is a Japanese anime director. Some of his works include being an animator in the '' Akira'' film; shorts in ''

Robot Carnival is a Japanese anthology original video animation (OVA) and anime film released in 1987. The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has ...

'', ''

Short Peace is a multimedia project composed of four short anime films produced by Sunrise and Shochiku, and a video game developed by Crispy's! and Grasshopper Manufacture. The four films were released in Japanese theaters on July 20, 2013 and were sc ...

'', and ''

The Animatrix is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which l ...

''; and key animation in anime such as ''

Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...

'', ''

City Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1985 to 1991 and collected into 35 ''tankōbon'' volumes by its publisher Shueisha. The manga was adapted int ...

'', and ''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially colle ...

''. He is the co-founder of

Studio 4°C is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka and Koji Morimoto in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense. History Studio 4 °C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film t ...

. He has hosted the independent creative team 'phy' since 2009.

Biography

Born in

Wakayama, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

, he graduated from the Osaka Designers' college in 1979 and a couple of years later joined the studio Annapuru as an animator for the TV series ''

Tomorrow's Joe is a Japanese boxing manga series written by Asao Takamori (a pen name of Japanese author and manga writer Ikki Kajiwara, and one that's a variation on his real name) and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba. The story follows a young man name ...

''. While working there, he saw some animation by

Takashi Nakamura is an accomplished Japanese animator and anime director. He is also a founding member of the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) labor group. Nakamura's 2001 film ''A Tree of Palme'' was an official selection of the Berlin Film Fes ...

in '' Gold Lightan'', an otherwise standard

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

TV series by a rival studio. He was impressed, and it inspired him to quit his job and become a freelance animator. Morimoto often collaborated with Nakamura, most notably in

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

’s "The Order to Stop Construction" segment of the anthology film '' Neo-Tokyo''. This opened many doors for him, from working as animation director on Otomo's landmark feature '' Akira'' and a chance to direct a short for the ''

'' anthology. Around this time he founded

with producer Eiko Tanaka and fellow animator Yoshiharu Sato. Since then, Morimoto has focused almost exclusively on his directing work. His work became increasingly unusual with time. This is best represented by the concert scenes in ''

Macross Plus is a four-episode anime OVA and theatrical movie in the ''Macross'' series. It was the first sequel to the original ''Macross'' television series that took place in the official timeline (''Macross II'' was quickly retconned by series creator ...

'' and his short film ''

Noiseman Sound Insect is a short anime film directed by Koji Morimoto, with production by Studio 4°C and music by Yoko Kanno featuring a young Crystal Kay Williams singing the ending theme. The work is in Japanese and contains music and dialogue that are intricate ...

''. Aside from a small cult following, his films have been ignored outside Japan. This has begun to change in recent years, with his artwork being featured in

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co ae ...

Superflat Superflat is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime. However, superflat doesn't have an explicit definition because Takashi Murakami does not want to limit the movement, but rather ...

exhibitions worldwide, the Anime Proto Cut exhibition, and was invited by

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

to direct "

Beyond Beyond may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film * ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne'' * ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed b ...

", a segment of ''

''. He is currently working on ''

Sachiko is a feminine Japanese given name that means "''child of bliss''." It also means "''happiness''" when it is written with the kanji characters 幸子. One common short form of the name is ''Sachi''. People * Sachiko, Princess Hisa (久宮祐子� ...

'', his second feature-length film.

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' – "Franken's Gears" (1987) * '' Akira'' (animator, 1988) * (1991) * ''Nine Love Stories'' – "Hero" (1991) * (1995) * ''

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

'' – "Magnetic Rose" (1995) * ''

'' (1997) * '' Eternal Family'' (1997) * '' Dimension Loop'' (2001) * ''

'' – "

" (2003) * '' Digital Juice'' – "The Saloon in the Air" (2003) * ''

Mind Game Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the ag ...

'' (2004) * '' Genius Party Beyond'' – "Dimension Bomb" (2008) * ''

'' (2013) – opening sequence * ''

A Better Tomorrow ''A Better Tomorrow'' () is a 1986 Hong Kong crime action film directed and co-written by John Woo, and starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat. The film had a profound influence on Hong Kong action cinema, and has been recognised as ...

'' (2013)（Director HIKARI） – LEXUS SHORT FILMS Animation’s Part * '' 25 Anniversary Magic: The Gathering Exhibition'' (2018) "φ（Phy)"

TV

* ''

Italian game The Italian Game is a family of chess openings beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 This opening is defined by the of the white bishop to c4 (the so-called ""), where it attacks Black's vulnerable f7-square. It is part ...

''（2016） "Lupin the III" Opening Animation * '' 18if　''（2016）– Episode#10 "α Dream Dimension" * '' Rinishii!! Ekoda Chan'' (2019) – Episode　#12

Music video

KEN ISHII is a Japanese DJ and record producer from Sapporo. He graduated from Hitotsubashi University. He has released work under his own name as well as under the pseudonyms: FLR, Flare, UTU, Yoga, and Rising Sun. Strongly influenced by Detroit techn ...

– "EXTRA" (1996) *

The Bluetones The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth m ...

– " 4-Day Weekend" (1998) *

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, includ ...

– (1999) *

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

– "You Make Me Want To Be A Man" (2005) * Hikaru Utada – " Passion" (2005)

Video games

References

External links

*
Kōji Morimoto
at

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

KojiMorimoto.net

Karisuma Animators: Koji Morimoto
at Pelleas.net
Koji Morimoto anime works
at Media Arts Database *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morimoto, Koji 1959 births Living people Anime directors Japanese animators Japanese animated film directors Japanese music video directors Japanese film directors People from Wakayama Prefecture Studio 4°C