SHIOTA John Shuzo

Born in Hyogo Prefecture, 1967. SHIOTA is a graduate of the Sophia University Faculty of Law, Department of International Legal Studies. After joining the Nippon Steel Corporation in 1991, SHIOTA went on to participate in the launch of Dream Pictures Studio in 1997. He moved to Polygon two years later and in 2003 assumed the position of President and CEO. As studio head SHIOTA has spearheaded efforts to cultivate Polygon’s overseas presence, helping the studio to become a leading developer of TV series and content targeted at the foreign market. SHIOTA has also served as a juror at major Japanese and international film festivals including Prix Ars Electronica (Austria), SIGGRAPH (United States) and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (France). In 2008, he was selected as one of the “25 Toon Titans of Asia” by popular industry publication Animation Magazine. He also presided as Conference Chair for SIGGRAPH Asia in December 2021.

In recent years, the overseas market of Japan’s anime industry has exceeded the domestic market and this trend has proved anime’s true value as a great export product. The impact that SHIOTA and Polygon Pictures Inc. has had on the industry is immense. The company took on the commission to produce series for overseas IPs such as the Star Wars series and created Knights of Sidonia (2014), which became the forerunner of Netflix’s original anime series. Through his grassroots diplomacy, including lectures in over a dozen countries and juror work at numerous competitions such as the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and SIGGRAPH, SHIOTA has managed to bridge international markets and the somewhat insular Japanese anime industry. His contributions to the future of the industry cannot be overstated. (MIZUSAKI Jumpei)