Mamoru Hosoda is one of the biggest names in modern Japanese animation. Over the past 15 years, he has directed some of the most critically and financially successful anime films out there, including “Summer Wars,” “Wolf Children,” “The Boy and the Beast” and “Belle,” Japan’s third-highest-grossing film of 2021.
The 54-year-old director, whose films are known for their fluid animation and themes of family and friendship, has also picked up a major following outside of Japan thanks to anime conventions, video releases and international film festivals. In fact, it was at a screening of Hosoda’s 2009 “Summer Wars” that the director first caught the eye of veteran animation historian and critic Charles Solomon.
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