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Cowboy Bebop Helmer Shinichiro Watanabe Shares 'Closet Picks' from Criterion Films
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
Legendary anime director Shinichirō Watanabe shared his “Closet Picks” from the library of over 1,500 titles in The Criterion Collection, an American home entertainment distributor, on Tuesday:
In the four-and-a-half-minute video, Watanabe waxes poetic about the films The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Branded to Kill, and M, as well as French filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati and martial artist Bruce Lee. As of press time, the video has over 32,000 views and over 300 comments.
Watanabe is best known for his work on Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday, Macross Plus, the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, and Space Dandy, among others. The director appeared at the Foreign Exchange 2025: Cross-Cultural Conversations with Anime Visionaries film and discussion series in late November 2025. Watanabe appeared with LeSean Thomas (Yasuke, Cannon Busters) and Justin Leach (Star Wars: Visions, Leviathan) to discuss animation and film.
Sources: The Criterion Collection's X/Twitter account, The Criterion Collection's YouTube channel
