colleague at Toei Animation, in a coffee shop. Ikeda asked Kotabe if he would like to join Nintendo and give advice about animation, as video games were going to require an increasing amount of know-how in animation. Kotabe knew very little about video games, but he believed Ikeda and agreed. Kotabe intended to be at Nintendo for only one or two years.[1]

The flying carpet, here seen in its final in-game form and being ridden by a Pidgit, was the first video game work Shigeru Miyamoto ever requested from Yoichi Kotabe. (image has to be of this size to work in the article)
The flying carpet, seen in its final in-game form.

At Nintendo, Kotabe was introduced to Shigeru Miyamoto and other developers. When they showed him the game Super Mario Bros., Kotabe saw the movements Mario was performing in the game, and he thought that video games were now doing what the original animation industry was forgetting. However, for a while after Kotabe joined Nintendo, he didn't work on animation at all and instead sat around doodling whatever came to his mind, as he said in an interview.[1] According to Miyamoto, the first animation Kotabe drew for Nintendo was of Luigi spinning around in circles, but it couldn't be used in a game as it had too many frames at the time. The first video game work Miyamoto requested from Kotabe was to draw the magic carpet in motion found in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. Miyamoto wanted it to move like a real rug, and so he asked Kotabe "Please, draw me a rug!" However, Kotabe's smoothly moving animation had too many frames, so their number had to be reduced while still keeping a smooth movement.[2]

Miyamoto also asked Kotabe to do many illustrations for Mario. As Mario was pixel art, the only reference was the package illustration for Super Mario Bros. Kotabe learned that Miyamoto was its artist, so he asked him many questions on how to draw Mario. With the instructions of Miyamoto, Kotabe created the image of Mario that became the new base for the visual development of Nintendo's mascot. Kotabe also redefined the look of other characters in the series. For example, Princess Peach completely changed, now being notably taller and wearing a different dress. Miyamoto told everything he wanted to Kotabe, like how he wanted her eyes to be a little cat-like, and how she should look stubborn, but charming. Bowser changed a lot as well. In Miyamoto's artwork, Bowser loosely resembled an ox as a homage to the ox king seen in the Journey to the West anime adaption that was renamed Alakazam the Great in the United States. Through their discussions, the developers began to see similar lines between Bowser and the Koopa Troopas and partly based Bowser's appearance on them. Bowser's new design eventually came together.[2] The following gallery shows a comparison between the designs of the three mentioned characters by Miyamoto and Kotabe:

  • Mario by Miyamoto

    Mario by Miyamoto

  • Peach and Bowser by Miyamoto

    Peach and Bowser by Miyamoto

  • Mario by Kotabe

    Mario by Kotabe

  • Peach by Kotabe

    Peach by Kotabe

  • Bowser by Kotabe

    Bowser by Kotabe

Among other people who worked with Kotabe at Nintendo was game designer Yoshiaki Koizumi, a graduate from the Osaka University of Arts. Kotabe was the first person Koizumi worked together with after entering Nintendo. Koizumi was supposed to keep working as a character illustrator for a while, and Miyamoto told Kotabe to develop Koizumi's skills.[2]

Besides his skills in visual art, Kotabe also made use of other knowledge he acquired in the animation industry at Nintendo. For example, at Toei Animation, he was taught to look at "the real thing" and take it all inside oneself. Therefore, during the development of Super Mario Kart, Kotabe forced through a budget to inspect real go-karts. During their trip, the developers drove go-karts and observed their structure.[2]

After 21 years at Nintendo, Kotabe left the company in 2007.[2][3] The last Super Mario franchise game in which his name appears in the credits was WarioWare: Smooth Moves. In total, more than 40 Super Mario games list Kotabe in the credits.[4]

After Nintendo[edit]

Yoichi Kotabe drawing Mario in Flipnote Studio on the Nintendo DSi.
Yoichi Kotabe drawing Mario in Flipnote Studio on the Nintendo DSi.

