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March 6, 1932 – September 5, 1977 was a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, as well as anime pioneer who founded the animation studio Tatsunoko Production as a businessman and the original author of many anime works.
As the first president of Tatsunoko Production, Yoshida supported the dawn of Japanese animation by producing numerous hits such as Speed Racer, Hakushon Daimaō, The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee, and Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. He took on challenges that other animation studios did not, such as insisting on producing his own original animation that was not based on manga or novels, or creating American-style animation. Character designs were also drawn in Yoshida's style, with a solid skeleton and intricate lines that were drawn with precision, influenced by American comic books, rather than the simplified, less-linear style that was mainstream in Japanese animation at the time, and this became the origin of Tatsunoko's designs.
Around 1960, Yoshida changed his career to manga artist. His Champion Futoshi with Kajiwara and Shōnen Ninja-butai Gekkō, which he drew alone, were hits, and both were adapted into TV dramas. In particular, Phantom Agents was broadcast for two years and a movie was produced, playing a role in Japan's ninja boom.
In October 1962, Yoshida founded Tatsunoko Production with his two younger brothers, Kenji Yoshida, who managed his manga, and Toyoharu Yoshida, who was working as a manga artist, and became its first president. Initially, Tatsunoko was established as a production company specializing in manga, managing manga copyrights and assistants, but as Yoshida became interested in anime, the company began producing anime.
In 1965, Tatsunoko Productions' first anime Space Ace was aired. The second anime, Mach GoGoGo, an animated racing series, was aired in Japan and then shortly after in the U.S. under the title Speed Racer, where it achieved resounding success.
He continued to produce anime works that have left their mark on Japanese animation history, including Gatchaman (also known as Battle of the Planets and ), Casshan (also known as Neo-Human Casshern), Hurricane Polymar and .
In 1972, he won the 17th Shogakukan Manga Award for his manga The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee.
On September 5, 1977, he died of liver cancer. After his death, the presidency was taken over by his younger brother Kenji (from 1977 to 1987; chairman since 1995), followed by Ippei Kuri (since 1987), but they both left the company in 2005 when Tatsunoko became a subsidiary of major toy manufacturer Takara.
At the Tokyo Anime Awards held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2005, he was awarded the Special Achievement Award as one of the 20 people who created Japanese animation.
| Tatsuo Yoshida | Jungle King | Shōnen Gahō (Shōnen Gahōsha) | November 1954 issue - April 1955 issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Kōya no Kaidanji | Shōnen Gahō (Shōnen Gahōsha) | January 1955 issue | First collaboration work with Ikki Kajiwara. |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Shōnen Proresu Ō Tetsuwan Rikiya | "Bōken Ō" (Akita Shoten) | March 1955 issue - December 1957 issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Shōnen Proresu Ō | Omoshiro Book (Shueisha) | November–December 1955 issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Lou Thesz Monogatari | Omoshiro Book (Shueisha) | November 1955 issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Proresu Gorō | Omoshiro Book (Shueisha) | January 1956 issue - July 1957 issue | |
| Takehiko Takeda (idea) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Sekai Shōnentai | Omoshiro Book (Shueisha) | August 1957 issue - | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Tatsumaki Sanshirō | Shōnen (Kobunsha) | January 1957 - June 1957 issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Ōzora Kōshinkyoku | Shōnen extra edition (Kobunsha) | January 1957 New Year Special Issue | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (illustration) | Byakko Daisuke | Bokura (Kodansha) | January - December 1958 issue | |
| Ichiro Miyagawa (original story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (manga) | Super Giant | Bokura (Kodansha) | August 1959 issue - June 1961 issue | Manga version of Japan's first Tokusatsu superhero Live action movie Super Giant. After being adapted into a comic by Jiro Kuwata, Daiji Kazumine, and Masamichi Yokoyama, he wrote an original story for the manga. |
| DC Comics (original) / Tatsuo Yoshida (manga) | Superman | Shōnen Gahō (Shōnen Gahōsha) | May 1960 issue - October 1960 issue | Japanese version of the American comic book Superman franchise. |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (art) | Champion Futoshi | Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Kodansha) | 1962 No. 1 - 1963 No. 52 | Ikki Kajiwara's debut work as a manga author. |
| Asao Takamori (Story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (Art) | 0-sen champion | Bokura (Kodansha) | August 1962-September 1963 | Boxing manga. |
| Tatsuo Yoshida | Shōnen Ninja-butai Gekkō | Weekly Shōnen King (Shōnen Gahōsha) | 1963 No. 1 - 1965 No. 10 | Original of the Tokusatsu TV series Phantom Agents (a.k.a. Ninja Squad Moonlight). |
| Asao Takamori (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (art) | Ōzora Sanshirō | Bokura (Kodansha) | October 1963 - August 1964 | |
| Ikki Kajiwara (story) / Tatsuo Yoshida (art) | Harris Mudan | Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Kodansha) | 1963 No. 51 - 1965 No. 15 | |
| Tatsuo Yoshida | Space Ace | Shōnen Book (Shueisha) | July 1964 issue - May 1966 issue | Comic adaptation of Tatsunoko Production's first TV animation series Space Ace. |
| Tatsuo Yoshida. | Pilot A (Ace) | Shōnen Gahō (Shōnen Gahōsha) | November 1960 issue - April 1964 issue | A car racing manga, which, along with Mach Sanshirō, was the basis for Tatsunoko Productions' anime Mach GoGoGo. |
| Minoru Kume (story) / Ippei Kuri (art) / Tatsuo Yoshida (composition) | Mach Sanshirō | Weekly Shōnen Magazine (Kodansha) | 1960 No. 8 - 1961 No. 52 | A motorcycle racing manga, which, along with Pilot A, was the basis for Tatsunoko Productions' anime Mach GoGoGo. The radio drama adaptation was produced under the sponsorship of Kodansha and Tohatsu, the leading Japanese motorcycle manufacturer at the time. |
| Tatsuo Yoshida & Tatsunoko Production | Mach GoGoGo | Shōnen Book (Shueisha) | June 1966 issue - May 1968 issue | Comic adaptation of Tatsunoko Productions' anime work of the same title. |
| Tatsuo Yoshida & Tatsunoko Production | Kurenai Sanshirō | Weekly Shōnen Jump (Shueisha) | 1969 No. 10-13 | While Ippei Kuri's manga of the same title is the original work of the Tatsunoko Productions' anime Judo Boy (a.k.a. Kurenai Sanshirō), this is a comic adaptation of the same anime. |
| Tatsuo Yoshida & Tatsunoko Production | The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee | Comic adaptation of Tatsunoko Productions' anime work of the same title. |
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