If there’s an animator who really stood out in Bones‘ second incarnation of ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’, then it’s certainly Yoshimichi Kameda [亀田祥倫]. His animation is what Yutaka Nakamura‘s work was to the 2003 version, in other words he’s the secret star of the show. Kameda wasn’t on my radar until FMA, though hardly surprising since he began his career just three years ago, in 2007. Apparently, he started out at AIC and did his first key animation on the 20th anniversary special ‘Oh My Goddess: Fighting Wings’. Kameda also worked on several of Hiroshi Ikehata‘s episodes (Soul Eater #34, Zettai Karen Children #27/#37), but he was credited with a synonym (Sukiyo Sazan) so his name didn’t ring a bell at first when he began doing that great work on Fullmetal Alchemist under his real name (he used that alias on episode 5, though). He quickly became a favorite of Japanese animation fans because of his amazing scene in episode 19 (Mustang burning Lust to death) which is really mind-blowing in view of the density and intenseness of the animation and beauty of the effects. According to the official blog, 10000 drawings were used for this outstanding episode and I dare to bet that this came about mainly due to Kameda‘s part. He was even credited for inbetweens so he obviously wanted to keep full control of his cuts.
Fullmetal Alchemist #19 (2009)
Kameda made a glorious comeback with his stunning flame effects in episode 53/54 and – just like in #19 – you can literally feel the sensation of his presence. The combination of vigorous movements, inventive perspectives, close-up shots and the way he draws the characters (particularly the pronounced facial expressions) adds much intensity and tension to the atmosphere. Kameda‘s drawings tend to be rather sketchy and his action fast-paced, full of youthful energy and incredibly powerful like I’ve hardly experienced in anime before. Really thrilling stuff from tip to toe. Oh, and by the way: Kameda‘s work was highlighted in both Newtype and Animage so it’s good to see that this outstanding animator already gets well-deserved attention.
Fullmetal Alchemist #45 (2010)
Zettai Karen Children #27 (2008)
NEEDLESS #3 (2009)
Here’s a compilation video of his work on Fullmetal Alchemist:
Staff in:
♦ 20th anniversary special ‘Oh My Goddess: Fighting Wings’ (2007): Key Animation #2 / Inbetweens #2
♦ Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007): Inbetweens #25
♦ Bamboo Blade (2007-2008): Key Animation #9
♦ S･A (2008): Key Animation #5 #10 #14 #17
♦ Yakushiji Ryōko no Kaiki Jikenbo (2008): Key Animation #4 (synonym: Sukiyo Sazan)
♦ Zettai Karen Children (2008): Key Animation #27 #37 (synonym: Sukiyo Sazan)
♦ Soul Eater (2008): Key Animation #34 (synonym: Sukiyo Sazan)
♦ Seto no Hanayome OVA (2009): Key Animation
♦ Tentai Senshi Sun Red (2008-2009): Key Animation #26
♦ Fullmetal Alchemist – Brotherhood (2009-2010): Key Animation OP1 OP2 OP4 OP5 #5 #10 #14 #19 #25 #26 #33 #38 #40 #41 #45 #53 #54 / 2nd Key Animation #1 / Inbetweens #19
♦ Saint Knight’s Tale (2009): Key Animation #2
♦ NEEDLESS (2009): Key Animation #3
♦ Saki (2009): Key Animation #24
♦ Tentai Senshi Sun Red 2 (2009): Key Animation
♦ Doraemon (2005-): Key Animation OP5 #159
♦ Asura Cryin’ 2 (2009): Key Animation #26
Yeah, Kameda is easily one of my favorite young animators right now. I have put Brotherhood on-hold for the time being since I wanted to read the manga first, but the work he and Tanaka did throughout this series really made the anime worth watching for me. Though, in contrast to Nakamura, I at least can pick out Kameda’s style by myself. Nakamura is a bit too clean in his drawings for me to identify, even if the stuff he puts out is marvelous.
And that reminds me, just what has Nakamura been doing while this series was airing? He’s only done that bit of OP 2 and that’s it.
I’ve taken up the responsibility of being “in-charge” of Kameda’s profile on ANN, but it seems like I’ve slacked off in posting the info from Sakuga wiki on his profile. Did an update right now and I’ve added most of his work.
Though, he’s credited as doing “メカニック・スチューデント” for ep. 26 of Asura Cryin’ 2, and since I have no idea what that task is, I’m not adding it. ^_^’
I also wondered myself what Nakamura has been up to in the past year or so, his output has significantly dropped compared to the massive volume of work on Soul Eater. His contributions to Fullmetal Alchemist, Darker than Black and Halo Legends can’t be everything he’s done ever since SE, can it? I guess – sooner or later – we will see him on Heroman, or maybe even on one of the remaining episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist? Some spectacular animation by Nakamura on the final episode, now that would be nice.
That “メカニック・スチューデント” means “Mechanic Student”. Weird name, I know. I’m pretty sure that it implies which animators worked on FX and/or mecha animation since both Kameda and Oda did such work on that episode. The guy who’s credited as ‘Mechanic Teacher’ (Hiroki Mutaguchi) is correspondingly the mecha animation director.
I see. Thanks for the clarification. I’ll check if there’s already a task in the Encyclopedia that covers that; if not, I’ll have to ask the staff what would be appropriate.