The Man Who Leapt Through Film: The Art of Mamoru Hosoda

by Charles Solomon, Mamoru Hosoda (Illustrator), Don Hahn (Foreword by)

Overview

An illustrated overview of writer/director/animator Mamoru Hosoda’s Academy Award–nominated movies and career, including previously unpublished storyboards, background paintings, character designs, and concept art

Foreword by Don Hahn

Journey into the mind and creative process of one of the most celebrated anime directors working today with The Man Who Leapt Through Film: The Art of Mamoru Hosoda. Written by renowned animation critic and historian Charles Solomon (The Art of WolfWalkers) and featuring exclusive interviews alongside hundreds of never-before-seen sketches, storyboards, background paintings, character designs, and concept art, this is the ultimate companion piece to Hosoda’s work.

Writer/director/animator Mamoru Hosoda’s work includes Belle (2021), the Academy Award–nominated Mirai (2018); The Boy and the Beast (2015); Wolf Children (2012); Summer Wars (2009); and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006). He is the cofounder of Studio Chizu, one of Japan’s premier animation studios.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419753725
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,051,896
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 12.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Charles Solomon is the author of more than a dozen books on the art and making of animated films and television specials. His recent credits include The Art of WolfWalkers (Abrams, 2020), The Art of Toy Story 3, The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation, The Art of Frozen, and the Song of the Sea Artbook, which he wrote in collaboration with Cartoon Saloon cofounder Tomm Moore. Solomon lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2022

Fan of Japanese animation will enjoy Solomon's (The Disney Princess: A Celebration of Art and Creativity) informative and interesting profile of Japanese anime director Mamoru Hosoda. Solomon begins the book with a brief profile of Hosoda's life in Kamiichi before delving into the director's growing interest in animation and filmmaking during his teenage years. The majority of the book focuses on Hosoda's professional career in animation, starting with his work at Toei Animation, before his big leap to feature films that included Digimon Adventure, Wolf Children, and a successful adaptation of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Solomon gives each film its own analysis, complete with storyboards, film stills, and interviews with Hosoda and other animation filmmakers. It's this deft incorporation of interviews and visuals that helps readers understand how Hosoda aimed to elevate the art of animation while creating stories and characters with a strong sense of humanity. VERDICT Solomon has created a dazzling and eye-opening book on Japanese animation that should appeal to fans of the genre.—Leah K. Huey

Library Journal