Jinzo Toriumi (1929 - 2008)
Scriptwriter for Gatchaman, Speed Racer, Astro Boy, Yatterman
Jinzo Toriumi, a scriptwriter and planner for animes like Gatchaman, Speed Racer and Casshern, died Thursday of liver cancer. He was 78.
Scriptwriter and novelist Jinzo Torumi, who worked on such classic anime as Astro Boy, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Speed Racer and Tekkaman, died last Thursday morning of heptacellular carcinoma (liver cancer) at a hospital in Japan's Shinjuku district. He was 78.
Toriumi was born February 1, 1929 in Takikawa on Hokkaido. According to The Big Cartoon Database, he broke into the scriptwriting business when he wrote for live-action films at Nikkatsu, before turning to anime in the early 1960's.
His first big anime job was in 1964, writing for Mushi Production's classic anime Mighty Atom, better known to North American audiences as Astro Boy. Toriumi switched over to Tatsunoko in 1965, scriptwriting for television serials like Casshern, Tekkaman and Time Bokan.
In 1967, he jumped up the ladder, becoming a series planner for Mach Go, Go, Go; better known to North American audiences as Speed Racer. Toriumi became a writer and director on 1969's Kurenai Sanshiro (Judo Boy), and 1973's Kerokko Demetan. He became a layout artist on 1972's Kashi no ki Mokku, otherwise known as Pinocchio, Mock or Made of Oak.
Jinzo Toriumi Writer and Planner on Gatchaman
Also in 1972, Toriumi became the writer and planner for a new series at Tatsunoko, Kagaku Ninja tai Gatchaman. The series was wildly successful, establishing the sentai (transforming superhero team) anime style in Japan. Toriumi did the same job on the two Japanese follow-ups, 1978's Kagaku Ninja tai Gatchaman II and 1979's Kagaku Ninja tai Gatchaman F.
Toriumi wrote the novelizations of Gatchaman, as well as novelizations for animes Shin Heiyoden and Dororo.
Gatchaman was the first television anime to be adapted for the North American market, becoming Battle of the Planets in 1978, and re-edited in 1986 and 1995 as G-Force: Guardians of Space. Imagi Animation is currently producing a CGI adaptation of Gatchaman, which The Weinstein Company will bring to the silver screen in early 2009.
Toriumi left Tastunoko in the early 1980's to teach vocational school for aspiring scriptwriters. To aid in this, he wrote the textbook Anime Series Nyumon (The Introduction to Anime Scriptwriting). He would only break out of academia to work on three more anime series for Sunrise Inc.: 1983's Armored Trooper Votoms, 1987's Mister Ajikko, and 1988's Yoroiden Samurai Troopers.
Toriumi later chaired the scriptwriter support organization Ohtori Koubou. In May of 2000, he received the Scenario Scriptwriting Award from the Japan Writer's Guild.
Fun Fact: Ken Washio, the leader of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, has received several name changes over the years. For Battle of the Planets, he was simply Mark. When it became G-Force, he was hilariously renamed Ace Goodheart, and became Hunter Harris for Eagle Riders. For the 2005 ADV Films OVA, he was just Ken the Eagle.
