LeSean Thomas (born 1975) is an American television animation producer, director, animator, comic book artist, writer, character designer, and storyboard artist, based in

Meguro is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Meguro City. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. Meguro is predominantly residential in character ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. His recent, notable projects include the TV series ''

Black Dynamite ''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-s ...

'' for

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

, ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as ''TLOK'' and also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or more rarely simply as ''Korra'') is an American animated Fantasy television, fantasy action drama television series created by Michael Dante ...

'' for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

Aaron McGruder Aaron Vincent McGruder (born May 29, 1974) is an American writer, cartoonist, and producer best known for creating ''The Boondocks'', a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip and its animated TV series adaptation. Early life and education Aaron ...

's ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (comic strip), ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** The Boondocks (TV series), ''The Boondocks'' (TV series), the television s ...

'' for

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

, '' Children of Ether'' on

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

, and the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

anime original series '' Cannon Busters'' and ''

Yasuke was a samurai of African origin who served Oda Nobunaga between 1581 and 1582, during the Sengoku period, until Nobunaga's death. According to historical accounts, Yasuke first arrived in Japan in the service of Italian Jesuit Alessandro Val ...

''.

Career

Thomas' contributions as supervising character designer and co-director on seasons 1 and 2 of

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

's animated series ''

'', helped propel the show to be nominated for an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Comedy Series and win the honorary

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. His early production credits include character designer, layout and key animator on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's web series ''

WhirlGirl ''WhirlGirl'' debuted in 1997 as an sci-fi web series about a reluctant superheroine battling an evil "mediatech" empire in 2077 Southern California. The title character—dubbed "a real revolutionary for a virtual age"—balanced freedom-fighting ...

'', assistant animator for ''

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American television comedy, comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character who learns to navigate the person ...

'' and storyboard artist for various shows such as ''

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated Action comedy TV series, action comedy television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The Kim Possible (character), title character is a teenage girl tasked with saving ...

'' on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

, '' Ben 10: Alien Force'' for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

, '' The Batman'', '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' and '' Green Lantern: First Flight'', as well as supervising character designer for '' Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' for

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

. Thomas landed his first production deal with the late George Jackson's UBO Network, where he created an animated online series called ''BattleSeed''. Thomas wrote, produced and directed the series, which was presented at the New York Anime Film Festival in 2000. He produced a ''BattleSeed'' original animated trailer which aired in theaters as a promotional trailer for the Sci-Fi Channel. Thomas also provided production development for the action adventure movie ''

UltraViolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

''. Thomas is also a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

artist, with work on such titles as ''Arkanium'', and ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''. His books include sketch bible ''Nervous Breakdowns: The Art of LeSean Thomas'' Vol. 1. He has also released the artbook ''Midnight Marauder: The Art of LeSean Thomas Vol. 2'' and '' Cannon Busters'', a creator-owned

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

. In 2009, Thomas relocated to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, at the request of Korean animation studio JM Animation to be hired in-house as part of the animation production staff. He was later hired as in-house storyboard/animation production artist at

Studio Mir Studio Mir Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean animation studio based in Seoul. Among other works, the studio animated most of the American TV series ''The Legend of Korra'', the fourth season of ''The Boondocks'', '' Voltron: Legendary Defender'', ' ...

for work on ''

'' for

. Soon after, Moi Animation studio looked to hire him as a producer and director on several other independent projects, marking him as the first American animator to be hired to work in-house as permanent, independent production staff for animation studios in South Korea. His exploits in the Korean animation industry were recorded and featured in a web-documentary he produced and directed called ''Seoul Sessions'', presented by filmmakers

Coodie & Chike Coodie Simmons (born January 18, 1971) and Chike Ozah (born April 6, 1978) are American film directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and producers. Coodie and Chike started directing together with their music video for Kanye West entitled ...

's Creative Control TV, an online TV network that features coverage of talents in music, fashion and the arts. Thomas was later invited to speak at the 5th annual

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, South Korea, where he spoke about his journey and the importance of "Successful Failures". In 2011, Thomas was tapped to work on ''

'' for Adult Swim. He served as creative producer and supervising director for Season 1 and supervising director in Season 2. In November 2014, Thomas successfully crowd-funded an animated TV series pilot called ''Cannon Busters: The Animated Series'', based on his creator-owned comic book of the same name, featuring production by Japanese anime studio

Satelight is a Japanese animation studio. Aside from several stand-alone projects, the studio is well known for producing the '' Aquarion'' and '' Symphogear'' franchises, as well as later installments of the '' Macross'' franchise. The company's Represe ...

