Japanese director, writer, artist, and music producer
"Ikuni" redirects here. For the company formerly known as iKuni, see
AiLive
.
Kunihiko Ikuhara
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Born
| (
1964-12-21
)
December 21, 1964
(age 59)
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Nationality
| Japanese
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Occupations
| - Director
- music producer
- novelist
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Years active
| 1986?present
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Known for
| |
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Website
| ikuni
.net
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Kunihiko Ikuhara
(
幾原 邦彦
,
Ikuhara Kunihiko
, born December 21, 1964)
, also known by the nickname
Ikuni
, is a Japanese director, writer, artist, and music producer. He has created and collaborated on several notable
anime
and
manga
series, including
Sailor Moon
,
Revolutionary Girl Utena
,
Penguindrum
,
Yurikuma Arashi
, and
Sarazanmai
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Ikuhara was born on December 21, 1964, in
Osaka Prefecture
. He graduated from Kyoto University of Art and Design in 1985.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
Toei Animation and
Sailor Moon
(1986?1996)
[
edit
]
After graduating, Ikuhara began work at
Toei Animation
, where he served as assistant director to
Junichi Sato
on
Maple Town Monogatari
,
Akuma-kun
,
Toushou!! Ramen-man
and
M?retsu Atar?
, and episode director on
Kingyo Chuuihou!
.
Ikuhara's most famous work with Toei was on the
TV anime adaptation
of
Sailor Moon
. He served as director of many episodes over the course of the series' run, and took over the position of series director from Junichi Sato during the second season,
Sailor Moon R
. Additionally, Ikuhara served as the director of the first
Sailor Moon
theatrical movie, called
Sailor Moon R
.
Revolutionary Girl Utena
(1997?1999)
[
edit
]
Displeased over the lack of creative control granted to him, Ikuhara left Toei after the fourth season of
Sailor Moon
in 1996 to form his own creative group,
Be-Papas
, consisting of himself, the
sh?jo
manga
artist
Chiho Saito
, animator
Shinya Hasegawa
, writer
Y?ji Enokido
, and producer Yuuichiro Okuro. Be-Papas collaborated to produce the anime and manga series
Revolutionary Girl Utena
(
Sh?jo Kakumei Utena
).
Ikuhara had much more creative control over the anime, which he directed, than he did over the manga, which was written and illustrated by Chiho Saito. Notably, he also recruited composer
J. A. Seazer
, who provided the series' distinctive duel chorus tracks. Ikuhara stated that he had always admired Seazer, who had enjoyed popularity during Japan's 1960s student protest movement, and felt that Seazer's work, with its themes of revolution and changing the world, was perfectly suited to
Utena
.
The series was a success, winning the "Best Television Series Award" and the "Kobe Award" at Animation Kobe '97. Be-Papas collaborated again in 1999 to produce a
Revolutionary Girl Utena
movie,
Adolescence Mokushiroku
("Adolescence Apocalypse", released in English as
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie
), with an accompanying manga, again authored by Saito. Ikuhara also helped supervise the production of other
Utena
-related works, including a
Sega Saturn
video game and a stage musical. Be-Papas disbanded after the release of the movie.
Ikuhara supervised the production of the English dub of the
Utena
movie, checking the quality of the translation; he expressed strong distaste for the idea of his work being censored or changed to seem more "American", and made sure such changes were not apparent in the U.S. release.
Hiatus (2000?2010)
[
edit
]
Ikuhara's post-
Utena
works include the manga
World of the S&M
(released in English as
The World Exists for Me
), on which he collaborated with Chiho Saito; the novel
Schell Bullet
, which he co-wrote with
Mamoru Nagano
; and the
Schell Bullet
-based concept album
Thanaphs 68
.
Return to directing (2011?present)
[
edit
]
In 2011, Ikuhara returned as an anime series director with
Penguindrum
, which began airing in July 2011.
He is currently writing the manga
Nokemono to Hanayome
, illustrated by artist
Asumiko Nakamura
and published monthly in Japanese fashion magazine
KERA
.
In 2015, Ikuhara released
Yurikuma Arashi
, which consists of an anime series produced by
Silver Link
and a manga series illustrated by Akiko Morishima. The anime began airing on January 5, 2015.
In 2019, Ikuhara released
Sarazanmai
; it was produced by
MAPPA
and
Lapin Track
. The anime began airing on April 11, 2019.
[2]
As of October 10, 2020, Ikuhara has mentioned he is working on a new anime,
[3]
but has not provided any further detail.
Ikuhara will return to direct
Re:cycle of Penguindrum
, a compilation film for
Penguindrum
.
On March 31, 2022, Ikuhara announced that he was changing his name to "Bonsoir Ikuhara", later revealing it to be a pseudonym for Teiko Bon Bon, a music project with Bonjour Suzuki and Teiko.
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Interests
[
edit
]
He has expressed interest in the possibility of collaborating on a project with
David Lynch
someday.
[5]
As with fellow directors
Hayao Miyazaki
and
Yoshiyuki Tomino
, Ikuhara's works (especially
Mawaru Penguindrum
[6]
and
Yurikuma Arashi
) contain certain criticisms of the capitalist system.
[7]
In Ikuhara, such criticisms are often accompanied by a more or less latent distrust towards the whole social order, or even human nature itself.
[6]
Interaction with fans
[
edit
]
Ikuhara has attended several
conventions
and similar events, given interviews to fans and reporters, and, along with Chiho Saito, provided commentary tracks for the DVD releases of
Utena
. He often dresses in brightly colored clothes when socializing with fans. He has
cosplayed
as
Sailor Mars
on a few occasions.
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"【在?生&卒業生限定】幾原邦彦氏 特別講義「時代とアニメ、僕たちの移りゆく感性と欲望」開催のお知らせ"
[[Current Students & Graduates Only] Announcement of Kunihiko Ikuhara Special Lecture: "Eras and Animation, Our Changing Sensitivities and Desires"].
京都造形芸術大? 在?生?用サイト
(in Japanese).
Kyoto University of Art and Design
. September 28, 2019
. Retrieved
November 8,
2019
.
- ^
Loveridge, Lynzee (May 15, 2019).
"Utena, Sarazanmai's Ikuhara Likely Directed TMNT Episodes"
.
Anime News Network
. Retrieved
November 8,
2019
.
- ^
Mateo, Alex (October 10, 2020).
"Utena's Kunihiko Ikuhara Is Working Now on His Next Work"
. Anime News Network
. Retrieved
May 18,
2021
.
- ^
Loveridge, Lynzee (March 30, 2022).
"Utena, Penguindrum Director Ikuhara Announces Name Change"
.
Anime News Network
. Retrieved
March 30,
2022
.
- ^
Sevakis, Justin (April 22, 2001).
"Interview with Utena creator Kunihiko Ikuhara"
.
Anime News Network
. Retrieved
November 8,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Pastore, Ugo. "Let us try to make sense of 19". Translated by Pavesi, Davide.
- ^
Brienza, Casey (September 11, 2014). "Objects of otaku affection: animism, anime fandom, and the gods of … consumerism?". In Graham Harvey (ed.).
The Handbook of Contemporary Animism
. New York: Routledge. pp. 488?490.
ISBN
978-1-317-54450-0
. Retrieved
November 8,
2019
.
- ^
"Interview with Kunihiko Ikuhara"
.
UR Anime Club
. October 8, 2000. Archived from
the original
on July 15, 2012
. Retrieved
January 29,
2008
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Feature films
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Manga & novels
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International
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