Studio Pierrot, the company behind the productions of major anime titles like BLEACH; Naruto, the original Urusei Yatsura and Yu Yu Hakusho, announced on Monday, December 26 that animator, anime director and founder, YÅ«ji Nunokawa, passed away suddenly on Christmas Day. He was 75 years old.A memorial service for the industry icon will be held by close family, followed by a farewell party held by Studio Pierrot. At the time of his passing, Nunokawa was serving as the chair and chief advisor of the studio.YÅ«ji Nunokawa was born on February 11, 1947, in Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Nippon Design School in 1967, after which he worked as an animator and technical director at companies such as Mushi Production, Studio Jack, as well as Tatsunoko Production. Nunokawa's very first job in the industry as an animator was for an anime titled Space Boy Soran, produced by Television Corporation of Japan (TCJ), now known as Eiken.YÅ«ji served as an episode director in the original anime in the Cashan (Casshern) franchise, released in 1973, was involved in the planning of the 1975 Fuji TV anime series, Time Bokan; produced by Tatsunoko Production, and went on to establish Studio Pierrot Co., Ltd. in May 1979., alongside other former employees of both Mushi Production and Tatsunoko Production. During his time at Tatsunoko Production, Nunokawa was also involved in the direction and production of the 1972 title Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, which was known to US audiences as Battle of the Planets (1978).
Studio Pierrot's clown logo was derived from the Japanese loanword "Pierrot", from the character in French pantomime. During his prolific career as Studio Pierrot president, Nunokawa was involved in the production of series like Osomatsu-kun; Magical Angel Creamy Mami; Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, and Tokyo Mew Mew, but the studio eventually came to be famous for its production of various adaptations of Weekly Shonen Jump manga, like Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho; Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto; Tite Kubo's BLEACH and Yuki Tabata's Black Clover, among many others. In 2019, Nunokawa was awarded a Medal of Honour with Blue Ribbon from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, which is presented to "individuals who have made distinguished accomplishment in artistic and cultural activities."
Studio Pierrot presented formal statement on their official Twitter account, following it up with an expression of condolences in English which read as follows:
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Yuji Nunokawa, the former Chairman and the Supreme Adviser of Pierrot. Mr. Nunokawa passed away on December 25th. He was 75. He will be sorely missed for his leadership, commitment and passion.
Source: ANN