Yoichi Kotabe is currently active as a freelancer. He holds the post of a lecturer at Toei Animation Institute.[3] In 2008, a book titled Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings was released in Japanese, with a few contents also being in English.[5] It also includes information on Nintendo-related works of him.[6] In the same year an "Iwata Asks" interview was held with Yoichi Kotabe, Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshiaki Koizumi. It focused on Yoichi Kotabe himself as well as the application Flipnote Studio for the Nintendo DSi. Kotabe created four animations with Flipnote Studio, including one of Mario, which were all made available at the Flipnote Hatena website.[7]

Kotabe is given a "With Thanks" credit in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Kotabe created pre-existing sketches years prior that served as the basis for Mario and Luigi's family.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 3) at NintendoDSi.com
  2. ^ a b c d e Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 4)
  3. ^ a b Yoichi Kotabe: Biographical Notes at Anido
  4. ^ Yoichi Kotabe at MobyGames
  5. ^ Yoichi Kotabe: Legendary Animator - His Animated Drawings at Anido
  6. ^ Iwata Asks: Nintendo DSi, Volume 8 - Yoichi Kotabe (page 5) at NintendoDSi.com
  7. ^ Yoichi Kotabe on the Flipnote Archive
  8. ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-super-mario-bros-movie-shigeru-miyamoto-koji-kondo-nintendo-interview-easter-eggs-1234706449/

External links[edit]

