Born in Tokyo on August 8, 1951, Mamoru Oshii is one of the most remarkable personalities in modern Japanese filmmaking. He introduced introspective philosophical speculation into the world of animation, influencing at the same time movie creators all around the globe with his visionary style.
A film buff since his childhood, also thanks to his father who used to take him to the movies several times in a week, Oshii has declared he wasn’t even remotely interested in anime, and had hardly watched any until he joined animation production studio Tatsunoko Production in 1977, at the age of 26. Here he was mentored by director Hisayuki Toriumi. He then moved to the newly established Studio Pierrot, where he became the chief director of the 1981 anime television series Urusei Yatsura, based on Rumiko Takahashi’s million- selling comic series. For three years the show was a ratings success, bringing Oshii into the spotlight.
In 1983, Oshii made his feature film debut with Urusei Yatsura: Only You, but created a new sensation the following year with Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, a surrealistic re-interpretation of Rumiko Takahashi’s world, that won enthusiastic acclaim from many film critics. In 1988, Oshii became one of the minds behind the name Headgear, the group of talented creators that gave birth to the project entitled Mobile Police Patlabor. The OVA series and the two highly cinematic feature films that followed added new realism to the robot genre in animation, introducing serious elements such as coup d’état and urban terrorism. In 1995 he directed the groundbreaking Ghost in the Shell which was released simultaneously in Japan and the USA. The movie became the first and -at today- only Japanese anime to top Billboard Video Sales Chart, and strongly influenced Hollywood creators such as James Cameron and the Wachowskis.
Nine years later, in 2004, he directed the film’s ideal sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, that became the first Japanese animated feature film ever to compete for the prestigious Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival. Oshii has also directed a number of live-action features, including The Red Spectacles (1986), Stray Dog (1991) and the highly praised Avalon (2001), entirely filmed in Poland with local actors. The world of The Red Spectacles and Stray Dog was further developed in the animated feature Jin-Roh – The Wolf Brigade (1999), produced by Production I.G from Oshii’s script, and directed by Innocence character designer, Hiroyuki Okiura. In 2006, he wrote and directed Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters, a satirical mockumentary filmed with a technique dubbed “superlivemation,” (digitally processed stills), that retells 50 years of Japanese post- war history through the evolution of the country’s dietary culture. The film was invited for the official selection at the 63rd Venice Film Festival.
Two years later, Oshii was again on the Italian lagoon with The Sky Crawlers, a dystopian metaphoric tale about immortal teenagers fighting in a forever war, which was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 65th Venice Film Festival. The film also had its North American premiere at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival, and was greeted with three awards at Sitges 2008 (Critic Award, Best Music Award, Young Jury Award). The Sky Crawlers is currently Oshii’s last animated feature film, having focused on live-action projects ever since. In 2017 he received the Winsor McCay Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 44th Annual Annie Awards.