Matsumoto’s episodes stand out for their uniquely rendered characters that show a debt to the realist school of the late 80s/early 90s 1.įamous for his work on Naruto with Atsushi Wakabayashi. He attempted to solo You’re Under Arrest 39 but when he failed to do so he requested his name not be listed in the credits despite animating the vast majority of the episode. He also solo’d Eat Man episode 7 and the Kuragehime ED. Examples include You’re Under Arrest OVA 2, Popolocrois Monogatari 3 (nearly a solo), Earth Maiden Arjuna 4, Beck 15 (half the KA), Noein 12, Birdy the Mighty Decode 12, and Yozakura Quartet 12 (half the KA). Whenever he serves as AD on an episode, he does a staggering amount of the KA himself. Around this time Matsumoto was also mentored by Tomohiro Hirata on Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Matsumoto animated the second ED) 1.Īs his career has progressed, he’s taken on greater and greater challenges as an animator. He would continue to collaborate with Furuhashi on Rurouni Kenshin (particularly episodes 30-31), You’re Under Arrest, and Hunter x Hunter. There Matsumoto often partnered with director Kazuhiro Furuhashi and animators Atsuko Nakajima, Tokuyuki Matsutake, and Hirofumi Suzuki.

Though one of his earliest assignments was Assistant Animation Check for Akira, his first major gig was on Ranma 1/2. Influenced by Satoru Utsunomiya and Takashi Nakamura, and has adapted elements of their approach for a wider audience 1. Prefers battles that take place in wide open spaces with lots of forward momentum and background movement. Occasionally storyboards his own scenes as he did for Birdy the Mighty Decode:02 12, the third Naruto movie, and Rurouni Kenshin 31 & 85. He draws smoke without highlights, a tendency that earned the nickname “Norio smoke” and has been imitated by animators Shingo Yamashita and Kenichi Kutsuna.

He’s a master of natural phenomena: water, fire, rocks, etc. Matsumoto’s character animation is loose and full of smears, often looking like featureless masses in individual frames. Toshiyuki Inoue mused that he must have a “secret” for producing such a large volume of superb cuts 1. Has the reputation of a fast and disciplined worker. Though primarily an action animator, he’s demonstrated impressive range elsewhere like in his scenes for Haibane Renmei and Kaguyahime. Also worked at Oh! Production during his in-betweening days, where he met Osamu Tanabe. Norio Matsumoto(松本　憲生) started his career at Tatsunoko's animators training institute, where he met Atsushi Wakabayashi.

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