Kawamoto Toshihiro was as popular as ever, returning to Anime Expo by popular demand. He kicked the panel off in a major way with the debut of two clips from the new COWBOY BEBOP theatrical feature, KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR. The two clips featured stunning animation and powerful sequences with all the main characters, which brought on cheers and applause from everyone in attendance.

Q: What inspirations did you have for COWBOY BEBOP, and did they change for the movie?

Kawamoto Toshihiro: With regards to inspiration for COWBOY BEBOP, it's been a few years... 1996 or so? I didn't have much to go on: I took it from various movies and my own ideas. Some people have said that it looks similar to LUPIN III, and some directors said that as well, but I think it looks more like the spy movies of the '70s. The movie takes place between episodes 22-23, so we kept it the same. For the special characters for the movie, the director mentioned a couple live actors as inspiration, so in that case the movie had some live models as inspiration.

Q: When working on GOLDENBOY, where did the inspiration for the hentai/ecchi main character come from?

KT: I think of all the works I've done, GOLDENBOY is the most unusual. (smiles) You know it's from a manga, right? That's where the main character comes from.

Q: You have such a different range of characters. Do you have a lot of characters in your heart and mind that you're always developing that you haven't used yet?

KT: No, I don't have any. Since I just finished the BEBOP movie, I have to start thinking about the next characters though. For the BEBOP movie especially, I started designing the characters after reading the documents. When designing characters, I really need a push, so I get an inspiration stimulus at that moment. And for character designs, it also depends on what the director wants, so I have to wait for the director to give his input and see which direction he wants to go.

Q: Any thoughts about the next project?

KT: I've thought a lot about it, but it's a secret... though I dropped some hints about the next project in the COWBOY BEBOP movie. (smiles)

Q: Have you thought about doing more in the BEBOP world?

KT: That's a very difficult question since there's no solid plans at the moment. I asked the director what his plans were, and he said if the movie were a worldwide hit, then maybe.

Q: When is the COWBOY BEBOP movie being released?

KT: I haven't heard of an exact date... end of August?

Q: You went to Morocco to research. What did you like or not like about it?

KT: There wasn't anything in particular that I didn't like, though I did get worried about a few things that might affect my health, such as the water and weather. The mosques were inspirational, so I'd like to go back sometime.

Q: Regarding the episode with the refrigerator and the toxic food (Toys in the Attic), did the purple blob kill everyone?

KT: I think you're referring to Ed eating it? Well, the episode ended with "The End," so I think it did. (smiles). Everyone that shows up in subsequent episodes are clones. (loud applause and laughter from audience)

Q: There's a lot of references to 1970's movies and Pam Grier, and the fighting in particular resembles ENTER THE DRAGON. How did you come up with that?

KT: The opening (of the TV series) with Spike's kick, that was inspired by Bruce Lee, but the rest is the director's doing.

Q: Is there a nude scene with Faye in the movie? (audience laughs)

KT: That's a secret! (laughs) I think the preview hints at it... maybe you can look forward to it then? (audience cheers)

Q: How did you come up with the episode "Mushroom Samba"? Was it from personal experience?

KT: No, no, no. (laughs) All the staff working on the animation are funky people, but they don't do any drugs. The ideas came from books, movies, and research. (audience laughs) Er, I meant researching books! (smiles)

Q: In my opinion, the cast of COWBOY BEBOP is one of the best casts ever in the world of anime. Where did you get the inspiration for Mad Pierrot? And what is the metal thing clamped on under Jet Black's eye?

KT: The inspiration for Mad Pierrot came from the director. I first thought the character was a fat guy and made him as such, but he has weapons underneath (which I found out later), so I was designing him correctly without knowing it at first. (smiles)

As for Jet's metal eyepiece... I wonder what it is? (smiles) It's something that I hoped the other staff would figure out what to do with, but they haven't yet. (smiles) I didn't want to do a design with a symmetrical face, so that's what it's for.

Q: How much creative input do you have besides being just the character designer?

KT: As far as music goes, the director is very knowledgeable. On the art side, I help out with the storyboards, and the skeleton for creating the animations. I can give input on how a sequence flows. For the COWBOY BEBOP movie, I was able to give input and even have some of the lines changed.

Q: For GOLDENBOY, which girl did you think is: (a) cutest; (b) hottest; and (c) nicest?

KT: For (a), Chie in episode 6. For (b), the hottest was Reiko in episode 5. And (c), nicest personality? None. (smiles)