Yoshiyuki Tomino
In 1979, Tomino directed and wrote "Mobile Suit Gundam", which was highly influential in transforming the Super Robot mecha genre into the Real Robot genre. Mark Simmons discusses the impact of "Gundam" in his book, "Gundam Official Guide":
In an interview published in "Animerica" magazine, Tomino discusses what he was trying to accomplish with "Mobile Suit Gundam":
Although the last quarter of the show's original script was canceled and it had to be completed in 43 episodes, its popularity grew after three compilation movies were released in 1981 and 1982. "Mobile Suit Gundam" was followed by numerous sequels, spin-offs and merchandising franchises, becoming one of the longest-running and most influential, popular anime series in history, being chosen as No. 1 on TV Asahi's "Top 100 Anime" listing in 2005.
David X. Cohen
Cohen co-developed "Futurama", along with "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. Cohen served as head writer, executive producer, and voice director of the series. He was also the voice director of the "Futurama" video game. After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Cohen in 1997 and developed "Futurama", an animated series about life in the year 3000. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had "gone overboard" in their discussions. Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life". The show premiered on March 28, 1999.