Yoichi Kotabe coverage on other NIWA wikis:
The English Wikipedia logo, for use on the Wikipedia template. Wikipedia has an article on Yoichi Kotabe.
[Edit]
People
Game designers Goro Abe • Shigeyuki Asuke • Stephen Dupree • Koichi Hayashida • Shigefumi Hino • Shinya Hiratake • Takehiko Hosokawa • Sébastien Isaia • Toshiharu Izuno • Ryota Kawade • Hiroyuki Kimura • Hiroji Kiyotake • Yoshiaki Koizumi • Hideki Konno • Don Lloyd • Hirofumi Matsuoka • Gregg Mayles • Kenji Miki • Shigeru Miyamoto • Naoko Mori • Stephen Mortimer • Kenta Motokura • Shiro Mouri • Ryuichi Nakada • Satoru Okada • Yoshio Sakamoto • Masahiro Sakurai • Hiroshi Sato • Futoshi Shirai • Taku Sugioka • Tadashi Sugiyama • Risa Tabata • Shugo Takahashi • Ko Takeuchi • Kensuke Tanabe • Takashi Tezuka • Kenta Usui • Kosuke Yabuki • Hitoshi Yamagami • Yasuhisa Yamamura • Katsuya Yamano • †Gunpei Yokoi
Voice actors and actresses Video games Current Kevin Afghani • Dawn M. Bennett • Nate Bihldorff • Christine Marie Cabanos • David Cooke • Caitlyn Elizabeth • Dan Falcone • Giselle Fernandez • Ashley Flannegan • David J. Goldfarb • Kate Higgins • Ryan Higgins • Tomoyuki Higuchi • Michelle Hippe • Hitomi Hirose • Nobuyuki Hiyama • Kenneth W. James • Samantha Kelly • Yuki Kodaira • Shohei Komatsu • Carlee McManus • Tsuguo Mogami • Tadd Morgan • Takashi Nagasako • Zoe Nelson • Fumihiro Okabayashi • Caety Sagoian • Kahoru Sasajima • Go Shinomiya • Laura Faye Smith • Katsumi Suzuki • Motoki Takagi • Kazumi Totaka • Toshihide Tsuchiya • Mick Wingert
Former Julien Bardakoff • Jocelyn Benford • Justin Berti • Scott Burns • Jessica Chisum • Stevie Coyle • †Kate Fleming • Marc Graue • Kit Harris • Kelsey Hutchison • Eriko Ibe • Kerri Kane • Grant Kirkhope • Asako Kozuki • Ann Lin • Dex Manley • Isaac Marshall • Charles Martinet • Tomoko Maruno • Nicole Mills • Lani Minella • Deanna Mustard • Eric Newsome • Reiko Ninomiya • Eveline Novakovic • Tim O'Leary • Christina Peyser • Sara Rades • Dolores Rogers • Mercedes Rose • Thomas Spindler • Chris Sutherland • Leslie Swan • Jen Taylor • Satsuki Tsuzumi • Mike Vaughn • Stephan Weyte
WarioWare series Ruriko Aoki • Edward Bosco • Alejandra Cazares • Robbie Daymond • Maya Enoyoshi • Yuichi Fukamasu • Ayaka Fukuhara • Todd Haberkorn • Shinya Hamazoe • Kyle Hebert • Melissa Hutchison • Yuma Kametani • Subaru Kimura • Makoto Koichi • Hironori Kondo • Erica Lindbeck • Kensuke Matsui • Yui Matsuyama • Mako Muto • Griffin Puatu • Tyler Shamy • Stephanie Sheh • Keith Silverstein • Ryota Suzuki • Owen Thomas • Rebeka Thomas • Vegas Trip • Cristina Vee • Fryda Wolff • Kazuya Yamaguchi
Mario + Rabbids series Yutaka Aoyama • Kaycie Chase • Augustin Chemelle • David Coburn • Lee Delong • Yuriko Fuchizaki • David Gasman • Matthew Géczy • Hiroki Goto • Tiffany Hofstetter • Atsushi Imaruoka • Nobuaki Kanemitsu • Mitsuaki Kanuka • Lexie Kendrick • Margaeux Lampley • Yasuhiro Mamiya • Sharon Mann • Eriko Matsui • Shin Matsushige • Farahnaz Nikray • Fumihiro Okabayashi • Aiko Okubo • Bruce Sherfield • Riho Sugiyama • Hana Takeda • Barbara Weber-Scaff • Laurie Winkel • Toa Yukinari • Chisa Yuuki
Cartoons †Lou Albano • †Harvey Atkin • †Walker Boone • Bart Braverman • Donald Burda • Ben Campbell • Peter Cullen • Damon D'Oliveira • Jeannie Elias • Toru Furuya • †Dan Hennessey • Sterling Jarvis • †Gordon Masten • Tracey Moore • Greg Morton • James Rankin • †Tony Rosato • Andrew Sabiston • Tabitha St. Germain • Michael Stark • John Stocker • Stuart Stone • Judy Strangis • Tara Strong • †Milton "Soupy Sales" Supman • †Aron Tager • Joy Tanner • Louise Vallance • †Milli Vanilli • Frank Welker • †Danny Wells • Richard Yearwood
