Junichiro Tamamori (玉盛順一朗, Tamamori Jun'ichirō) is a Japanese industrial designer and animation mechanic designer, he has provided mecha design for various projects related to Space Battleship Yamato.
He is currently active in the fields of animation, games, and toy design.[1]
Biography[]
Junichiro Tamamori was born in Okinawa in the late 1960s. He studied design at university and began his career as an industrial designer in Yokohama.[2] Throughout his career, he has worked as an industrial designer, in design education, and in web-related fields, including information architecture and accessibility.[1]
From 2001 to around 2006, he ran a fan site called Yamato Mechanics, where he shared illustrations of the Yamato Series drawn by himself and other fans. The site's goal was to explore a realistic update of the mechanics from the Yamato Series. While managing the website, he became familiar with fan communities in both Japan and the United States. Around the time that the website ceased its activity, he started working as mecha designer in the anime industry.[2]
His fan work caught the attention of Yasushi Ishizu, who was designing the Garmillas mechanics for Space Battleship Yamato 2199. Through Ishizu, Tamamori established a connection with director Yutaka Izubuchi.[3]
Tamamori went on to become a mecha designer for Space Battleship Yamato 2199, where he was responsible for the mecha design on the Earth side and collaborated with Izubuchi on some designs.[3] He has continued to work as a mecha designer for all subsequent entries in the Space Battleship Yamato remake series.
As part of the celebration project for the Yamato Series' 50th anniversary, he put together Yamato Mechanics, an art book featuring his mechanical illustrations for the remake series.[4]
Works[]
Here is a full list of contributions by Junichiro Tamamori to the Space Battleship Yamato series.
- Space Battleship Yamato 2199: mechanical design and layout supervision (2012)
- Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark: mechanical design (2014)
- Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love: mechanical design (2017-)
- The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202: setting advisor (2021-)
- Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Voyage: mechanical design (2021-)
- Space Battleship Yamato NEXT Star Blazers Lambda: mechanical design (2021-2022)
- Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199: mechanical design (ongoing)
- Space Battleship Yamato 2199 manga: cover illustrations (ongoing)
- Yamato Mechanics: main author (2025)
External links[]
- Junichiro Tamamori on Japanese Wikipedia
- Junichiro Tamamori on Wordpress
- Official website
- X.com account
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Junichiro Tamamori on Wordpress
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Interview with Artist/Designer Junichiro Tamamori
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dengeki Hobby, July 2012, archived on Cosmo DNA
- ↑ @Yamato50th on X.com, March 15, 2025