Lazarus Director Shinichirō Watanabe To Appear At Animazement Anime Convention
The Animazement anime convention has officially announced that acclaimed director Shinichiro Watanabe will be a featured guest at its upcoming event in Raleigh, North Carolina from May 22 to May 24, 2026.
Watanabe is a celebrated figure in the industry, having directed iconic series such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy, along with more recent works like Carole and Tuesday and Terror in Resonance.
The director’s influence extends to the Blade Runner franchise through his short film Blade Runner: Black Out 2022, and his artistic reach was further showcased with the 2022 screening of his short A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about his work on Lazarus, a 13-episode original anime that debuted on Adult Swim’s Toonami block in April 2025 and earned an Emmy nomination for its opening theme music by Kamasi Washington.
Joining Watanabe is a distinguished lineup of voice actors, including Hiroaki Hirata, known for his roles as Sanji in One Piece and Klein in Sword Art Online, and Toshio Furukawa, the voice behind Piccolo in Dragon Ball and Portgas D. Ace in One Piece.
The guest list also features Shino Kakinuma, recognized for voicing Naru Osaka in Sailor Moon and Videl in the Dragon Ball Z series.
In addition to talent in front of the microphone, the convention will host industry veterans such as producer Koji Nagai, who worked on multiple seasons of My Hero Academia, and animator Kazushige Yusa, whose credits include Midnight Crazy Trail and Peter Pan and Wendy.
Representatives from the CG studio QREAZY, including director Akira Yoshiyasu and generalist Koki Endo, will also be present to discuss their work on projects like Macross Delta and Plus-Sized Elf.
This gathering of industry leaders will take place at the Raleigh Convention Center throughout the weekend of May 22 to May 24, 2026.
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