Akira Inoue
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Akira Inoue (井上 章 Inoue Akira) was a Japanese art director and modeler. Inspired to enter the filmmaking business after first seeing King Kong as a child, Inoue joined Daiei in 1953. He served as an art director on several of the studio's films from the 1950's through early 60's, but his big break came when he was chosen to handle the special effects art for Daiei's first monster film, Gamera the Giant Monster. Inoue co-designed Gamera with Masao Yagi, Noriaki Yuasa, and Yonesaburo Tsukiji, and from that point on became the art director for the Gamera series. Inoue was also responsible for art at the 1970 World's Fair. Inoue was set to work on Gamera vs. Two-Headed Monster W with Yuasa, but the studio went bankrupt and the film was canceled, after which he left Daiei. Inoue returned in 1991 to work on the "Gamera Permanent Preservation Plan" LaserDisc set, for which he designed the monster Garasharp. After retiring, Inoue remained active in the industry, serving in guilds and unions for filmmakers and even training younger students of filmmaking. Looking back on his career, Inoue said he was most proud of his work on the Gamera series and that his favorite film he worked on was Gamera vs. Guiron. Inoue passed away on September 30, 2017.
Selected filmography
Production designer
- Gamera the Giant Monster (1965)
- Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
- Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
- Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
- Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
- Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
- Gamera vs. Two-Headed Monster W (1972) [unproduced]
- Gamera vs. Garasharp (1991)
Supervisor
- Wanigon vs. Gamaron (2000)
Monsters designed
- Gamera [with Masao Yagi, Noriaki Yuasa, and Yonesaburo Tsukiji]
- Barugon
- Gyaos
- Guiron [with Tomohisa Yano]
- "W"
- Garasharp
Gallery
Inoue (center) with Tomoo Haraguchi (left) and Keizo Murase (right)
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