. The project was successfully funded in December 2014 and was released to limited audiences July 8, 2016. All the backers of this campaign are still waiting for their promised rewards, with no communication from the team since 2021. In October, Thomas partnered with

for an exclusive deal to co-produce his original anime creation Children of Ether, released in 300 theaters, July 26 as part of Crunchyroll's Anime Movie Night event. It was released on-platform shortly afterwards. In August 2017, it was announced that ''Cannon Busters'' was acquired by streaming giant

to be co-produced by

and Japanese anime studio

Yumeta Company , known as from 2009 to 2017, is a Japanese animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ ...

as a 12-episode mini-series and was originally set for a March 2019 release. In July 2019, it was announced at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

that ''Cannon Busters'' was confirmed for a launch on the streaming service in August 2019. On November 8, 2018, Netflix announced ''

'', an anime original fantasy series created, directed and executive-produced by Thomas, which is inspired by the historical African samurai

who served

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

in the late 1500s, featuring Oscar-nominated actor

Lakeith Stanfield LaKeith Lee Stanfield (born August 12, 1991) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in '' Short Term 12'' (2013), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the fil ...

(''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

'', ''

Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb ...

'', ''

Sorry to Bother You ''Sorry to Bother You'' is a 2018 American science fiction black comedy film written and directed by musician Boots Riley in his directorial debut. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, ...

'' and ''

Knives Out ''Knives Out'' is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. Daniel Craig leads an eleven-actor ensemble cast as Benoit Blanc, a famed private detective who is summoned to investigate the death of the bestselling autho ...

'') as the lead voice of Yasuke and served as an executive producer alongside Grammy Award-winning artist,

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), better known as Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker, and rapper. He has released seven critically acclaimed albums: ''1983'' (2006), ''Los Angeles'' (2008), '' Co ...

, who produced the music as well and also served as an executive producer. Animation production was handled by Japanese animation house, ''

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo (formerly in Suginami, Tokyo). Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including '' Terror in Resonance'', '' Yuri!!! on I ...

''. ''

'' was released on April 29, 2021. On November 17, 2021, Netflix's ''Yasuke'' was nominated for Best Main Title in the TV show/ Limited Series Category at the 12th Hollywood Music in Media Awards. On January 19, 2022, Netflix's ''Yasuke'' was nominated for Outstanding Animated Series for the 53rd NAACP Image Awards. 5ref> On November 15, 2024, LeSean Thomas was honored by Japan Society and the Japan Foundation during the "Foreign Exchange: Anime Inspirations & Visionaries with LeSean Thomas" event in New York City. The event celebrated Thomas's groundbreaking achievements as one of the few Black Americans working in Japan's anime industry and as the first and only North American creator and director of original anime series such as Children of Ether (Crunchyroll), Cannon Busters, and Yasuke (Netflix). A significant highlight of the event was the release of the 265 page "Foreign Exchange: The TV Anime Creations of LeSean Thomas Vol 1. - Yasuke" artbook, with its first volume dedicated to the production of Yasuke, archiving the works simultaneously with a look at the behind-the-scenes process of creating Yasuke, showcasing rare production art, design concepts, and insights into the show's cross-cultural collaboration. The event also featured retrospective screenings of influential anime films, such as Ninja Scroll, Sword of the Stranger, Redline, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, and Demon City Shinjuku. Thomas introduced these films and shared how they not only shaped his career, but each of the key, creative leads on these classics (Takeshi Koike, Yutaka Minowa, Masahiro Ando, Satoshi Iwataki, Naoyuki Onda & Shinichiro Watanabe) worked with him on his anime, "Yasuke." . Additionally, he participated in educational engagements, including talks and screenings for high school (Brooklyn Tech, George Jackson Academy, Frederick Douglas Academy) and college students (NYU Tisch, SVA, BMCC, Ithaca, Pratt, SCAD)in collaboration with The Imagination Project Inc., inspiring the next generation of storytellers. This comprehensive celebration underscored Thomas's role in advancing cross-cultural storytelling, preserving his creative legacy, and highlighting his contributions to the anime industry.

References

External links

* *
Netflix Cannon Busters Site

Press

Seoul Sessions web-docu on Creative Control TVFailing your way to success: LeSean Thomas at TEDxSinchon presentationForbes Cannon Busters ReviewCrunchyroll & LeSean Thomas Join Forces for Children of EtherChildren of Ether Forbes ArticleNetflix Acquires Cannon Busters series for 2018Netflix Acquires Cannon Busters, Saint Seya & more, Variety MagazineIGN Anime Club: Creating AnimeNetflix's 'Cannon busters' Adaptation Sets Release DateEW on Netflix's 'Yasuke' Anime 2021 Release AnnouncementTimeOut on Netflix's 'Yasuke' Anime April 29, 2021 Premiere Announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Lesean American comics artists American comics writers American storyboard artists African-American television directors American television producers American animated film directors American animated film producers DC Comics people Living people 1975 births Mass media people from the Bronx American expatriates in Japan American television directors African-American television producers African-American film producers African-American film directors African-American comics writers African-American comics artists American expatriates in South Korea 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people