Leiji MatsumotoThis is a featured page


Leiji Matsumoto - AnimazeThe merging of Japanese military history and futuristic adventure first put Leiji Matsumoto on the map in 1974, when he designed and directed the television series that broke open science fiction as a topic for Japanese animators. Space Battleship Yamato drew inspiration from Japan’s largest WWII battleship that sank in 1945 as a vehicle for violent, battle-scarred plotlines. As was, and is still often the case, the series was edited to downplay the extensive violence and nationalistic themes in order to appeal to a wider American audience. This stateside version was renamed Star Blazers.


  • Discuss Matsumoto's work by clicking EasyEdit.


  • Post stills of his best work (EasyEdit + "Image" button)


Matsumoto pioneered war-based narratives, creating many overlapping space operas which, taken together, crafted a wide universe of characters, planets, and armies. Other famous works include Maetel, Gun Frontier, and Harlock Saga.

In 2003, Matsumoto teamed up with French electro-pop outfit Daft Punk for the release of the animated musical Interstella 5555 (The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, which premiered at the Cannes film festival. This time, the battle waged was set amidst a modern day world of a decadent music industry, complete with spaceship limousines.

See also:




No user avatar
bobdole80
Latest page update: made by bobdole80 , Nov 25 2008, 11:33 AM EST (about this update About This Update bobdole80 Edited by bobdole80

1 image added
1 image deleted
2 widgets added

view changes

- complete history)
More Info: links to this page
There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.

Related Content

  (what's this?Related ContentThanks to keyword tags, links to related pages and threads are added to the bottom of your pages. Up to 15 links are shown, determined by matching tags and by how recently the content was updated; keeping the most current at the top. Share your feedback on Wetpaint Central.)