1984–1999: Early career

In 1984, Yamazaki began working as a miniature builder for Tatsuo Shimamura [ja].^[8] Following his graduation from Asagaya College of Art and Design [ja] in 1986, he officially became an employee at Shimamura's animation and special effects studio Shirogumi in Chōfu, Tokyo.^[1][4][8][9]

After working on the Eko Eko Azarak series and Parasite Eve (1997), Yamazaki and his team at Shirogumi started pre-production on their feature NUE. The team spent two years preparing the project in collaboration with Robot Communications and they even went location scouting in Australia. Yamazaki, who was still heading the visual effects for up to three commercials monthly at this point, concluded that the film would require him to create the film on a relatively enormous budget of ¥2 billion, well above the average budget of ¥100 million usually given to first-time directors. Thus, Robot president Shūji Abe deemed NUE too expensive and requested that Yamazaki scrap it and attempt to make his directorial debut with a smaller scale.^[8]

2000–2007: First directorial features and breakthrough

Shortly after abandoning NUE, Yamazaki converted the idea for his debut feature film, Juvenile (2000), which he directed, wrote, and headed the visual effects for.^[8] A science fiction film, Juvenile is about a group of elementary school students who find a talking alien robot while camping in the woods and soon discover that it is their only hope in saving the planet from incoming evil alien invaders. Initially, Juvenile was to be shot on entirely on location by Kōzō Shibasaki under Yamazaki's direction on a budget of roughly ¥100 million, with Kiyoko Shibuya directing the visual effects on a budget of ¥50 million under Yamazaki's supervision.^[8][10] However, Abe decided to increase the film's budget to ¥450 million in order to allow Yamazaki to make it a "proper movie for the summer vacation lineup".^[8] Toho distributed Juvenile in July 2000 and it grossed ¥1.1 billion, making it the fifteenth highest-grossing Japanese film of that year.^[11] It was also shown at the 2000 Giffoni Film Festival.^[12]

His next film, the science fiction actioner Returner (2002), follows the story of Milly, a young woman living in a war-torn future, who is recruited by a mysterious time traveler named Miyamoto. The film was distributed by Toho in Japan on August 31, 2002^[13] and was later in American theaters in October of the following year, where it was critically savaged.^[14] After its release, Yamazaki proposed a sequel to Returner but Abe asked him to make a film set in the Shōwa era instead.^[8]

Yamazaki's breakthrough came when he departed from the science fiction genre to create his third directorial feature, Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), an adaptation Ryōhei Saigan's manga series Sunset on Third Street. Set in Tokyo during postwar Japan, this film tells the "heartwarming" story of the residents living at Third Street: Ryunosuke, a writer from the countryside; Norifumi, an auto mechanic; and sake bar owner Hiromi. Always: Sunset on Third Street – starring Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Koyuki, Maki Horikita, and Kenta Suga – was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews and grossed ¥3.23 billion, ranking fifteenth at the Japanese box office.^[15] In 2005, film critic Tadao Satō regarded the film as a milestone in the usage for computer-generated imagery and acclaimed Yamazaki's direction.^[16] At the 29th Japanese Academy Awards, the film won twelve awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.^[1]

Yamazaki next directed, co-wrote (with Ryota Kosawa [ja]), and headed the visual effects for Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007), a sequel to Always: Sunset on Third Street also based on the manga series. The film opens with an "imaginary sequence" of Godzilla attacking Tokyo before returning to the story of the residents of Third Street.^[17] Yamazaki stated that he is a lifelong fan of the Godzilla franchise and incorporated the opening scene in order to "start with something fresh from the first film" and added that "having Godzilla destroy Tokyo Tower with his oral beam was a great way to surprise audiences".^[17] He also noted that the "two minutes (in which Godzilla appears) required a tremendous amount of work", with half of the crew having to work on the sequence over the course of six months.^[18] Upon its November 3 release, Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 became Yamazaki's biggest box office hit, ranking the third-highest-grosser at Japanese box office that year.^[19]

