Animazement Anime Convention to Host Cowboy Bebop, Lazarus Director Shinichirō Watanabe

Image via Animazement's Bluesky account

The staff of Animazement anime convention announced on Sunday that it will host anime director Shinichirō Watanabe during its event on May 22-24. 

Watanabe directed such notable anime productions as Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday, and Terror in Resonance. He also directed the "Blade Runner: Black Out 2022" anime short. Watanabe's short film "A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot" screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in July 2022.

Watanabe also directed Lazarus, the new original 13-episode anime that premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in April 2025. The anime's opening theme song "Vortex" by Kamasi Washington was nominated for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" at the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Animazement convention will also host the following guests from Japan:

Voice Actors:

• Hiroaki Hirata (Sanji in One Piece, Klein in Sword Art Online, Beryl Gardenant in From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman)
• Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo in Dragon Ball, Shin in Fist of the North Star, Portgas D. Ace in One Piece)
• Shino Kakinuma (Naru Osaka in Sailor Moon, Rie Kakinoki in Kemonozume, Videl in Dragon Ball Z Kai series and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods film's special edition)

Industry Guests:

• Producer Koji Nagai (My Hero Academia seasons 2, 3, 4 and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes film, Yatterman 2008 series and 2009 film)
• Animator and Director Kazushige Yusa (Midnight Crazy Trail film, Odoru Mowai-kun anime director, Topo Gigio, Touch, Peter Pan & Wendy animation director)
• CG company QREAZY representative director Akira Yoshiyasu (3DCGI for WAVE!! -Let's go surfing!! film trilogy, Macross Delta, Genji Monogatari Sennenki)
• QREAZY CG Generalist Koki Endo (Plus-Sized Elf 3D director)

The Animazement convention will be held at Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina from May 22-24. 

Source: Animazement's Bluesky account and website