We’re joining the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo again this year! And we couldn’t wait to give you a peek into all the cool stuff happening at this convention, which will run for three days on March 22-24, 2019.
Funimation will be hosting an exciting panel on Friday, March 22 in which Fuminori Kizaki (Director of Afro Samurai), Toshiaki Obata (Marketing Producer of PSYCHO-PASS), and Shuzo John Shiota (President of Polygon Pictures) will reveal a new sci-fi, cyberpunk film project with Funimation that explores the role of humanity in Tokyo, Japan of year 2036. Join us on 3/22 from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM CT and be the first to know all about this new film produced by a dream team of world-renowned Japanese creators!
Also, don’t miss the interview session and autograph signing after the announcement.
Check out the full schedule for Friday:
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM | Director of Afro Samurai Reveals New Sci Fi Film with Funimation | Room S404
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM | SYFY Live Stage Interview Session | Booth #2532
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM | Autograph Signing | Autograph Area (rear of the Show Floor)
Learn more about our guests below:
Fuminori Kizaki – Anime Director
After graduating from Tokyo Animator College, Fuminori Kizaki worked as an animator for Studio Giants. Then he went on to establish a new studio called Hercules with some friends that shared the same ambitions. Later, Kizaki directed Afro Samurai series and Afro Samurai: Resurrection film, which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. His most notable works are Afro Samurai, Basilisk, and Bayonetta: Bloody Fate.
Toshiaki Obata – CEO and Producer of SlowCurve
Toshiaki Obata joined Gonzo in 2004, and he was in charge of marketing and licensing on many of Gonzo’s titles. In 2011, he co-founded the company, SlowCurve, and worked as Chief Marketing/Advertising Producer for PSYCHO-PASS. He has expanded his career beyond PSYCHO-PASS as an Executive Producer of revisions, a new series on Fuji TV’s +Ultra animation TV block, while collaborating with Netflix.
Shuzo John Shiota – President of Polygon Pictures
Shuzo John Shiota was raised in the US and is a graduate of Sophia University Faculty of Law, Department of International Legal Studies. After joining the Nippon Steel Corporation in 1991, Shiota went on to participate in the launch of Dream Pictures Studio in 1997. He moved to Polygon Pictures two years later, and in 2003, assumed the position of President and CEO. As studio head, Shiota has spearheaded efforts to cultivate Polygon’s overseas presence, helping the studio to become a leading developer of TV series and content targeted at the foreign market. Shiota has also served as a judge at major Japanese and international film festivals, including Prix Ars Electronica in Australia and SIGGRAPH in the US. In 2008, he was selected as one of the “25 Toon Titans of Asia” by popular industry publication Animation Magazine. He also presided as a judge at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. His hobbies include playing in a band.
See you there!
