I first met anime director and mechanical designer Shinji Aramaki in Tokyo 12 years ago. He had just completed ¡°Appleseed: Ex Machina,¡± the second in a trio of epic CG-animated films based on Masamune Shirow¡¯s four-volume 1985 manga.
¡°Ex Machina¡± was a global collaboration: co-produced by Hong Kong/Hollywood director John Woo, costumed by Italy¡¯s Miuccia Prada and scored by Yellow Magic Orchestra¡¯s Haruomi Hosono.
Since then, Aramaki has become anime¡¯s go-to guy for Japanese franchise reboots and sequels targeting international markets. As the nation¡¯s domestic audience ages and its youth population shrinks, producers are scrambling to dust off older titles that might resonate both at home and abroad. That has them going to Aramaki a lot.
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