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IMDbPro

Leiji Matsumoto(1938-2023)

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Animation Department
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto was born on 25 January 1938 in Fukuoka, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love (1978), Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (1985) and Space Battleship Yamato (1974). He was married to Miyako Maki. He died on 13 February 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.
BornJanuary 25, 1938
DiedFebruary 13, 2023(85)
BornJanuary 25, 1938
DiedFebruary 13, 2023(85)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Known for

Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love (1978)
Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love
7.2
  • Writer
  • 1978
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (1985)
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
7.6
TV Series
  • Writer(creator, 1985-1986)
Space Battleship Yamato (1974)
Space Battleship Yamato
8.0
TV Series
  • Writer(creator)
Space Battleship Yamato II (1978)
Space Battleship Yamato II
7.9
TV Series
  • Writer(creator)

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer



  • Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199
    • creator: original story (creator)
    • Released
    • TV Series
    • 2024
  • Be Forever Yamato Rebel 3199: Part 4: The Aqua Sasha
    • original story
    • Completed
    • 2025
  • Space Battleship Yamato 50th Anniversary Project
    • original story
    • In Production



  • Be Forever Yamato Rebel 3199: Part 3: Ultramarine Asteroid (2025)
    Be Forever Yamato Rebel 3199: Part 3: Ultramarine Asteroid
    • original creator
    • 2025
  • Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199 (2024)
    Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199
    7.1
    TV Series
    • creator: original story (creator)
    • 2024–2025
  • Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199: Part 2: The Assault of the Burning Sun (2024)
    Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199: Part 2: The Assault of the Burning Sun
    • original work
    • 2024
  • Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199: Part 1: Dark Invasion (2024)
    Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199: Part 1: Dark Invasion
    7.0
    • original author
    • 2024
  • Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2205 - A New Voyage - Later Chapter: Stasha (2022)
    Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2205 - A New Voyage - Later Chapter: Stasha
    7.1
    • original story
    • 2022
  • Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2205 - The New Voyage - Prior Chapter: Take Off (2021)
    Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2205 - The New Voyage - Prior Chapter: Take Off
    7.5
    • original story
    • 2021
  • Star Blazers Chronicle 2202 (2021)
    Star Blazers Chronicle 2202
    7.9
    • original work
    • 2021
  • Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Chapter 7
    • original work
    • 2019
  • Star Blazers 2202 (2017)
    Star Blazers 2202
    6.9
    TV Series
    • creator: original story
    • manga (creator)
    • 2017–2019
  • Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Chapter 6
    • original work
    • 2018
  • Fumihiko Tachiki in Gintama 2 - The Exceedingly Strange Gintama-chan (2018)
    Gintama 2 - The Exceedingly Strange Gintama-chan
    6.6
    TV Mini Series
    • characters
    • 2018
  • Akinori Nakagawa and Haruka in Galaxy Express 999: Galaxy Opera (2018)
    Galaxy Express 999: Galaxy Opera
    • manga
    • 2018
  • Galaxy Express 999 (2018)
    Galaxy Express 999
    TV Movie
    • manga
    • 2018
  • Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Chapter 5
    • original work
    • 2018
  • Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Chapter 4
    • original work
    • 2018

Director



  • Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003)
    Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
    7.8
    • supervising director
    • 2003
  • Daft Punk: One More Time (2001)
    Daft Punk: One More Time
    7.1
    Music Video
    • Director
    • 2001
  • Harlock Saga (1999)
    Harlock Saga
    6.2
    TV Mini Series
    • executive director
    • 1999
  • Arei's Mirror: Way to the Virgin Space (1985)
    Arei's Mirror: Way to the Virgin Space
    6.0
    Short
    • general director
    • 1985
  • Final Yamato (1983)
    Final Yamato
    7.0
    • supervising director
    • 1983
  • Queen Millennia (1981)
    Queen Millennia
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1981–1982
  • Space Battleship Yamato III (1980)
    Space Battleship Yamato III
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1980–1981
  • The Great Tale of the Great Tatami Progenitor (1980)
    The Great Tale of the Great Tatami Progenitor
    5.5
    • Director
    • 1980
  • Legend of Marine Snow (1980)
    Legend of Marine Snow
    TV Special
    • Director
    • 1980
  • Be Forever Yamato (1980)
    Be Forever Yamato
    6.8
    • Director
    • 1980
  • Star Blazers (1979)
    Star Blazers
    8.4
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1979–1984
  • Space Battleship Yamato II (1978)
    Space Battleship Yamato II
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1978–1979
  • Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love (1978)
    Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love
    7.2
    • Director
    • 1978
  • Space Pirate Captain Harlock: The Mystery of the Arcadia (1978)
    Space Pirate Captain Harlock: The Mystery of the Arcadia
    7.0
    Short
    • Director
    • 1978
  • Space Battleship Yamato (1974)
    Space Battleship Yamato
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1974–1975

Animation Department



  • Saint Elmo: Apostle of Light
    TV Special
    • character designer
    • 1987
  • Maeterlinck no aoi tori: Tyltyl Mytyl no bôken ryokô (1980)
    Maeterlinck no aoi tori: Tyltyl Mytyl no bôken ryokô
    7.5
    TV Series
    • character designer
    • 1980
  • Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage (1979)
    Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage
    6.8
    TV Movie
    • character designer
    • 1979
  • Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love (1978)
    Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love
    7.2
    • mechanical designer
    • 1978

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Alternative name
    • Reiji Matsumoto
  • Born
    • January 25, 1938
    • Fukuoka, Japan
  • Died
    • February 13, 2023
    • Tokyo, Japan(acute heart failure)
  • Spouse
    • Miyako Maki1962 - February 13, 2023 (his death)
  • Other works
    Directed the animated music videos for Daft Punk's album "Discovery".

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    The music group Daft Punk are huge fans of Matsumoto's work and commissioned him to work on the music videos of their album "Discovery". This inspired Toei Animation to hire both the group and Matsumoto to make Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003).
  • Quotes
    If Space Battleship Yamato (1974) was my elementary or junior high, then Galaxy Express 999 (1978) was my high school and Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1978) and Queen Millennia (1981) were my university studies.
  • Trademarks
      He has a deep fascination with the number 9 and uses it in his works, believing it represents the last stop before a major shift in mathematics/time/space/the ages of man.

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