zombies ." He also received inspiration from anime. His early works, particularly the cyberpunk adventure game Snatcher (which uses anime-style art), were influenced by cyberpunk anime, most notably Akira (mentioned above). In an interview, he mentioned that his Zone of the Enders series was inspired by mecha/robot anime, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. Mecha anime was also an inspiration for the Metal Gear series, which features mecha robots, such as Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear RAY; this is referenced in Metal Gear Solid, where Otacon mentions mecha anime as an influence on his Metal Gear REX designs. In regards to storyline development and interaction with them, he said: In 2019 Kojima published a collection of essays in Japan discussing the influence of pop culture on his work under the title The Gifted Gene and My Lovable Memes. The book was published in English by Viz Media in October 2021 under the title The Creative Gene: How books, movies, and music inspired the creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid. In terms of reverse influence on film, his work on the storylines of the Metal Gear series was cited as an influence by screenwriter David Hayter, the voice actor for Solid Snake, on his screenwriting for Hollywood films. He stated that "Kojima and I have different styles (...) but I've certainly learned things from him, especially about ambiguity and telling a story without giving all the answers". Kojima has also influenced a number of actors and auteurs in the film industry. Hollywood actors Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux have voice roles in Death Stranding, and celebrated director Guillermo del Toro is amongst his biggest fans. In 2020, Kojima was a member of the international Jury of the 77th Venice International Film Festival, Virtual Reality section. Legacy Kojima has been noted for predicting and exploring themes in his works years before they gained mainstream notoriety on numerous occasions, ranging from the sociological to the scientific. The main example of this pertains to the plot and themes of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, released on November 13, 2001, which delved into ideas and concepts that would become culturally significant in the 2010s. Among these themes were post-truth politics, alternative facts, echo-chambers, fake news, AI-curated news feeds, information overload in the Information Age, and political correctness. While the game received universal acclaim upon release for its gameplay and attention to