All the fun was created by Masaru Uchida! (May 30 is the anniversary of his death)
Today is the anniversary of Masaru Uchida’s death. It has been 13 years since he passed away…
This image is the cover of the booklet I compiled for the “Shinobu-kai” (memorial service) on the first anniversary of his death.
To enumerate what a great person Mr. Uchida is…
1. at the age of 30, he became editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Magazine and increased its circulation from 300,000 to 1.5 million in five years.
(2) Together with Masashi Otomo, he dug up Tsuburaya Productions’ “Ultra Q,” which had been put in storage, and created a boom in monster productions.
3. become the instigator of geek culture, including handgun giveaways, world stamps, and trains.
4. introduced original manga and made “Star of the Giant,” “Ashita no Joe,” “Tiger Mask,” and other works based on Ikki Kajiwara’s original works into big hits.
5. for the first time, a media mix (publishing and TV) was realized. Shigeru Mizuki’s “Gegege no Kitaro” and “Masked Rai
He worked with Toei to produce animated films such as “Dar. *At that time, Toei’s TV division was still weak.
I met Mr. Uchida when I was at Sony with the launch of Animax, and when I founded Sony Digital Entertainment, he became my first advisor. At that time, he told me, “I will give you advice, but I will not discuss it,” and I am grateful to him for the perfect coaching he provided to a new president. Since then, the presence of an experienced advisor has been indispensable to my management. Although it is the president who decides, the advice from the advisor, based on history and experience, has become a management compass for me as well.
Thanks to Mr. Uchida, I was able to work and interact with Kazuo Umezu, Fujiko Fujio (A), Leiji Matsumoto, Shigeru Mizuki, Takao Yaguchi, Fujio Akatsuka, Go Nagai, Yasuji Tanioka, Kenji Morita, and others.
Mr. Uchida used to say, “Three conditions for a leader.”
1. Eat and drink well (good health and longevity increase business opportunities)
2. Loud voice (good communication skills)
3. Do not lie (trust and credibility increase)
Although Mr. Uchida is no longer with us, the wonderful works of art he produced continue to fascinate people today.
The lessons I learned as a leader still guide my actions today.
Keep watching over us from heaven!
◆ Reference
Please read below for a transcript of the lecture he gave to our employees while ill a few months before his death.
Last message from Masaru Uchida, legendary editor of “The Star of the Giant” and “Gegege no Kitaro” http://talked.jp/02/
◆May 30, 2008, a blog about that day
I am still standing in front of the letter Y….
◆Magazine cover designed by Tadanori Yokoo
Trivia : The magazine cover planned by Mr. Uchida and created by Tadanori Yokoo was rejected by Kodansha executives after he created a strong design featuring Yasuji Tanioka for the 10th New Year issue. Since then, this dream collaboration has been lost. The phantom cover design is in the possession of Machiko, the widow of Yasuji Tanioka.
PS: Mr. Yujio Shinohara, aka “Gyu-chan”, an avant-garde artist living in New York, contacted me after seeing this post and sent it to me. He missed me so much!