2008–2018: Directing film adaptations

In 2008, Yamazaki turned to assisting his fellow Asagaya College of Art and Design [ja] graduate and future wife,^[20] Shimako Satō, with the visual effects and screenplay for her action film, K-20: Legend of the Mask. Based on a novel by Sō Kitamura, K-20 is set in an alternate reality version of Japan during the 1940s and follows the mysterious masked antihero known as "K-20" who robs the rich and powerful, leaving behind a trail of dismay. K-20 was released in December 2008 and grossed ¥2 billion, making it the eighteenth highest-grossing Japanese film of 2009.^[21]

In 2009, Yamazaki created the visual effects for Yōjirō Takita's Sanpei The Fisher Boy^[22] – based on the manga Fisherman Sanpei – and directed, wrote and made the effects for the live-action jidaigeki romance film Ballad [ja]– based on the 2002 anime feature Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Battle of the Warring States –.^[23] Yamazaki was inspired to create Ballad after visiting the filming location of The Last Samurai (2003) and contemplating "Maybe Japan could make a historical drama centered around battles?".^{[citation needed]}

In October 2009, Yamazaki started filming his first science fiction film since 2002's Returner, Space Battleship Yamato.^[24] Featuring a screenplay by his partner Shimako Satō,^[25] it is an adaptation of famed manga artist Leiji Matsumoto's 1974 anime series of the same name.^[24] With a budget estimated at ¥2 billion^[26] ($22–23.9 million)^[24][25] and CGI used in 80% of the entire picture,^[24][27] it was anticipated to become an "unprecedented science fiction blockbuster", and Toho spent an additional ¥100 million on New Years Day alone to promote the film and ensure it met their expectations.^[28][29] Space Battleship Yamato was released in Japan during December 2010 and grossed ¥4.1 billion.^[30]

2018–present: Godzilla and other activities

In July 2018, the production of Yamazaki's next film The Great War of Archimedes was announced;^[31] based on a manga by Norifusa Mita, this picture about the building of the battleship Yamato, and starred Masaki Suda in his first collaboration with Yamazaki.^[31] It was released by in July 2019,^[32] and was the sixteenth highest-grossing Japanese film of 2019.^[33]

After the release of The Great War of Archimedes, Yamazaki was given the opportunity to make a Godzilla film by Toho executive and film producer Minami Ichikawa. Ichikawa stated that he and Yamazaki decided to collaborate on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and Yamazaki spent three years writing the screenplay.^[34] The film, entitled Godzilla Minus One, was released in Japanese theaters in November 2023, and became one of the most acclaimed films in the franchise. For their work on the film, Yamazaki and his team became the first Japanese film to ever to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.^[35]

On December 27, 2023, Yamazaki began directing a kaiju web film in Ashikaga, Tochigi for a major food corporation, scheduled for a March 2024 release with a runtime of approximately one minute. Its visual effects were also made by the same team behind Godzilla Minus One.^[36] It was later revealed to be titled Foodlosslla (フードロスラ, Fūdo Rosura) and produced by Ajinomoto.^[37]

Yamazaki declared in February 2024 that he has a new film in development.^[38] The following month, Variety reported that Yamazaki had recently enlisted with the American talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA);^[39] the agreement could potentially help Yamazaki to be employed for Hollywood productions.^[40]

Films

Commercials

• Lotte: Airs (2006)
• CR Neon Genesis Evangelion ~Apostle, Again~ [ja] (2007)

Music videos

• Bump of Chicken: "Namida no Furusato" (2006)
• Bump of Chicken: "Good Luck" (2012)

Theme park attraction

• Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle - Seibu-en (2021)^[1]
• Ultraman the Ride: The Great Duel of the Century - Seibu-en (2023)^[1]

Video games

• "Onimusha 3: Demon Siege" (Opening CG movie director) (2004)