Films English Fred Armisen • Eric Bauza • Jack Black • Charlie Day • Jessica DiCicco • John DiMaggio • Juliet Jelenic • Keegan-Michael Key • Sebastian Maniscalco • Charles Martinet • Scott Menville • Khary Payton • Chris Pratt • Kevin Michael Richardson • Seth Rogen • Rino Romano • Anya Taylor-Joy
Catalan Roser Aldabó • David Brau • Juan Antonio Bernal • Ramón Canals • Eduard Doncos • David Jenner • Ivan Labanda • Jaume Mallofré • Charles Martinet • Carla Mercader • Albert Mieza • Pep Papell • Oriol Rafel • Albert Trifol Segarra • Tony Sevilla
Dutch Thijs van Aken • Posy Bakkum • Vajèn van den Bosch • Huub Dikstaal • Edwin Jonker • Marcel Jonker • Charles Martinet • Reinder van der Naalt • Florus van Rooijen • Juliann Ubbergen • Milan van Weelden
European French Paul Borne • Mathieu Buscatto • Jérémie Covillault • Kaycie Chase • Thierry Desroses • Benoît DuPac • Xavier Fagnon • Emmanuel Garijo • Jessie Lambotte • Christophe Lemoine • Nicolas Marié • Charles Martinet • Céline Monsarrat • Marc Perez • Dorothée Pousséo • Boris Rehlinger • Donald Reignoux • Audrey Sourdive • Pierre Tessier
German Patrick Baehr • Sven Brieger • Marios Gavrilis • Luiza Kampf • Matthias Klages • Matti Klemm • Leonhard Mahlich • Axel Malzacher • Charles Martinet • Tobias Meister • Timmo Niesner • Dirk Petrick • Sven Plate • Dalia Schmidt-Foß • Gerrit Schmidt-Foß • Bernhard Völger • Daniel Welbat
Greek Vassílis Axiótis • Pétros Damulís • Stefanía Filiádi • Háris Grigorópulos • Konstantínos Lágos • Thános Lékkas • Vassílis Mílios • Vassílis Papastáthis • Zoí Petráki • Dimítris Sárlos • Mariánthi Sontáki • Vangélis Stratigákos • Chrístos Thános
Hebrew Adva Adani • Shai Ben-Bassat • Yuval Binder • Albert Cohen • Sharon Cohen • Shaul Ezer • Diana Golbi • Gilad Kleter • Ido Mosseri • Assaf Pariente • Shahar Polak • Zvika Schwartzberg • Liana Shahar • Amnon Wolf • Yuval Yanai • Dedi Zohar
Hungarian Ádám Gacsal • Antos Gémes • Gábor Harsányi • Márk Jakab • József Kerekes • István Koncz • Charles Martinet • Júlia Mentes • Balázs Mihályfi • Gábor Németh • Zsuzsa Pálos • Máté Szabó • János Szemenyei • Natália Tanka • Levente Törköly • Roland Tóth
Italian Alessandro Ballico • Nanni Baldini • Alessandro Budroni • Paolo Buglioni • Emiliano Coltorti • Valentina Favazza • Francesco De Francesco • Franco Mannella • Paolo Marchese • Charles Martinet • Giulietta Rebeggiani • Gabriele Sabatini • Claudio Santamaria • Edoardo Stoppacciaro • Fabrizio Vidale • Paolo Vivio
Japanese Tasuku Hatanaka • Naomi Kusumi • Yasuhiro Mamiya • Kenta Miyake • Mamoru Miyano • Tomokazu Seki • Arisa Shida • Kōji Takeda • Jin Urayama • Ann Yamane • Shigeru Chiba • Noriko Hidaka • †Takanobu Hozumi • †Ryōko Kinomiya • Kazuhiko Inoue • †Kōsei Tomita
Korean Hwang Chang-yeong • Lee Gyeong-tae • Yu Hae-mu • Kim Hyeon-su • Lee Jung-hyun • Jo Min-su • Mun Nam-suk • Choi Seok-pil • Bang Seong-jun
Chinese Mandarin Ji Guanlin • Zhao Mingzhou • Yang Mo • Tang Shuiyu • Yang Tianxiang • Zhang Yaohan • Zhao Yi • Chen Zhe • Miao Zhuang • Chen Ziping
Brazilian Portuguese Filipe Albuquerque • Pedro Azevedo • Paulo Bernardo • Marcos Castro • Enzo Dannemann • Márcio Dondi • Eduardo Drummond • Carina Eiras • Marcus Eni • Cid Fernandes • Monique Filardy • Marcelo Grativol • Ricardo Juarez • Léo Rabelo • Lacarv • Bernardo leGrand • Regina Maria Maia • Jeane Marie • Charles Martinet • Andrea Murucci • Giuseppe Oristanio • Karen Padrão • Manolo Rey • Marco Ribeiro • Raphael Rossatto • Leonardo Serrano • Daniel Simões • Jéssica Vieira
