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Yōji Kuri | |
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久里洋二 | |
| Born | (1928-04-09)April 9, 1928 Sabae, Japan |
| Died | November 24, 2024(2024-11-24) (aged 96) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Education | Bunka Gakūin |
Yōji Kuri (久里洋二,Kuri Yōji, April 9, 1928 – November 24, 2024) was a Japanesecartoonist andindependent filmmaker. An influential figure in Japaneseindependent animation, he was the unofficial leader and most prolific of the "Animation Association of Three" (アニメーション三人の会,Animēshon Sannin no Kai) collective who kick-started the renaissance of modern-styled, independently made,adult-aimed animation in early 1960s Japan.[1] He is known internationally for the veryblack comedy of his films, with the typicallynaïve style of his cartooning often belying thesurreal, obscene and disturbing situations they depict (though he has worked in a variety of styles and mediums, includingpixilation);[2] this made them a favourite among the ferventlycounter-cultural audiences, which included such filmmakers asRené Laloux, of the first few years of theAnnecy International Animated Film Festival,[3] and in a 1967 publication he was considered to be "the most significant" and "the only Japanese animator whose work is known in the West" (which is to disregard theToei Animation features andAstro Boy series that were first seen in the West around the same time that Kuri's first several films were and mentioned in passing in the same publication,[4] though these were not known as works of an individual and characteristic filmmaker and often had their Japanese origin played down). He is also known in Japan for hiscomics, a collection of which earned him the 1958Bungeishunjū Manga Award. Though he was retired from filmmaking, he continued toillustrate and teach animation at Laputa Art Animation School (アート・アニメーションのちいさな学校,Āto Animēshon no Chiisana Gakkō).[5] In 2012, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film, better known asAnimafest Zagreb.
Kuri died on November 24, 2024, at the age of 96. His death was announced in the following month, on December 15.[6]
Kuri made over 40short films between 1960 and 1981;[2] some of the best known are:
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