Tekkonkinkreet

Manga artist Taiyō Matsumoto bio here.
Studio 4°C official site here.
"Making of" interview with Studio 4°C 's Eiko Tanaka here.
Interview with director Michael Arias here.
Can a westerner direct anime? Find out here. I haven't read the whole article yet, but- judging from how "Tekkonkinkreet" turned out- I bet the answer is 'yes.'