The former president of Studio Pierrot died on December 25 at the age of 75.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Yūji Nunokawa,”
the studio announced in a statement posted on Twitter on December 26.
"He will be greatly missed for his leadership, commitment and passion,"
the post concluded.
Little known to the general public, the animation director was nevertheless one of the major figures of Japanese anime.
Yūji Nunokawa is from Sakata, a small town in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
He studied at the Tōhoku University of Art and Design before becoming an animator and technical director for several animation studios.
He then worked for Mushi Production, Studio Jack and then Tatsunoko Production.
A few years later, in 1979, he founded his own studio, Pierrot, and participated in the creation of anime such as
Vanessa and the magic of dreams
,
Creamy
or even
Magical Fairy Persia
.
Bleach
,
Beelzebub
or even
Black Cover
... The Pierrot studio became famous by adapting great manga masterpieces into animated series.
Its biggest success is then
Naruto
, which celebrated in 2022 its twenty years of existence.
