Shōji Kawamori

Shōji Kawamori
Anime creator and mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori in his studio with a model of one of his creations, the VF-0 Phoenix valkyrie.
Born	(1960-02-20) February 20, 1960 Toyama City, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Eiji Kurokawa, Masaharu Kawamori
Occupation(s)	Anime creator Screenwriter Mecha designer
Known for	The Super Dimension Fortress Macross The Vision of Escaflowne

Shōji Kawamori (河森 正治, Kawamori Shōji, born February 20, 1960) is a Japanese anime creator, screenwriter and mechanical designer.

Personal Life

Shoji Kawamori was born in Toyama Japan in 1960. He attended Keio University in the same years as Macross screenwriter Hiroshi Ōnogi and character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, where they had a Mobile Suit Gundam fan club called "Gunsight One", a name they would use years later as part 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 teenager intern member of 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 such notable anime series as The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Vision of Escaflowne, Earth Maiden Arjuna, Genesis of Aquarion, Macross 7, and Macross Frontier. 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.

Mechanical Design

Shoji Kawamori is also an accomplished 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.

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. [1] Kawamori also helped to design various toys for the Takara toyline Diaclone in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, many of which were later incorporated into Hasbro's Transformers toyline.

During the late seventies and early eighties Shoji Kawamori helped to create several of the original 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.

Videography

Macross

• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Original Series Concept Creator, Production Supervisor, Mechanical Design
• Macross: Do You Remember Love? - Movie Concept Creator, Director, Mechanical Design, Series Script Supervisor, Movie Story
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 - Executive Director, Compilation, Mechanical Design
• 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

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 series - Machine Design
• The Vision of Escaflowne - Original Creator, Series Script Supervisor
• Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea - Original Creator
• 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
• 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)
• Eureka Seven - Main Mechanic 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
• Tosho 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

Movie (live action)

• Gunhed - Mechanical Design

Video games

• Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Guest 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: 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

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