NEWS

2024.08.21
Shoji Kawamori will participate in “Anime NYC 2024
news
2024.07.29
Start of a joint project with Jinki-Ittai Co! Shoji Kawamori will take on the challenge of industrial design of “humanoid heavy machinery” for the first time.
news
2024.07.29
Shoji Kawamori paid a courtesy call on Governor Shinji Hirai of Tottori Prefecture.
EXPO2025
2024.07.16
Shoji Kawamori participated in the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival
news

WORKS

CHANNEL

YF-30 LEGO® MOVIE – 20 seconds ver.

Kawamori himself is going to introduce the transformation system of the YF- 30, a variable fighter in Macross series using its LEGO® prototype for the toy.

YF-30 LEGO® MOVIE – 5 seconds ver.

Kawamori himself, for the first time online, is going to introduce the mechanical system of the YF- 30 transformation using its LEGO® prototype for the toy.

Youtube Channel

PROFILE

Animation Director
Mecha Designer
Vision Creator
Thematic Producer for EXPO 2025
Osaka Kansai

2016.04.22

Under the title of “Vision Creator,” Kawamori acts as a creator of original works, an animation director, a scriptwriter, a mecha designer and many other roles. Being one of the original creators of the animated TV hit Macross, he played a major part in developing one of the important factors that popularized the Japanese anime phenomenon worldwide. He was also one of the designers of the Diaclone line of toys, which later became known as the Transformers, including now ubiquitous “Optimus Prime.” His designs can be found in a wide range of media, from animation, and video games to live-action movies and commercial products.

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Shoji Kawamori
A Japanese mechanical designer, animation creator and director.
Shoji Kawamori is a vision creator, who handles animation directing, planning, concept creation, scriptwriting, video and stage directing, as well as mechanical design.
Mr. Kawamori was born in 1960 in Toyama, Japan. At the age of three, he moved from the snowy village of Gokayama to rapidly urbanizing Yokohama, where he experienced severe culture shock after witnessing various aspects of modern urban life, including steam locomotives and streetcars – from this experience sprang his strong desire to “create excitement that would surprise everyone” and to be involved in the creative industry.
After enrolling in Keio University, he was able to cultivate free sensibility through interactions with many creative alumni who are internationally active designers and creators. While still studying engineering at Keio, he joined Studio Nue (a creative planning and production group) which has been a central force in the development of Japanese science fiction and animation.
Shortly after joining Studio Nue and while still studying at Keio, he transferred to Takara (currently Takara Tomy). While there, he participated in the initial design of the “Transformers” central robot character Optimus Prime, as well as the car robot of “Diaclone” and several other popular mechanical designs.
While simultaneously participating in several animation projects and mechanical design, he also participated in the development of “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross” (1982-1983) that was launched as a project with his friends from Studio Nue. As a primary team member, he was intimately involved in original story creation, mechanical design, script, and storyboard writing.
At the age of 21, he independently developed "Valkyrie," the world's first fully variable three-stage fighter, which was the leading mechanism that appears in this work.
He made his directorial debut at the age of 23 in the movie version of "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do you remember love? " (1984)
This work and "Valkyrie" were broadcast on television around the world, and the video that mixes realistic mecha and battle scenes, idol music and romance elements was used in the entertainment industry, including Hollywood. For many children and young people, this was the first Japanese animation to become very “cool” around the world.
In the subsequent "Macross" series, he still played a key role in the creative works, with original stories, directoring, and mechanical designs.

MESSAGE

I believe designs and stories has the power
to change the society or even the world.
To create such things,
I try to implement my approach using ways of multi-dimensional thinking,
changing the point of view,
changing dimensions,
changing standing points,
etc.

Especially in this turbulent period of time,
I hope my original designs and stories would be helpful
for not only the human beings,
but for all the living things in this world.

I would like to continue working to deliver innovative,
entertaining, exciting designs, stories,
and visions by combining different elements from different vectors

Vision Creator | Shoji Kawamori
Vector Vision

BIOGRAPHY

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