is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, best known for directing the critically acclaimed and commercially successful

series ''

Cowboy Bebop is a 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series that aired on TV Tokyo and Wowow from 1998 to 1999. It was created and animated by Sunrise (company), Sunrise, led by a production team of director Shinichirō Watanabe, ...

'', '' Samurai Champloo'', '' Space Dandy'', '' Terror in Resonance'', and '' Carole & Tuesday''. Considered an

auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...

of Japanese animation by film and television critics, Watanabe's work is characterized by evocative uses of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, mature themes, and the incorporation of multiple genres.

Career

Watanabe was born in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. After joining the Japanese animation studio

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

, he supervised the episode direction and storyboards of numerous Sunrise anime, and soon made his directorial debut as co-director of the well-received ''

Macross is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/ media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and t ...

'' update, ''

Macross Plus is a four-episode anime Original video animation, OVA and theatrical movie in the ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross'' series. It was the first sequel to the original ''Macross'' television series that took place in the official ...

''. His next effort, and first full directorial venture, was the 1998 series ''

'', which received universal praise and is considered by many to be one of the greatest anime series of all time. It was followed by the 2001 film ''

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

''. In 2003, Watanabe directed his first American-produced anime, the short films '' Kid's Story'' and '' A Detective Story'', both parts of

The Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women. Together known as the Wacho ...

' '' The Animatrix'', an anthology of animated short stories from ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

''. His next directorial effort was the critically acclaimed 2004 anime series '' Samurai Champloo'' which began broadcasting on

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

in Japan on May 19, 2004. Following the release of '' Samurai Champloo'', Watanabe directed a short film called ''Baby Blue'', which was released on July 7, 2007 as a segment of the

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

'' Genius Party''. In recent years, he has been active as a creative music producer, overseeing the 2004 film '' Mind Game'', 2008's '' Michiko & Hatchin'', and supervising the storyboards for episode 12 of '' Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode''. In 2012, he directed the anime series '' Kids on the Slope'' (Japanese title: ''Sakamichi no Apollon''), a coming-of-age story about young jazz musicians, which premiered in April 2012 on Fuji TV's Noitamina block. In 2009, it was announced that Watanabe would be working as an associate producer on the upcoming live-action adaptation of ''Cowboy Bebop'', alongside his fellow Sunrise staff members Kenji Uchida and

Keiko Nobumoto was a Japanese screenwriter. She wrote the screenplay for ''Cowboy Bebop'' and created ''Wolf's Rain''. Nobumoto died from esophageal cancer on December 1, 2021, at the age of 57. Filmography * Series head writer denoted in bold Anime televi ...

. During FicZone in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, it was reported that Watanabe was collaborating with anime studio BONES on a space science-fiction comedy. BONES subsequently confirmed that the studio was working with Watanabe, but did not confirm the genre of the series. In late 2013, the original trailers for '' Space Dandy'' were released to the public. The dubbed version premiered on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

on its

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

block on January 4, 2014 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, hours before airing in Japan. He is frequently ranked among Japan's best animation directors. Watanabe directed the anime short film '' Blade Runner Black Out 2022'', which was released in 2017. On November 29, 2018, it was announced that he would be creative producer of '' Blade Runner: Black Lotus'', an anime series produced for

and

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

. He received an associate producer credit on the Netflix adaptation of ''Cowboy Bebop'' but was not involved in its production and criticized it after its release.

Works

Television productions

;As director: * ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1998) * '' Samurai Champloo'' (2004) * '' Kids on the Slope'' (2012) * '' Space Dandy'' (2014, chief director) * '' Terror in Resonance'' (2014) * '' Carole & Tuesday'' (2019, chief director) * '' Lazarus'' (2025) ;Other: * '' The Vision of Escaflowne'' (1996; episode director (5, 8), storyboard artist (5, 8, 12, 16)) * ''

Ergo Proxy ''Ergo Proxy'' is a Japanese cyberpunk anime television series, produced by Manglobe, directed by Shūkō Murase and written by Dai Satō. The series ran for 23 episodes from February to August 2006 on the Wowow satellite television, satellit ...

'' (2006; storyboard artist (19)) * '' Birdy the Mighty: Decode'' (2008; storyboard artist (12), episode director (12)) * '' Michiko & Hatchin'' (2008; music producer) * '' Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine'' (2012; music producer) * '' Death Parade'' (2015; unit director (ED)) * '' Sonny Boy'' (2021; music advisor) * '' Blade Runner: Black Lotus'' (2021; creative director)

Films

* '' Macross Plus: Movie Edition'' (1995; director) * '' Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'' (2001; director) * '' The Animatrix'' (2003; director, "Detective's Story", "Kid's Story") * '' Mind Game'' (2004; music producer) * '' Genius Party'' (omnibus): ''Baby Blue'' (2008; director) * '' Blade Runner Black Out 2022'' (2017; director) * '' TAISU Project'' (2022; director, "A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot")

Music videos

*"More" (featuring Anderson .Paak) – Flying Lotus (2019; director)

Use of music

Watanabe has a distinct vision regarding the importance of the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

of his works and believes that music is the universal language. ''

'' is heavily influenced by American culture, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s, hence the title "

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

". This style is blended with a score by the prolific composer Yoko Kanno featuring

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

music. The

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common typ ...

soundtrack of '' Samurai Champloo'', though an Edo period piece, draws heavily from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

music, while the later series '' Kids on the Slope'' demonstrates many classical forms of jazz, and '' Space Dandy'' draws from primarily

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

. His series '' Terror in Resonance'' utilizes

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

and

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes Musical tone, tone and atmosphere over traditional Musical form, musical structure or rhythm. Often "peaceful" sounding and lacking Musical composition, composition, beat, and/or structured melod ...

influenced by Icelandic band

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

. His series '' Carole and Tuesday'' is based entirely off of the bonds made by music.

Trivia

* Shinichiro Watanabe confirmed in a 2019 interview that '' Samurai Champloo'', ''

'', '' Carole & Tuesday'', and '' Space Dandy'' all exist within the same universe, and in that chronological order.Shinichiro Watanabe Confirms Shared Anime Universe
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Shinichiro Sunrise (company) people 1965 births Anime directors Japanese film directors Japanese television directors Japanese animated film directors Japanese animated film producers Japanese music video directors Japanese animators Living people People from Kyoto