Biographie

Shôji Kawamori

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Présentation

Date de naissance
20 février 1960 · Toyama, Japon
Surnoms
- Eiji Kurokawa
- Kawamori Shôji
- Shouji Kawamori
- Kawamori Shouji
Taille
1,91 m

Biographie

Marque commerciale

His projects contain themes of love, war, spirituality or mysticism, and ecological concern.
Often sets his stories in China.

Anecdotes

Got his start contributing mecha designs for the Leiji Matsumoto sci-fi shows Uchû senkan Yamato (1974) and Albator (1978).
Kawamori created several of the original Transformers (1984) toy designs. Among them were Optimus Prime, Prowl, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Ironhide, and Jetfire. In fact, Jetfire bore a definite similarity to the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross, causing rights issues to occur and the character getting a new alternate mode.
Attempted to create a television show about transforming jets called "Knights of the Air" in the late '80s. The show never got off the ground, but different elements were folded into both Vision d'Escaflowne (1996) and Macross 7 (1994).
Kawamori generally doesn't enjoy doing sequels. For years, he publicly resisted doing a sequel to Macross until Big West approached him with funding on the condition that it MUST be a Macross show. Kawamori then created Macross Plus and Macross 7 (1994).
Has always been interested in aerodynamical engineering, and is particularly fond of the XB-70 Valkyrie, an experimental supersonic tactical bomber developed in the US.

Citations

On Chikyû shôjo Arjuna (2001): my original idea was to start off with a Japanese high school girl who would have an expanded awareness, better senses than other people. But when I did the research, I found that we do have an ecological crisis that's much more severe than previously thought. So that became the basis for Earth Girl Arjuna.
It was wonderful to see a chaotic mixture of Asian tradition and Western technology. I thought this was definitely picture-worthy, so that's a theme I've been going back to ever since.
On using China as a location in his stories: This goes back to my solo travels in China over thirty years ago. It was a time when China wasn't very developed. When I traveled to various villages in China, I saw that children there were very active and cheerful. And despite my being in the anime and TV industry, it was quite a shock to me to see that children were happy when there was no electricity, no entertainment in the form of television. I myself love technology, and I love the entertainment that's thrived through access to technology, but there are people who do great without technology, and there are so many kids would be better off without it. That put me in a great dilemma, and that idea went into shows such as Macross Plus (1994) where mind control and new technology is an issue.
Back when we were making Macross Plus (1994), it was pretty obvious that AI would encroach into our lives in the near future. What's surprising is that it isn't limited to military applications; AI has seeped into our daily lives as well. At the same time, progress in biotechnology has been revolutionary, especially since DNA editing became an accessible technology. There have been plenty of works-animated, live-action, and science fiction-that's about AI only, but there hasn't been much to incorporate AI and the evolution of technology, as well as genetics.
[When asked how he felt that more Americans know about Robotech than Macross] I don't understand, nor do I accept the fact that they took and modified my work without even asking. I can not comprehend how a pirated version like this exists. However, I feel I was very fortunate that many other people from other countries around the world were able to see Macross.