Anime director Shinichiro Watanabe in Houston

If you like anime, then this is the event for you. From a release that was emailed to me by the Houston Museum of Natural Science:

HOUSTON—Famed Japanese anime director Shinichiro Watanabe will speak on An
Inside Look into the World of Anime as part of the Houston Museum of Natural
Science Public Lecture series, on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. The
event, sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan at Houston and The Japan
Foundation, will feature clips from Watanabe’s films. The lecture will be
conducted in Japanese with an English interpreter.

The Honorable
Yoshihiko Kamo, Consul General of Japan, stated, “Anime has crossed
international borders, making it one of the most accessible aspects of modern
Japanese culture. With his popular series, Cowboy Bebop, Mr. Shinichiro Watanabe
is a pioneer in popularizing anime in the U.S. Texans will especially like
Cowboy Bebop because of the Wild West and cowboy influences.”

Watanabe’s career began when he co-directed the well-received Macross Plus in 1994. Cowboy Bebop, one of the first anime series to become popular in the U.S., debuted next, followed by 2001’s theatrical Cowboy Bebop movie, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. In 2003, Watanabe directed his first anime for Americans with Kid’s Story and A Detective Story, both part of The Animatrix, an anthology of animated back-stories from the movie The Matrix. Watanabe is noted for several stylistic elements, including blending multiple genres in one film, elongated focus on the eyes of the main character and the role of music in his films, which has included jazz, blues, bebop, funk, New Age and hip hop music.

Tickets for the lecture are $7 for adults; $6 for children (3 – 11), seniors (62+), and college students with a valid ID; and $5 Museum members. For tickets, or more information, visit http://www.hmns.org/ or call (713) 639-4629. Information
is available in Spanish at (713) 639-4603.

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