YOSHIAKI KAWAJIRI - DIRECTOR Born in Yokohama, 1950. After graduating from Yokohama High School in 1968, he began working at Mushi Productions, Japan’s first and most renowned animation production company. Kawajiri decided to enter the animation industry simply as a learning step towards his childhood dream of becoming a comic book artist. In 1972, he joined the new animation studio MADHOUSE. Initially, he worked as a key animation artist on TV series such as Ace Wo Nerae (Aim For the Ace). In 1984, he made his directorial debut with Lensman, but the project that catapulted him into worldwide recognition was the wildly successful Wicked City, which is currently one of the most popular titles in the US anime market. back | next