Hayao Miyazaki
Princess Mononoke The great ambassador of anime, Miyazaki has made Japanese animation accessible to a wide audience of international filmgoers, particularly in America. Although his films have garnered adulation in Japan for decades, it wasn't until the Disney-owned Miramax released Princess Mononoke that Miyazaki gained mainstream recognition in the U.S. He took anime, which many critics had previously only associated with giant robots and cat-eared cosplayers, to the Academy Awards, Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away in 2002. To boot, Spirited Away is also the highest grossing film of all time in his native Japan. Miyazaki's films are beloved for their gorgeous animation and imaginative storytelling. His stories often center around strong, female protagonists and touch on environmental issues. Miyazaki runs Studio Ghibli, along with fellow anime legend, Isao Takahata, which has a strict no-cuts policy regarding the overseas distribution of its titles (to prevent another hack-job like Warriors of the Wind).
Rintaro
Metropolis The man known as Rintaro is one of the most prolific directors in anime history. He began his career at the renowned Toei Animation Studios, working on the animation for Japan's first color feature length anime, The Tale of the White Serpent. From there he moved on to Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production, where he contributed to seminal works such as Astroboy and Kimba the White Lion. Adopting the name Rintaro, he directed the anime adaptations of Leiji Matsumoto's sci-fi masterpieces Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999. In the '80s, he would return to the work of Tezuka, with The Phoenix-Space-(OAV) and The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion. In 1996, he collaborated with the all-female manga group, Clamp, on the anime for their popular manga, X. Although the film was criticized for its deviation from the original manga, many fans couldn't help but praise the spectacular Rintaro-directed fight sequences. The director truly returned to form with another Tezuka tour de force, Metropolis, in 2001. Madhouse Limited, which he founded along with several anime pioneers, including Osamu Dezaki, has recently teamed up with a French studio on the upcoming 3D CGI feature Yona Yona Penguin, which Rintaro is set to direct.
Shinichiro Watanabe
Cowboy Bebop Watanabe advanced anime's status as a worldwide phenomenon when he introduced audiences to the eccentric team of interplanetary bounty hunters in his hit TV series Cowboy Bebop. Incorporating the Western influences he was exposed to as a child growing up in post-war Japan, the TV series and film transcended cultural barriers and won fans everywhere. The show gained a huge following in the States as the first anime to be included in the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Watanabe is known for featuring racially diverse characters in his work and scoring his films with music from a wide range of genres. His awareness of the importance of the score is evident in both Cowboy Bebop and his later work on Samurai Champloo, which features a Hip-Hop soundtrack. His fondness for Film Noir is apparent in the short film, The Detective Story, part of The Animatrix series along with his other contribution, Kid's Story. Drawing from a large pool of various cultural influences, Watanabe's work has had a huge impact on anime's broad appeal.
Katsuhiro Otomo
Akira Otomo's critically acclaimed masterwork Akira, many argue, is the most influential anime ever released. Akira brought anime into a light in which it had never before been seen. The film has been acknowledged in countless fashions, from a Michael Jackson video to an Absolut ad. Otomo's dark future fantasy is part Mad Max, part Rebel Without a Cause and yet like nothing ever before seen in animation. The politically charged environment of 1960's Japan inspired Otomo's creation, during which he grew up, as well as American films like Five Easy Pieces. His second feature film, Steamboy, is about a young inventor fighting the corruption of technology by a sinister organization, in an alternate Steamboy 19th century Europe. To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Nissan Cup Noodles sponsored the Freedom Project, which includes a six part sci-fi series for which Otomo designed the characters and mecha. Next to one of Otomo's incredible cycle's, even Cup o' Noodles looks pretty cool!
Hideaki Anno
Neon Genesis Evangelion Aspiring animator Hideaki Anno was plucked from obscurity when he answered an ad placed by Hayao Miyazaki, looking for talent to finish the animation for his Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. As part of Gainax Studios, which he co-founded with several other up and coming artists and animators, Anno directed his first film, 1988's Gunbuster, which became an early anime hit in the U.S. But it was his work on the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion that made Anno one of Japan's premiere anime directors. The apocalyptic sci-fi series featured heavy religious, philosophical and psychological themes. Widely considered one of the best anime ever made, it is revered by fans worldwide. Anno announced in the fall of 2006 that four new Evangelion movies would be released, to the delight of fans. According to a poster, which appeared in 50 theaters across Japan, the new films were inspired by Anno's desire to revive what he considers to be the stale state of today's anime.
Satoshi Kon
Perfect Blue Satoshi Kon brings an unparalleled level of precision to his artistic vision that can be seen in his films like Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress. As a director, Kon takes pride in overseeing every aspect of his films. For Millennium Actress, his second directing effort, Kon shot footage of a young girl running so that the animators could accurately produce the montage where the female protagonist, Chiyoko, chases after her lost love. Along with scouting locations for the film, Kon and crew scoured the studio for props and costumes to get in touch with the characters and their environment. For the films moving score, he enlisted famed Japanese composer, Susumu Hirasawa. Hirasawa also lent his talents to later Kon projects Paranoia Agent and Paprika. Kon's films often include social and political statements, which demonstrate the profound impression anime can leave on its audience. Along with fellow director Rintaro, he is part of the studio Madhouse Limited.
Shinji Aramaki
Appleseed ex Machina Aramaki-san is one of the masters of mecha design, responsible for the unforgettable robots in legendary anime like Bubblegum Crisis and Megazone 23. American audiences may know him better as the guy who designed all of the cool flying cars in the 80s cartoon M.A.S.K.. But the whole world now knows that not only can the man make a robot, but he can also make a damn good movie - his feature-length 2004 CGI epic Appleseed (based on the work of Masamune Shirow) is one of the best animated action films of the century. The sequel, 2007's Appleseed Ex Machina is even better. Aramaki actually got his start as a toy designer for Takara (original home of the Transformers) before moving into the animated world, and the attention to detail that he put into his plastic robots helped make him the go-to guy for believable mechanical humanoids on the silver screen.
Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:15 pm