Shōji Kawamori

Shōji Kawamori
Taken during the 14th edition of Japan Expo in 2013 organised at the 'Parc de expositions of Villepinte near Paris in France
Born	(1960-02-20) February 20, 1960 Toyama City, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Eiji Kurokawa
Occupation(s)	Anime creator Producer Screenwriter Visual artist Mecha designer
Employer	Satelight
Known for	Macross The Vision of Escaflowne Diaclone Robotech Transformers

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 for his role in the creation of Robotech (originally adapted from Macross) and Transformers (originally based on his Diaclone mech designs). He is also known as the pioneer of transforming mecha, with some of his most iconic transforming mecha designs including the VF-1 Valkyrie (from the Macross and Robotech franchises) and Optimus Prime (from the Transformers and Diaclone franchises).

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.

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 on his career Kawamori created or co-created the concepts which served as basis for several anime series such as The 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.

Mecha design

Shoji Kawamori is also a visual artist and a mecha designer — projects featuring his designs range from 1983's Crusher Joe to 2005's Eureka Seven. Also, each and every variable fighter from the official Macross series continuity has been designed by him.

Kawamori also helped to design various toys for the Takara toyline Diaclone in the early 1980s, many of which were later incorporated into Hasbro's Transformers toyline. Quite a few of them became iconic Transformers: Generation 1 toy designs. Among them the first Optimus Prime ("Convoy") toy design, Prowl, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Ironhide, and Ratchet. Over 20 years later, he returned to Transformers by designing both the Hybrid Style Convoy and the Masterpiece version of Starscream for Takara.

One of his key mech design innovations was the transforming mecha. Kawamori came up with the idea of transforming mechs while working on the Diaclone and Macross franchises in the early 1980s (such as the VF-1 Valkyrie in Macross and Robotech), with his Diaclone mechs later providing the basis for Transformers. Some of Kawamori's most iconic transforming mecha designs include the VF-1 Valkyrie from the Macross and Robotech franchises, and Optimus Prime (called Convoy in Japan) from the Transformers and Diaclone franchises.

In 2001, he brought his mecha design talent to real-life projects when he designed a variant of the Sony AIBO robotic dog, the ERS-220.

Videography

Anime

Macross series

• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Original Series Concept Creator, Production Supervisor, Mechanical Designer
• Macross: Do You Remember Love? - Movie Concept Creator, Director, Mechanical Designer, Series Script Supervisor, Movie Story
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 - Executive Director, Compilation, Mechanical Designer
• Macross Plus - Creator, Executive Director, Writer, Mechanical Design
• Macross 7 - Creator, Writer, Supervisor, Mechanical Designer
• Macross Dynamite 7 - Creator, Series Script Supervisor, Mechanical Designer, Ending Photography
• Macross Zero - Creator, Director, Writer, Mechanical Designer
• Macross Frontier - Creator, Supervising Director, Story Composition, Mechanical Designer
• Macross FB 7: Ore no Uta o Kike! - Original Creator, Valkyrie Design
• Macross Delta - Creator, Main Director, Writer, Valkyrie Mechanical Designer

Note: Macross II is the only animated Macross project in which Kawamori had no involvement.

Other anime

• Space Battleship Yamato series - Spaceship Mechanical Design (Uncredited)
• Future GPX Cyber Formula - Machine Design
• Future GPX Cyber Formula SIN - Machine Design
• The Vision of Escaflowne - Original Creator, Series Script Supervisor
• Spring and Chaos - Director, Screenplay
• Earth Maiden Arjuna - Original Creator, Director, Series Script Supervisor
• The Family's Defensive Alliance - Original Creator, Series Planner
• Genesis of Aquarion - Original Creator, Director, Series Script Supervisor, Aquarion Design
• Genesis of Aquarion (OVA) - Director, Series Composition, Original Creator
• Aquarion Evol - Original Creator, Director, Series Script Supervisor, Aquarion Design
• Patlabor: The Movie - Mechanical Design (Credited as Masaharu Kawamori)
• Patlabor 2: The Movie - Mechanical Design (Credited as Masaharu Kawamori)
• WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 - Mechanical Design
• Eureka Seven - Main Mechanic Design
• Eureka Seven: AO - Nirvash Design
• Engage Planet Kiss Dum - Main Mechanical Design
• Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula - Mechanical designer (Junova-VIII)
• Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory - Designed the RX-78GP01 "Zephyranthes" and the RX-78GP02A "Physalis" Gundams
• Ulysses 31 - Mechanical Design
• Dangaioh - Mechanical Design, key animation
• Ghost in the Shell - Mechanical Design
• Basquash! - Original Concept, Project Director
• Outlaw Star - Designed the ship XGP15A-II
• Tōshō Daimos - Guest Mechanical Designer
• Gordian Warrior - Guest Mechanical Designer
• Golden Warrior Gold Lightan - Guest Mechanical Designer
• Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu - Original Creator
• AKB0048 - Original Creator, Director, Mechanical Design
• Ani*Kuri15 - Director (ep. 4)
• Cowboy Bebop - Script (ep. 18), Stage Setting Cooperation
• Glass Fleet - Mechanical Design
• M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane - Mechanical Design
• Nobunaga the Fool - Original Creator
• Last Hope - Original Creator, Director
• Noein - Storyboard (ep. 20)
• RahXephon - Storyboard (ep. 9)
• Techno Police 21C - Action Choreography Assistance and Mechanical Design
• The Ultraman - Mechanical Design

Manga

• The Vision of Escaflowne - Writer (illustrated by Katsu Aki)

Live-actions

• Gunhed - Mechanical Design

Video games

• Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Guest Designer
• Armored Core - Mechanic Designer
• Armored Core: Project Phantasma - Mechanic Designer
• Armored Core: Master of Arena - Mechanic Designer
• Armored Core 2 - Mechanic Concept Designer
• Armored Core 2: Another Age - Mechanic Concept Designer
• Armored Core 3 - Mechanic Concept Designer
• Silent Line: Armored Core - Guest Designer
• Armored Core: Nexus - Mechanic Concept Designer
• Armored Core: For Answer - Mechanic Concept Designer
• Eureka Seven vol. 1: The New Wave - Main Mechanical Designer
• Eureka Seven vol. 2: The New Vision - Main Mechanical Designer
• Omega Boost - Mechanical Design Advisor, Supervisor, Mechanical/Costume Designer, Opening/Ending Movie Director
• Tech Romancer - Mechanical Design, Original Concept
• Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy - Supervisor, Mechanical Designer, Animated Sequences Director
• Daemon X Machina - Mechanic Designer
• Devil May Cry 5 - Designed the robotic arms, "Devil Breakers", found throughout the game. Gerbera GP01 was designed with Shoji Kawamori's past works in mind as inspiration. "Devil Breaker"

Other works

• Thunderbirds are Go!/Thunderbirds are Go (2015 CG/Miniature Hybrid TV Series) - Designer for International Rescue Covert Ops Craft Thunderbird S (Thunderbird Shadow) piloted by Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano

External links

• Shoji Kawamori Official site (Satelight)
• Shōji Kawamori at IMDb
• Shōji Kawamori at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Shoji Kawamori at the Macross Compendium
• Shoji Kawamori entry at Gears Online