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Macross Director/Designer Shoji Kawamori's Works Get Exhibition in May

Animation studio Satelight announced on Friday that designs and production materials from the works of anime director and mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori will be displayed at an exhibit named "Shōji Kawamori Expo" at the Gallery AaMo in Tokyo from late May to late June. The exhibit celebrates Kawamori's 40 years in the industry, and will display work from his entire career.

Kawamori is perhaps most famous for being part of the creative planning for The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series. He designed most of the franchise's iconic transforming "variable fighter" mecha, and oversaw most of the main installments in the franchise, including the latest, Macross Delta. He studied at Keio University with Macross character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto and screenwriter Hiroshi Ohnogi.

Kawamori has also created the Aquarion, AKB0048, and Arjuna series, and most recently was chief director on the Last Hope anime series. He has contributed mechanical design work to Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, Eureka Seven, Outlaw Star, Ghost in the Shell, and more. He is credited as the original creator of The Vision of Escaflowne, Basquash!, and Nobunaga The Fool. He has worked in anime production as a director, screenwriter, mechanical designer, and storyboarder. Outside anime, he designed one of Sony's Aibo robot dog variants and contributed to the designs of Takara's Diaclone Car Robot toys, which eventually became Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ironhide, and other toys in Hasbro's Transformers line.

He has worked in Satelight as the executive director since 2003.

Sources: Satelight Twitter account, Shōji Kawamori Expo website