Sunao Katabuchi, a Japanese anime director and writer. Image courtesy of Otakon

ART EVENT: Famous Japanese anime director and writer Sunao Katabuchi is well-known in the anime movies and video games world. He will be at this year’s Otakon to discuss his work and how he uses them to promote Japanese culture and custom.  

BY ARTCENTRON

BALTIMORE, MD., – Acclaimed Japanese anime director and writer Sunao Katabuchi will be at this year’s Otakon to be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland. Otakon is a major annual Baltimore event held every summer.

A famous director, Katabuchi’s directorial credits include Princess Arete, Black Lagoon, and Mai Mai Miracle. Katabuchi uses his movies to promote Japanese culture and custom, including anime cosplay, an integral part of Japanese pop culture. Besides movies, Katabuchi has also made incursions into video game production. He has taken part in the creation of the aerial combat video game, Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, as a movie director and scriptwriter.

Promoting Japanese Culture in Anime Movies

For his amazing ability to bring ideas to life in anime movies and video games, Katabuchi has won many accolades. The anime critic and Japan Culture Ministry Media Arts Festival judge, Ryusuke Hikawa, called him the “artist who has the expressive power to describe the inner workings of the human and the world.”

Japanese Animation Director Sunao Katabuchi

Born in 1960 in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, Sunao Katabuchi began his animation career at a very young age. While in college, Katabuchi began collaborating with Hayao Miyazaki, writing scripts for works such as Sherlock Hound. After working on Kiki’s Magical Delivery Service as assistant director, he made his directorial debut with Meiken Lassie.

Sunao Katabuchi In This Corner Of The World

One of his recent animation movies is In This Corner Of The World. After fans of Mai Mai Miracle encouraged him to read Fumiyo Kouno’s In This Corner Of The World,” Katabuchi felt compelled to make this movie. There was a general feeling that Sunao Katabuchi’s outstanding ability at using animated movies to communicate and inform makes him the most viable director to retell Kouno’s story as an animation.

In This Corner Of The World is the story of war, love, and disenchantment. It dates back to 1944 and focuses on the adolescent Suzu.  In 1944, Suzu moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima to live with her husband’s family. Life was good for a while, and Suzu was gradually settling into Kure when all hell broke loose. Her town became the target of bombing during World War II. Nonetheless, Suzu did not lose faith. What comes through in the movie is the perseverance and courage of a selfless adolescent. Furthermore, viewers get to experience the heart-warming and inspirational tale of everyday challenges faced by the Japanese in one of the most violent moments in history.

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At Otakon, Katabuchi will discuss his anime movies and video games. But more importantly, he will talk about his career as an anime director. Otakon 2014 will be held August 8-10 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

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Here are thrillers of some of the anime movies and video game directed by Sunao Katabuchi, the director of Japanese anime and video games.

Princess Arete Trailer

Princess Arete Song

YouTube/ Princess Arete Song

Black Lagoon Trailer

Mai Mai MiracleR: Trailer | Shochiku

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