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|name            =Akira Watanabe
|name            =Akira Watanabe
|image            =Akira Watanabe profile.png
|image            =Akira Watanabe profile.png
|occupation      =Art director, special effects director
|occupation      =Production designer,<br>special effects director
|birthday        =May 13, 1908
|birthday        =May 13, [[1908]]
|birthplace      =Fukui, [[Japan]]<ref name="EncyclopediaOfG">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Godzilla]]|date=1 January 1990|publisher=Gakken|page=101}}</ref>
|birthplace      =Fukui, [[Japan]]<ref name="EncyclopediaOfG">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Godzilla]]|date=1 January 1990|publisher=Gakken|page=101}}</ref>
|death            =1999
|death            =[[1999]]
|first            =''The War at Sea from<br>Hawaii to Malaya'' (1942)
|first            =''The War at Sea from<br>Hawaii to Malaya'' (1942)
|notable          =''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)
|notable          =''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)
Line 13: Line 13:
|wikipedia        =https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Watanabe_(art_director)
|wikipedia        =https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Watanabe_(art_director)
}}
}}
'''Akira Watanabe''' {{Nihongo|渡辺 明|Watanabe Akira}}, nicknamed '''Mr. Nabe''' {{Nihongo|ナベさん|Nabe-san}}, was a [[Japan]]ese special effects art director who worked frequently on [[Toho]]'s [[tokusatsu]] [[:Category:Kaiju Films|films]] during the [[Showa era]]. He is notable for approving and finalizing the designs of popular monsters such as [[King Ghidorah (Showa)|King Ghidorah]], [[Baragon]], and [[Godzilla (First Generation)|Godzilla]] himself. Watanabe worked for [[:Category:Shochiku|Shochiku]] beginning in 1929, but transferred to [[Toho]] in 1941 at the recommendation of [[Eiji Tsuburaya]], working on his first film with the company the following year. He departed from Toho in 1966 after serving as Tsuburaya's art director on ''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]''. He co-founded Japanese Special Effects Productions, later renamed Japanese Special Effects Film Co., Ltd, with which he directed the special effects for [[Nikkatsu]]'s sole Showa kaiju movie ''[[Gappa (film)|Gappa]]'', and the Japanese-American co-production ''[[wikipedia:The Green Slime|The Green Slime]]''.
'''Akira Watanabe''' {{Nihongo|渡辺 明|Watanabe Akira}}, nicknamed '''Mr. Nabe''' {{Nihongo|ナベさん|Nabe-san}}, was a [[Japan]]ese [[tokusatsu|special effects]] production designer who worked frequently on [[Toho]]'s [[tokusatsu]] [[:Category:Kaiju Films|films]] during the [[Showa era]]. He is notable for approving and finalizing the designs of popular monsters such as [[King Ghidorah (Showa)|King Ghidorah]], [[Baragon]], and [[Godzilla (First Generation)|Godzilla]] himself. Watanabe joined [[Shochiku]] in 1929, but transferred to [[Toho]] in 1941 at the recommendation of special effects director [[Eiji Tsuburaya]], and worked on his first film for the company the following year. He departed from Toho in [[1966]] after serving as Tsuburaya's production designer on ''[[Invasion of Astro-Monster]]''. He co-founded Japanese Special Effects Productions (later Japanese Special Effects Film Co.), with which he became a special effects director in his own right, directing the effects for [[Nikkatsu]]'s ''[[Gappa (film)|Gappa]]'' and the Japanese-American co-production ''[[wikipedia:The Green Slime|The Green Slime]]''.
{{TOC}}
{{TOC}}
==Selected filmography==
==Selected filmography==
===Special effects art director===
===Special effects production designer===
*[[Godzilla (1954 film)|''Godzilla'']] (1954)<ref group="lower-alpha">Special effects staff members' positions did not begin to be credited individually until ''[[The Mysterians]]'' in 1957. As such, Watanabe was credited for "special technology" alongside [[Eiji Tsuburaya]], [[Hiroshi Mukoyama]], and [[Kuichiro Kishida]].</ref>
*[[Godzilla (1954 film)|''Godzilla'']] (1954)<ref group="lower-alpha">Special effects staff members' positions did not begin to be credited individually until ''[[The Mysterians]]'' in 1957. As such, Watanabe was credited for "special technology" alongside [[Eiji Tsuburaya]], [[Hiroshi Mukoyama]], and [[Kuichiro Kishida]].</ref>
*''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' (1955)<ref group="lower-alpha">Credited for "special technology" alongside [[Hiroshi Mukoyama]] and Masao Shirota; see first note.</ref>
*''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' (1955)<ref group="lower-alpha">Credited for "special technology" alongside [[Hiroshi Mukoyama]] and Masao Shirota; see first note.</ref>
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File:Akira Watanabe Lady from Hell.jpg|Akira Watanabe on the set of ''[[wikipedia:Lady from Hell|Lady from Hell]]''
File:Akira Watanabe Lady from Hell.jpg|Akira Watanabe on the set of ''[[wikipedia:Lady from Hell|Lady from Hell]]''
</gallery>
</gallery>
==Trivia==
*The [[2012]] San Diego Comic-Con "mood piece" for ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'' (2014) was first leaked to the internet by a YouTube user named "Akira Watanabe."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfeGh-EgwHA|title=Fatman Trailer|first=Akira|last=Watanabe|date=10 September 2013|work=YouTube|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004154428/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfeGh-EgwHA|archivedate=4 October 2013}}</ref>
*Another Akira Watanabe would later work as a lighting assistant on the [[2024]] short film ''[[Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo]]'', though his name is spelled with different kanji.
==Notes==
==Notes==
{{Notelist|lower-alpha}}
{{Notelist|lower-alpha}}
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Real People}}
{{Real People|tab=Art}}
{{Comments}}
{{Comments}}
{{Era|REL}}
{{Era|REL}}
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Artists]]
[[Category:Artists]]

