I studied art in high school and college and actually now teach at a fairly prestigious art school. So, when I say that Haruhiko Mikimoto also known as HAL, is my favorite artist and character designer of all time, it has some serious weight to it. Sure, when I first started watching Macross it was all about the violence and robots, but what kept me hooked was the characters, their expressive mannerism, design, and of course the lovely anime eyes. Just a peek at his amazing watercolors will make you a fan for life. Does anyone do better anime eyes than Mikimoto?

I had a chance to sit down with the legendary creator of characters from notable series and manga such as; Macross, Megazone23, Gunbuster, Gundam 0080, Gundam Ecole Du Ciel, Orguss... the list goes on. A dare you to find a more distinct and influential character designer who is still active today. Mikimoto also changed the influence that character designers had on a series, and licence --not just being an artist that participates, but also involved in the decision making. So yeah, I was pretty nervous.

After a long day of J-Pop rocking out and churros gobbling, I had a few minutes with the legend while attending Japan Expo, in Paris. Hit the jump to check out his thoughts on anime today, computers in the industry, and of course... Minmei or Misa. 

[Special thanks to my boy Isshak for all his assistance!]