Person: Morimoto Kouji

Morimoto Kouji, born December 26, 1959, is an animator and one of Japan's premier anime directors. Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, he graduated from the Osaka School of Design in 1979 and a couple years later joined the studio Annapuru as a grunt animator for the TV series Ashita no Joe. While working there, he saw some animation by Nakamura Takashi in Gold Lightan, an otherwise standard mecha TV series by a rival studio. He was blown away, and it inspired him to quit his job and go freelance.

Morimoto quickly became one of the most interesting animators in Japan, often collaborating with Nakamura, most notably in Ootomo Katsuhiro's The Order to Stop Construction segment of the anthology film Neo Tokyo. It was fluid and expressive in ways that are rarely seen in anime, especially in the realm of direct-to-video releases like Neo Tokyo. This opened many doors for him, from working as animation director on Ootomo's landmark feature Akira and a chance to direct a short for the Robot Carnival anthology. Around this time he founded Studio 4°C with producer Tanaka Eiko and fellow animator Satou Yoshiharu.

Since then, Morimoto has focused almost exclusively on his directing work. His work became increasingly bizarre and full of manic energy. This is best represented by the concert scenes in Macross Plus and his short film Noiseman Sound Insect.

Aside from a small cult following, his films have been ignored outside of Japan. This has begun to change in recent years, with his artwork being featured in Murakami Takashi's Superflat exhibitions worldwide, and being invited by the Wachowski Brothers to direct Beyond, a segment of The Animatrix.