Amano was born in (July 28, 1952) Shizuoka, Japan. Shizuoka was close to Mount Fuji and the ocean with beautiful beaches, as a kid whenever he felt bad, he painted to feel better. At age fourteen, he visited a friend in Tokyo and wanted to join Tatsunoko (Animation Studio), he brought his artwork to show and they wanted to hire him. His first paid project was Speed Racer, then he did character design for anime shows like Time Bokan, Gatchaman, Tekkaman and the Honey Bee.