The following interview was originally conducted by Eldur_380 from OtaCrew at Japan Expo, 2016. You can find him on his personal blog, ElduRSverO.com. The interview has been translated by Twitter user @NohAcro © 2017 Wave Motion Cannon

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Born 25th May 1964 in Osaka Prefecture, Shouji Murahama is best known for co-founding studio Gonzo. As a youth, he attended Otemon University, where he participated in the university’s Sci-Fi club (a la Otaku no Video). During this time, he assisted in the production of several Daicon Film projects before formally joining in 1987 with the studio’s new name of GAINAX, even dropping out of school to do so. He served as production manager on several of GAINAX’s most prominent and important works such as Royal Space Force, Nadia and Gunbuster before leaving the company to found Gonzo in 1992.

Murahama eventually left Gonzo on March 31, 2009 to start Lambda Film on April 1 of the same year. Coincidentally, that same day, Gonzo’s parent company, GDH, absorbed the company he founded, turning it into the hollow shell we know today. In October 2015, Shoji Murahama joined the animation studio company EMON, the Japanese branch of the Chinese animation studio HAOLINERS (To Be Hero), with their office in Kichijojii.

Translations like this are funded by support on Patreon! You make this possible!