‘GUNDAM’ CREATOR YOSHIYUKI
TOMINO TO LECTURE
DURING FREE ANIME FESTIVAL AT UH
A weekend of events celebrating the work of acclaimed Japanese
animator Yoshiyuki Tomino will be held at the University of Houston
Feb. 27-28, 2004. It will culminate with a lecture by Tomino, best
known as the creator of the popular “Gundam” films and
TV series.
The public is invited, and admission to all events is free.
Tomino's first “Gundam” series revolutionized the giant
robot genre in Japanese animation when it debuted on Japanese television
in 1979 as an animated science-fiction series. The word “Gundam”
comes from the Japanese name for the mobile suits that the main
characters, heroic robots, wear. The original “Gundam”
directed by Tomino led to numerous sequels, including 10 movies,
nine television series and four video series in addition to countless
novels, comics and video games. The popularity of the “Gundam”
series in Japan can be compared to the popularity of “Star
Trek” in the United States.
Tomino’s lecture is titled “Japan's Anime Phenomenon
-- A Cultural Perspective.” He will speak at 1 p.m., Saturday,
Feb. 28 in the Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom at the Hilton UH Hotel and
Conference Center. A Q&A session and opportunity for autographs
will follow. Anime is a style of animation developed in Japan characterized
by highly stylized, futuristic settings, sex and violence.
In addition to Tomino’s lecture, the two-day event will offer
screenings of various anime works; workshops in animation cel painting,
drawing and origami; Q&A sessions with anime voice actors; game
shows hosted by anime personality Greggo; and a “cosplay”
costume contest.
The event is being presented by the Consulate-General of Japan
at Houston in cooperation with KamiKazeCon (http://kamikazecon.com)
and the UH organization Anime-no-kai (http://iria.chem.uh.edu/ank/).
During his Houston visit, Tomino is also scheduled to visit NASA
where he will be given a tour of the facilities by an employee of
JAXA, Japan's national space agency.
To schedule an interview with Tomino, contact Lauren Sethney at
the Information and Cultural Affairs Section of the Consulate-General
of Japan at 713-652-2977 ext. 102.
WHAT: |
A Weekend with Yoshiyuki Tomino |
WHEN: |
2-7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27 and 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
Saturday, Feb. 28 |
WHERE: |
University Center and Hilton UH Hotel and Conference
Center |
WHO: |
Consulate-General of Japan at Houston, KamiKazeCon
and Anime-no-kai/UH |
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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