Leiji Matsumoto, author of famous manga character 'Captain Harlock', dies

Legendary Japanese manga author Leiji Matsumoto died on February 13 at the age of 85 of heart failure in a Tokyo hospital, his representative and daughter, Makiko Matsumoto, reported Monday in a statement published on his official website, titled Leijisha. .

Among his cult works are

, a character he created in 1977 and was brought to television in 2002 and to the cinema in 2015, and

.

"The

Leiji Matsumoto undertook a journey to the sea of ​​stars on February 13, 2023 (...) He always said: 'We will meet again in that place where the wheels of time cross.'

We believe in those words and we hope that day will come ”, his daughter has written to announce his death.

Matsumoto "had a happy life drawing stories as a

," she added.

His daughter has thanked the support of fans of his works, of the people who published them, as well as the medical personnel "who helped him prepare for this trip."

The family funerals have already been held, but a farewell event is expected to be organized on a date yet to be determined.

Matsumoto was born on January 25, 1938 in the city of Kurume, in the southwest of the Japanese archipelago.

When he was only six years old, he began to draw. At the age of nine, his knowledge of the work

(The New Treasure Island), published in 1947 by Osamu Tezuka, considered the father of modern manga, made him discover the vocation of he.

The late author, whose birth name was Akira Matsumoto, published his first title at the age of 16,

, which appeared in a magazine thanks to an award organized by the publication's publisher.

A still from 'Captain Harlock'.

In an interview with the AFP agency, he recounted what it had been like to live in his childhood the atomic bombs dropped on his country in 1945 by the United States, which ended World War II.

“The plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima passed over my head.

The second was for a town near Fukuoka, where I lived, but it was bad weather that doomed Nagasaki,” he recalled.

"That traumatized me, but it was a source of inspiration, as were all the experiences of my youth (...) Personal experience is essential for the creative spirit, even in science fiction," she maintained.

Another popular strand of his work was in Matsumoto's cartoon show songs, which remain karaoke favorites in Japan and are often played by bands at baseball games.

The Japanese author was awarded twice by the Government of his country: in 2001 for his artistic achievements and in 2010 with the Ribbon with Golden Rays with Cockade of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

In 2012 he received the Order of Arts and Letters from the Government of France.