Kimitoshi Yamane

Key takeaways

Kimitoshi Yamane belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kimitoshi Yamane to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kimitoshi Yamane from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kimitoshi Yamane (山根公利, Yamane Kimitoshi; born 1966) is a Japanese mecha designer. He was born in Kawamoto, Shimane Prefecture, and lives in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture. His representative works include Cowboy Bebop, Infinite Ryvius, The Vision of Escaflowne and the Gundam series. Yamane's designs are characterised by a sense of industrial product, designed with motifs from real vehicles and weapons, or from war and science fiction films. While Yamane has a deep knowledge of tanks and ships, he has little interest in robot in human form. In the Gundam series, he sometimes designs the main robot Gundam, but his work is basically focused on naval vessels, aircraft and vehicles. His hobbies include fishing, working on cars, and riding motorcycles. He owns several old cars and would like to try his hand at designing real cars if he gets the chance.

Biography After graduating from high school, Yamane moved to Tokyo and attended the Animation Department of Chiyoda Technical Art College in Tokyo for two years while working as a newspaper scholarship student. Yamane belonged to Artmic, whose main business is planning anime works, where he worked on mecha designs for animation, mainly OVAs, while receiving guidance from Shinji Aramaki, Hideki Kakinuma, and Kenichi Sonoda. He participated in co-productions with foreign countries such as the United States and France, and spent some time in Paris. He was also involved in the remake of Tatsunoko Production's Casshan and Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Around the time Artmik went into financial difficulties, Yamane decided to become a freelance designer in 1994, as he began to work for Sunrise on Mobile Fighter G Gundam and made contacts. Yamane designed the main robot for the first time in The Vision of Escaflowne. However, although his title was main designer, it is more correct to say that he co-designed the robot based on director Shōji Kawamori's first draft. Yamane participated in Cowboy Bebop from the planning stage. After passing the audition, Yamane was entrusted with the mecha design by director Shinichirō Watanabe, making it his first work as a designer to create a mecha from concept. In episode 19, Wild Horses, he went beyond the position of mecha designer and proposed the plot of the episode. This work was a huge hit, and he also gained recognition as a mecha designer. Yamane also participated in the next work, Infinite Ryvius, from the early stages, and was involved in creating the concept for the work. Yamane subsequently worked on Argento Soma, designing a human-shaped mecha to symbolize the work, as well as most of the aircraft and facilities. However, after those ambitious works, mecha design became increasingly fixed in the Japanese animation industry, and Yamane's free-thinking designs found it difficult to gain approval. Feeling stuck in a rut at work and a sense of entrapment in the industry, he began to think about leaving Tokyo and returning to his hometown to reconsider himself. He then returned to his home town of Shimane in 2000 at the age of 34, got married and found a large plot of land in Hamada City where he built a house. He thought it would be a good place to build a garage for tinkering with his car, so he could use his hobbies in his work, and it would also be a turning point for his career. At first, he was prepared to lose his job in anime, but the internet infrastructure made it easier to exchange image data, and he continued to receive offers of work from Tokyo.

Main works

TV series The Three-Eyed One (1990–1991) Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994–1995) The Vision of Escaflowne (1996) Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999) Infinite Ryvius (1999–2000) Argento Soma (2000–2001) Overman King Gainer (2002–2003) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002–2003) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (2004–2005) Cluster Edge (2005–2006) Starship Operators (2005) Tide-Line Blue (2005) Galaxy Angel II (2006) Ergo Proxy (2006) Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula (2007) Eureka Seven: AO (2012) Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (2013) Gundam Reconguista in G (2014)

Anime films Spriggan (1998) Escaflowne (2000) Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) Zeta Gundam: A New Translation II (2005) King of Thorn (2010) Short Peace (2013) Genocidal Organ (2017) Gundam Reconguista in G the Movie I〜V (2019–2022) Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash (2021) Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island (2022) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (2024)

OVA Bubblegum Crisis (1987–1991) Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1988) Hades Project Zeorymer (1988–1990) Rhea Gall Force (1989) A.D. Police: Dead End City (1990) Bubblegum Crash (1991) Detonator Orgun (1991–1993) Gall Force: New Era (1991) Casshan: Robot Hunter (1993–1994) Genocyber (1994) Gatchaman (1994–1995) Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (1996–1999) Voogie's Angel (1997–1998) Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (2004–2006) Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO 2 (2008–2009) Five Numbers! (2011) Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015)

Video game Shadow Squadron (1995)

Web animation Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer (2006) Xam'd: Lost Memories (2008–2009) Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance (2024) Sources:

Art books Yamane, Kimitoshi (January 20, 2008). Yamane Kimitoshi Meka Zukan (山根公利メカ図鑑) 'Kimitoshi Yamane Mecha Picture Book'. MdN Corporation. ISBN 4-8443-5960-6. Yamane, Kimitoshi (February 19, 2024). Yamane Kimitoshi Mekanikku Dezain Shū Mono Gurafu (山根公利メカニックデザイン集モノGRAPH) 'Kimitoshi Yamane Mechanic Design Collection Mono Graph'. Time. ISBN 4-9091-8515-1.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links Kimitoshi Yamane at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kimitoshi Yamane

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kimitoshi Yamane claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kimitoshi Yamane before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kimitoshi Yamane ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kimitoshi Yamane

In research: Kimitoshi Yamane appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kimitoshi Yamane in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kimitoshi Yamane is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1966 births, Gundam, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kimitoshi Yamane outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Kimitoshi Yamane in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kimitoshi Yamane means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kimitoshi Yamane out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kimitoshi Yamane in simple terms?

Kimitoshi Yamane (山根公利, Yamane Kimitoshi; born 1966) is a Japanese mecha designer. He was born in Kawamoto, Shimane Prefecture, and lives in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture.

Why does Kimitoshi Yamane matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kimitoshi Yamane?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kimitoshi Yamane.