Shinichirō Watanabe (渡辺 信一郎 Watanabe Shin'ichirō) (born May 24, 1965 in Kyoto) is a Japanese anime filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He directed Cowboy Bebop.
Career[]
Watanabe joined Sunrise, a Japanese animation studio, and worked in production and storyboards on anime productions including Armor Hunter Mellowlink and Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. His directorial debut was the video anime Macross Plus OVA in 1994. Cowboy Bebop was his first TV series as director in 1998 and he directed Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door in 2001 as a feature-length movie.[1]
Watanabe is known for incorporating multiple genres into his anime creations. In Cowboy Bebop, for example, Watanabe blends classic cowboy western with 1960s/1970s New York City film noir, jazz/blues music, Hong Kong action movies, and sets the entire series in space. In his later work, Samurai Champloo, Watanabe unites the cultures of Okinawa, hip hop, modern-day Japan and chanbara.
Notable works[]
TV productions[]
- Obatarian (1990; episode supervision)
- Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger (1992; episode supervision)
- Cowboy Bebop (1998; director)
- Samurai Champloo (2004; director)
- Eureka Seven (2005; supervision of third ending theme)
- Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE (2008; storyboard supervision, episode 12)
- Michiko to Hatchin (2008; music producer)
- Space Dandy (2014; director)
- Carole and Tuesday (2019; director)
OVA[]
- Armor Hunter Mellowlink (1988-1989; episode supervision)
- Capricorn (1991; co-supervision of storyboard)
- Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991; episode supervision)
- Macross Plus (1994; director)
- The Animatrix (2003; episode direction)
Films[]
- Macross Plus: Movie Edition (1995; director)
- Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001; director)
- Mind Game (2004; music producer)
- Genius Party (omnibus): Baby Blue (2008; director)
- Cowboy Bebop (2011 film; associate producer)
- Blade Runner 2049 Blackout (director)
Trivia[]
- Three shows he directed (Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Carole and Tuesday) all feature Woolong's currency. Whether this means that the shows are connected is currently unknown.