Yamada Naoko was born in Gunma in 1984. After studying at Kyoto University of Art and Design, she joined Kyoto Animation. She is "Key Animator" on the animated series Air, then director of K-On, a successful series. Then come the series Tamako Market then Tamako Love Story for which she received the New Face Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. In 2017, the film Silent Voice was released on French screens, awarded Best Animated Film of the Year by the Japanese Academy. Attached to the Sound saga! Euphonium, the movie Liz and the blue bird was released in Japan in April 2018 and was a great success.
Naoko Yamada is one of the few internationally renowned animation directors.