European Portuguese Pedro Bargado • Luís Barros • Claudia Cadima • Alexandre Carvalho • Laura Dutra • Bruno Ferreira • Eduardo Frazão • Fernando Luís • António Machado • Catarina Machado • Charles Martinet • Tobias Monteiro • José Nobre • Rui Oliveira
Romanian Virgil Aioanei • Cătălina Chirțan • Marcelo Cobzariu • Adi Dima • Andrei Duțu • Alexandru Georgescu • Ionuț Grama • Adina Lucaciu • Charles Martinet • Conrad Mericoffer • Andrei Radu • Marius Săvescu
European Spanish Pablo Adán • Juan Alfonso Arenas • Fernando "Nano" Castro • Fernando Cordero • Felipe Garrido • Valeria Garzón • Miguel Ángel Garzón • Fernando de Luis • Charles Martinet • Txema Moscoso • Iván Muelas • Laura Pastor • David Robles • Guillermo Romero • Rafa Romero • María Jesús Varona
Latin American Spanish Santos Alberto • Raúl Anaya • Diego Becerril • Alberto Bernal • Gaby Cárdenas • Roberto Carrillo • Victoria Céspedes • Elsa Covián • Ernesto Cronik • Víctor Delgado • Héctor Estrada • Germán Fabregat • María Fernanda Morales • Luis Leonardo Suárez • Agustín López Lezama • Óscar López • Rodrigo Luna • José Antonio Macías • Charles Martinet • Monserrat Mendoza • Mauricio Pérez • Harumi Nishizawa • Gabriela Ortiz • Ale Pilar • Mark Pokora • Jocelyn Robles • Jorge Roig • Jorge Roig Jr. • Tommy Rojas • Miguel Ángel Ruiz • Víctor Ruiz • Roberto Salguero • Erick Selim • Rubén Trujillo • Alex Villamar
Actors and actresses †Lou Albano • Jason Bateman • †Joe Bellan • †Harry Blackstone Jr. • Brian Bonsall • †Christopher Collins • Nicole Eggert • †Dennis Hopper • †David Horowitz • †Bob Hoskins • Ernie Hudson • Magic Johnson • †Jim Lange • Cyndi Lauper • John Leguizamo • †Pam Matteson • Alyssa Milano • †Mojo Nixon • Patrick Pinney • †Rowdy Roddy Piper • Sgt. Slaughter • †Shabba-Doo • Rob Stone • Andrew Trego • †Danny Wells
Composers and sound engineers Toshiki Aida • Shinobu Amayake • Hirokazu Ando • Daichi Aoki • Atsuko Asahi • Toru Asakawa • Ryosuke Asami • Misaki Asada • Yasuhisa Baba • Taro Bando • Robin Beanland • Gareth Coker • Sayako Doi • Shiho Fujii • Akira Fujiwara • Shigetoshi Gohara • Martin Goodall • Minako Hamano • Asuka Hayazaki • Christophe Héral • Jamie Hughes • Norio Hanzawa • Yoshito Hirano • Kanji Hirao • Kenji Hikita • Yoshikata Hirota • Takeshi Hama • Tadashi Ikegami • Megumi Inoue • Masayoshi Ishi • Yasuaki Iwata • Fumihiro Isobe • Daichi Ishihara • Kozue Ishikawa • Yasushi Ida • Yoshimasa Ikeda • Shauny Sion Jang • Chris Jojo • Takeru Kanazaki • Hideki Kanazashi • Yukio Kaneoka • Grant Kirkhope • Takashi Koiwa • Koji Kondo • Naoto Kubo • Takashi Kouga • Rei Kondoh • Naruki Kadosaka • Yoshiaki Kimura • Shingo Kataoka • Yuuichi Kanno • Kazuki Komai • Yoshiaka Kimura • Atsushi Masaki • Masanobu Matsunaga • Daisuke Matsuoka • Toru Minegishi • Naoko Mitome • Yasunori Mitsuda • Masato Mizuta • Hiroki Morishita • Shoh Murakami • Kyoko Miyamoto • Yutaka Minobe • Osamu Narita • Ryo Nagamatsu • Kenta Nagata • Shinobu Nagata • Akito Nakatsuka • Kenichi Nishimaki • Graeme Norgate • Eveline Novakovic • Genki Namura • Hideki Oka • Soyo Oka • Shinya Ohtouge • Satoshi Okubo • James Phillipsen • Mike Peacock • Darren Radtke • Suddi Raval • Motoi Sakuraba • Lawrence Schwedler • Yoshito Sekigawa • Ichiro Shimakura • Yoko Shimomura • Sanae Suzaki • Nobuyoshi Suzuki • Chika Sekigawa • Masayoshi Soken • Taiju Suzuki • Sara Sakurai • Aya Tanaka • Hirokazu Tanaka • Kazumi Totaka • Yuki Tsuji • Yuka Tsujiyoko • Seiichi Tokunaga • Tomoya Tomita • Masaru Tajima • Kumi Tanioka • Katsunori Takahashi • Satomi Terui • Brian Tyler • Toshiyuki Ueno • Shinji Ushiroda • Kazufumi Umeda • David Wise • Hajime Wakai • Hironobu Yahata • Natsuko Yokoyama • Kenichi Yoshimoto • Mahito Yokota • Chad York • Ryoji Yoshitomi
