Yoooo finally, an X-sheet for Walt Disney Japan! Never thought I'd see the day. Looks like they're using "Walt Disney Pictures & Television" ones used for other productions along with AD notes translated into Japanese. Since this was a blend of Japan/American animators, I can see why they did this.

As someone said previously, looks too on-model and kind of stiff for Feiss. If I have to assume anything, it's that heavy corrections ruin whatever could've been easily identifiable. For example, the girls in that cut don't have to follow a model so Feiss can make the one girl look like Father Time.

Oh yes, that was the only thing that I could find in that short-lived series that was the closest to resembling Feiss in the animation and it's incredibly ironic that it is uncredited. I wouldn't have any idea what Feiss could have possibly done on the other shorts where he is credited.

Interesting to see your smear drawings in these pose sheets! Porky running in particular is a unique take on the originals where the animators would replace parts of the character with drybrush/airbrush effects. They used long shapes, including other types (trails, multiples) shown here as well.

My book was recently featured on Cartoon Research (and a day before my birthday)! This completely caught me off-guard, but I'm happy to see the publication get some more attention. Smears are an important historical topic and the more eyes on it, the better. cartoonresearch.com/index.php/20...

My book on animation smears is finally out! This has been in production since 2011 and it briefly beat one of the biggest animation textbooks of all time for Amazon best sellers. Featuring dozens of techniques and artists that helped contribute, it answers any question you ever had about smears.

It also requires that the animator has a diverse portfolio. Absolute confirmations from other sources help add to this and builds the case for the artist ID. I don't consider most artworks as a clear ID as they could be produced under different settings separate from the artist's work in animation.

Special thanks goes to @amicus19.bsky.social for providing footage and @ibcf.bsky.social and @pilooo15 for their contributions to the project, which resulted in a significantly different final video. While scenes from the video does presume footage, I am confident in many of the assumptions.

If still around, Heihachiro would be in his 80s. Despite the loss of potentially many of his works due to the lack of original animator credits, he was a seasoned veteran of the industry and boasts an impressive portfolio that showcases a remarkable and unique style.

Aspects of Tanaka's life remains unknown, but an excerpt from a Hatena blog site lists him as responsible for Shingo Araki's storyboards. Whether this indicates a connection to the artist or the Araki Production studio remains unclear but is nevertheless an interesting anecdote.

At the age of 72, he started independently producing animations after learning how to use a computer. He continues to produce shorts for film festivals, winning awards like one at the 2018 Yokohama Independent Film Festival. It's unknown if any of his shorts are available online.

Heihachiro animated for various companies in the 2000s and also briefly worked for Tezuka Productions. They later disappeared from anime credits altogether after working mainly on single episodes between projects with their last on-screen credit appearing in 2009.

Heihachiro Tanaka was at Disney Japan until 1997-98, when he and other Disney artists started to leave on a much smaller scale. Some went to Group TAC, where they initially handled outsourcing animation to western productions before transitioning entirely to only anime.

After the box-office flop of "Little Nemo," several TMS employees resigned including then-president Yutaka Fujioka. Most joined the newly started Walt Disney Animation Japan in 1989, as many had prior experience with them and were presented with deals such as actual onscreen credits for their work.

Tanaka worked at TMS for the rest of the 1980s, animating for notable shows at their studio and presumably working uncredited for outsourced productions. This commercial, produced during this period, suggests he did the entire animation for it. youtu.be/AjF2B4dDp7g

The biggest shift in his career was when Tanaka started animating on foreign productions at Tokyo Movie Shinsha ever since 1982. Japanese animators earned more wage from the number of drawings than the length of footage, making Tanaka a suitable choice due to his work ethic.

As Toru Tanaka, he would later join Studio Pierrot in the early 80s and after working there was credited as Heihachiro Tanaka from 1982 onwards. Books like "Portrait of the Zero" and "Lupin III The 40!" as well as firsthand accounts verify that the two names are the same person.

Over the next few years, he collaborated with animators from studios like Tatsunoko Productions and A Pro in a distinct smooth style while being able to perform solo key animation for entire episodes and openings for TV shows such as this one. youtu.be/q78F3YCroJU

Heihachiro, initially known as Toru Tanaka, began his career at Studio Zero in 1966, where he became an animator by personally knowing the company's staff. As recounted by @rhythm8823, his uncle was a founding father of the studio and the one that gave Tanaka the job.