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"Bronx-born LeSean Thomas is one of the few Black Americans working in the anime industry in Japan. Beginning with television projects including The Boondocks and Legend of Korra, he would transform his career when he moved to Japan to create Children of Ether, Cannon Busters, and his most recent work, Netflix’s Yasuke, a project LeSean created, directed and executive-produced. By collaborating with heralded Japanese TV animation studios, Thomas has introduced original Black-coded spectacle through the lens of anime. Whether in the Japanese TV industry or in the U.S., he believes that Black American creators have the capacity to develop original TV animated narratives across multiple genres and demographics, and that these narratives can demonstrate the boundless possibilities of Black creatives when granted the freedom to innovate. Through Foreign Exchange, Japan Society presents retrospective screenings which spotlight the works that inspired LeSean and celebrate the luminaries across the anime world including Masahiro Ando, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Takeshi Koike, Yutaka Minowa, Kenichi Shima and the late Satoshi Iwataki with whom LeSean has had the honor of collaborating. Appearing in-person throughout the series, LeSean will discuss his history with anime, his cross-cultural productions with Japanese creators and the artform’s deep impact with diverse audiences, including talks with The Imagination Project Inc. offering guidance for the next generation of creators, directors, producers, artists and animators."—Japan Society