Latest revision as of 03:16, 29 April 2024

Akira Watanabe
Akira Watanabe
Born May 13, 1908
Fukui, Japan[1]
Died 1999
Occupation Production designer,
special effects director
First work The War at Sea from
Hawaii to Malaya (1942)
Notable work Godzilla (1954)
Imdb.pngWp.png

Akira Watanabe (渡辺 明,   Watanabe Akira), nicknamed Mr. Nabe (ナベさん,   Nabe-san), was a Japanese special effects production designer who worked frequently on Toho's tokusatsu films during the Showa era. He is notable for approving and finalizing the designs of popular monsters such as King Ghidorah, Baragon, and Godzilla himself. Watanabe joined Shochiku in 1929, but transferred to Toho in 1941 at the recommendation of special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, and worked on his first film for the company the following year. He departed from Toho in 1966 after serving as Tsuburaya's production designer on Invasion of Astro-Monster. He co-founded Japanese Special Effects Productions (later Japanese Special Effects Film Co.), with which he became a special effects director in his own right, directing the effects for Nikkatsu's Gappa and the Japanese-American co-production The Green Slime.

Selected filmography

Special effects production designer

Miscellaneous

Gallery

  • Akira Watanabe and Keiko Sawai with a model of the P-1

    Akira Watanabe and Keiko Sawai with a model of the P-1

  • Akira Watanabe on the set of Lady from Hell

    Akira Watanabe on the set of Lady from Hell

Trivia

  • The 2012 San Diego Comic-Con "mood piece" for Godzilla (2014) was first leaked to the internet by a YouTube user named "Akira Watanabe."[2]
  • Another Akira Watanabe would later work as a lighting assistant on the 2024 short film Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo, though his name is spelled with different kanji.

Notes

  1. ↑ Special effects staff members' positions did not begin to be credited individually until The Mysterians in 1957. As such, Watanabe was credited for "special technology" alongside Eiji Tsuburaya, Hiroshi Mukoyama, and Kuichiro Kishida.
  2. ↑ Credited for "special technology" alongside Hiroshi Mukoyama and Masao Shirota; see first note.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Credited for "special technology" alongside Eiji Tsuburaya, Masao Shirota and Hiroshi Mukoyama; see first note.
  4. ↑ Credited as storywriter and "associate" in the Japanese version; credited as special effects director in the American version.
  5. ↑ Only credited in the American cut; Japanese Special Effects Film Co., Ltd. is credited in the Japanese version.

References

This is a list of references for Akira Watanabe. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Godzilla. Gakken. 1 January 1990. p. 101.
  2. ↑ Watanabe, Akira (10 September 2013). "Fatman Trailer". YouTube. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.

Staff members
 
Directors
Drama directors
Adam Wingard • Daisuke Sato • Ernest Schoedsack • Eugène Lourié • Gareth Edwards • Hideaki Anno • Hirochika Muraishi • Hiroto Yokokawa • Hiroyuki Seshita • Ishiro Honda • John Guillermin • Jordan Vogt-Roberts • Jun Fukuda • Kazuhiro Nakagawa • Kazuki Omori • Kensho Yamashita • Kimiyoshi Yasuda • Kiyotaka Taguchi‎‎ • Kobun Shizuno • Koji Hashimoto • Kunio Miyoshi • Masaaki Hisamatsu • Masaaki Tezuka • Masaji Nonagase • Merian C. Cooper • Michael Dougherty • Minoru Kawasaki • Motoyoshi Oda • Noriaki Yuasa • Okihiro Yoneda • Peter Jackson • Roland Emmerich • Ryuhei Kitamura • Ryuichi Ichino • Shinji Higuchi • Shinpei Hayashiya • Shizuo Nakajima • Shusuke Kaneko • Takao Okawara • Takashi Miike • Takashi Yamazaki • Takeshi Yagi • Takuya Uenishi • Tomoo Haraguchi • Tokuzo Tanaka • Willis O'Brien • Yoshikazu Ishii • Yoshimitsu Banno • Yusuke Ishida
Effects directors
Assistant directors
 
Artists
Production designers
Illustrators
Propmakers

 
 
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