RANGE MURATA [村田 蓮爾] is: an experienced doujinshi and professionally published artist whose work has also been featured in a variety of magazines, video games, and anime series. His style is immediately recognizable by his characters' frequently elaborate clothing and their soft and colorfully emotional appearance. Murata also designs a number of "fa" ["fashion and anime"] clothing designs and accessories which are sold through GoFa.

[VITALS]

1.] Circle name : Pasta's Estab. [There are no other members of this "circle," however; it is merely an individual brand name created by Murata. The abbreviation for Pasta's Estab., "PSE" is frequently displayed on characters' clothing and products.]
2.] D.O.B. : October 2, 1968
3.] Birthplace : Osaka, Japan
3.] Home page : PSEWEB
4.] Interests : Cars, motorcycles, "anything with wheels."
5.] Specialites : Highly stylized clothing/accessories design, striking use of color, strong underlying presence of emotion, and outlandish mechanical designs. Generally speaking, male characters are predominantly drawn in a "mature" sense while the females tend to look more youthful and innocent. [But, like most things, this is not always the case.]
6.] International appearances [non-Japan] : Anime Expo 2000 / 2004 / 2005 [Anaheim, California, USA], Anime Central 2001 [Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA], Festival International du Film d'Animation 2002 [Toulon, France], Anime Expo 2004 [Anaheim, California, USA], AnimagiC 2004 [Germany], Anime Expo 2005 [Anaheim, California, USA]
7.] International exhibits [non-Japan] : Digital Beauty [Compound Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA, 09/2005]

[ETC.]

What is GoFa?: GoFa, or 'Gallery of Fantastic Art' is an art exhibit hall located in Tokyo that frequently displays original Murata illustrations and fa products. [GoFa also displays the works of other anime and video game-related artists, not to mention.] Not only does GoFa display these items, they frequently sell them through their web site. These items have incredibly limited production runs and are usually made to order. Thus, the prices are quite high. Nevertheless, GoFa remains an important "sponsor" of Range Murata and distributor of his goods.

[LEARN MORE]

• Cosplay Lab has an English interview with Murata and a summary of his panel at Anime Expo 2004, which provides a lot of insight into the artist's background and his personal thoughts.

• Akadot has an interview with Murata detailing the US release of robot Vol. 1.

• The spring 2004 edition [vol. 4] of AnimePlay magazine features an insightful interview with Murata, where he primarily discusses his work on Last Exile, GONZO's major TV series release of 2003.