Shōji Kawamori

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Shōji Kawamori
Shôji Kawamori - Vendredi - Japan Expo 2013 - P1660794.jpg
Taken during the 14th edition of Japan Expo in 2013 organised at the 'Parc de
expositions of Villepinte near Paris in France
Born February 20, 1960 (age 61)
Toyama City, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Other names Eiji Kurokawa
Occupation Anime creator
Producer
Screenwriter
Visual artist
Mecha designer
Employer Satelight
Known for Macross
Diaclone
The Vision of Escaflowne
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Shōji Kawamori in his studio, in May 2011

Shōji Kawamori (河森 正治, Kawamori Shōji, born February 20, 1960) is a Japanese
anime creator and producer, screenwriter, visual artist, and mecha designer. He is
best known for creating the Macross mecha anime franchise and the Diaclone toyline
(basis for the Transformers toyline). He pioneered several innovative concepts in
his works, such as transforming mecha (including the VF-1 Valkyrie in Macross and
Optimus Prime in Transformers) and virtual idols (including Lynn Minmay and Sharon
Apple in the Macross franchise). His work has had a significant impact on popular
culture, both in Japan and internationally.

Contents
1 Personal life
2 Anime creation and production
3 Mecha design
4 Legacy
5 Works
5.1 Anime
5.1.1 Macross series
5.1.2 Other anime
5.2 Video games
5.3 Other work
6 References
7 External links
Personal life
Shoji Kawamori was born in Toyama, Japan in 1960. Later in his youth he attended
Keio University in the late seventies and in the same years as Macross screenwriter
Hiroshi Ōnogi and character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, where they became friends
and founded a Mobile Suit Gundam fan club called "Gunsight One", a name the group
would use years later during the development of the fictional world of the Macross
series.[1]

Anime creation and production

Shoji Kawamori occasionally used the alias Eiji Kurokawa (黒河影次 Kurokawa Eiji)
early in his anime career when he started as a teenage intern at Studio Nue and
worked as assistant artist and animator there during the late seventies and early
eighties. Later in his career Kawamori created or co-created the concepts which
served as basis for several anime series such as Super Dimension Fortress Macross,
The Vision of Escaflowne, Earth Maiden Arjuna, Genesis of Aquarion, Macross 7,
Macross Frontier, and Macross Delta. His projects are usually noted to contain
strong themes of love, war, spirituality or mysticism, and ecological concern.
Kawamori is currently executive director at the animation studio Satelight.