In his youth, Yuasa was initially drawn to the television animation series Mazinger Z (1972–1974) and Space Battleship Yamato (1974–1975). A crucial influence which led Yuasa to work in the industry was Hayao Miyazaki's landmark feature film debut Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In the 1980s, Yuasa began to focus on the study of individual animators, namely Takashi Nakamura and his work on Golden Warrior Gold Lightan (1981–1982). He also studied international animation, with particular influences being the works of Tex Avery, the British film Yellow Submarine (1968), The King and the Mockingbird (1980) by French filmmaker Paul Grimault, and Glen Keane's animation work on the climactic fight sequence in The Fox and the Hound (1981).