Artists Kevin Bayliss • Maude Church • Jeff Griffeath • Shigefumi Hino • Vince Joly • Yoichi Kotabe • Steve Mayles • Kazuki Motoyama • Sho Murata • Shigehisa Nakaue • Hisashi Nogami • Leif Peng • Megan Rose Ruiz • Masanori Sato • Yukio Sawada • Mark Stevenson • Ko Takeuchi
Writers Doug Booth • †Véronique Chantel • Ian James Corlett • Phil Harnage • David S. J. Hodgson • Andrew Iverson • Leigh Loveday • Perry Martin • Michael Maurer • Claude Moyse • Peter Sauder • Ed Solomon • †Erika Strobel • Michael Teitelbaum • Tracey West • Ted Woolsey
Historical figures †Abraham Lincoln • †Albert Einstein • †Alexander Alexeyevich Gorsky • †Alexander Pushkin • †Andrey Chokhov • †Anne Hathaway • †Aristotle • †Benjamin Franklin • †Booker T. Washington • †Catherine Dickens • †Caesar Augustus • †Charles Dickens • †Charles-Gaspard de la Rive • †Christopher Columbus • †Cleopatra • †Constanze Mozart • †Deborah Read • †Diego Rivera • †Duke of Alençon • †Edmund Halley • †Feodor I of Russia • †Ferdinand Magellan • †Francis Drake • †Francis of Assisi • †Frederick Douglass • †Frida Kahlo • †Galileo Galilei • †George Washington Carver • †Gustave Eiffel • †Hadrian • †Henry Ford • †Ho Ti • †Isaac Newton • †Ivan the Terrible • †Joan of Arc • †Johann Gutenberg • †José Hernández • †Joseph Haydn • †Juan Sebastian Del Cano • †Julius Caesar • †Kublai Khan • †Leonardo da Vinci • †Lillian Hitchcock Coit • †Louis Pasteur • †Ludwig van Beethoven • †Mahatma Gandhi • †Mao Zedong • †Marco Polo • †Mary Todd Lincoln • †Michael Faraday • †Michelangelo Buonarroti • †Minamoto no Yoritomo • †Muhammad Ali • †Napoleon • †Nero • †Pierre Paul Emile Roux • †Plato • †Pope • †Queen Elizabeth I • †Raphael Sanzio • †Richard Burbage • †Richard Leakey • †Royal Society • †Rufino Tamayo • †Sarah Barnard • †Thomas Edison • †Thomas Jefferson • †Ts'ai Lun • †William Shakespeare • †Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Other Al Pacino • Andy Heyward • †Annette Funicello • Backstreet Boys • †Barbara Walters • †The Beach Boys • †The Beatles • Bill Gates • Bill Trinen • Brad Pitt • Britney Spears • †Bruce Lee • †Buddy Knox • †Charlie Foxx • Chris Meledandri • Christopher Griffin • Daisuke Matsuno • David Grenewetzki • Dayvv Brooks • Doug Bowser • Eddie Murphy • Erik Estrada • †Ernie K-Doe • †Frank Sinatra • †Gene Vincent • Hideyuki Nakayama • †Hiroshi Yamauchi • Howard Phillips • Hulk Hogan • The Human Beinz • †Inez Foxx • Jackie Chan • †James Dean • †Jerry Lee Lewis • †Jim Nabors • †Joe DiMaggio • †Joe Jones • John Grusd • Keanu Reeves • Kevin • Kyōko Koizumi • Madonna • †Marilyn Monroe • †Mario Segale • Mel Gibson • †Michael Jackson • Michael Kelbaugh • Michelle Powers • Miyuki Nakajima • Noritake Kinashi • †Queen of England • Reggie Fils-Aimé • †Roger Ebert • †Satoru Iwata • Scott Baio • Shaq • Shuntaro Furukawa • †Sonny Bono • Sophia Loren • Steven Griffin • Sunplaza Nakano • Takaaki Ishibashi • Takeshi Kitano • Tatsumi Kimishima • Tom Cruise • Tommy James and the Shondells • Valerie Bertinelli • †The Ventures
† Deceased
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