Ms. Atsuko Tanaka is regarded as one of the top veteran animators in Japan. Originally inspired to become an animator by shows like The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun and Space Battleship Yamato, Atsuko Tanaka attended the Animation Department at Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. She left college mid term to join Shin-Ei Animation. Later she joined Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd, and then ultimately Studio Ghibli.

Throughout her career, Ms. Tanaka has participated as a Key Animator on many popular films, including Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, Pompoko, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo of the Cliff by the Sea, The Wind Rises, and When Marnie Was There to name just a few. Last year Ms. Tanaka also contributed as freelance Key Animator on the wildly popular Space Dandy for episode 2, "The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby".

Some other projects to which Ms. Tanaka contributed include:

The Secret World of Arietty (Key Animation),
Tales from Earthsea (Key Animation),
Summer Wars (Key Animation),
Doraemon: Noibta and the Strange Wind Rider (Key Animation),
Little Nemo - Adventures in Slumberland (Key Animation),
Patlabor WXIII (Key Animation),
and more...

And beyond Japanese animation, Ms. Tanaka has been instrumental in several popular US based cartoons. She was a Key Animator on Green Lantern: First Flight, Animation Director for Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, Animation Director for Batman: The Animated Series, Key Animator for Superman, Key Animator for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Key Animation for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, as well as Disney's Winnie the Pooh television series.

Read more about Ms. Tanaka's profile at Anime News Network or IMDB.

Please help us welcome Ms. Tanaka to AnimeFest for the very first time!