News
In Memoriam
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
To those who left us in 2023
Shuji Abe
Producer
Robot founder, producer for Godzilla Minus One, Stand By Me Doraemon
Frank Agrama
Harmony Gold founder
Yasunori Arai
Drummer for rock band BAAD
Slam Dunk
Naoto Asahara
Novelist
Kanojo ga Suki na Mono wa Homo de Atte Boku de wa Nai
Yusuke Chiba
The Birthday band's singer, guitarist, and songwriter
The First Slam Dunk, Zombie-Loan theme songs
Keijirō Chō
Manga creator
13 Dogs, Kiseki no Hito
Jiro Dan
Actor
Return of Ultraman
Masanori Hata
Zoologist and essayist
Koneko Monogatari/The Adventures of Milo and Otis writer and director, Donbē Monogatari author
Miyuki Ichijou
Voice actress
Detective Conan, The House of the Lost on the Cape
Shōzō Iizuka
Voice actor
Zendarman, Mobile Suit Gundam, Dr. Slump
Manabu Ishikawa
Producer and scriptwriter
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Psycho-Pass 2, Fullmetal Alchemist
Shōji Izumi
Manga creator
Jan-Ken-Pon
James (Jim) Kaposztas
Longtime Otakon staffer
Recognized in the U.S. anime fandom as the first known person to create an anime music video (AMV)
Hajime Kikuchi
eufonius composer
True Tears, Clannad, Futakoi soundtracks
Takahiro Kimura
Character designer and animator
Code Geass, GaoGaiGar: King of the Braves
Haruko Kitahama
Voice actress
Mazinger Z, Osomatsu-kun
Ippei Kuri (birth name Toyoharu Yoshida)
Former CEO and co-founder of Tatsunoko Production
Junnosuke Kuroda
Rock band sumika guitarist
Maon Kurosaki
Singer
A Certain Magical Index II, Hakuōki, Dances with the Dragons theme songs
Yasumichi Kushida
Voice actor
planetarian, Demon Prince Enma, The aquatope on white sand
Shunpei Maruyama
Producer
Former president of Actas, producer for Girls & Panzer, Princess Principal
Leiji Matsumoto
Manga creator, illustrator, designer
Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Queen Emeraldas
David McCallum
Actor
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NCIS, Batman: Gotham Knight
Yōsuke Naka
Voice actor
Doraemon, The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Hisaya Nakajo
Manga creator
Hana-Kimi
Tohru Okada
Musician
Japanese rock band Moonriders member, also known for creating the iconic sound effect of the PlayStation logo.
Ryuho Okawa
Happy Science founder
The Laws of the Sun, The Golden Laws, The Laws of Eternity
Gosaku Ōta
Manga creator
Mazinger Z, UFO Robo Grandizer, Mach SOS
Lance Reddick
Actor and voice actor
The Wire, John Wick, Castlevania, live-action Resident Evil
Paul Reubens
Actor
Pee-wee's Playhouse, Voltron: Legendary Defender
William Ruzicka
Storyboard artist / animation director
High Guardian Spice, Onyx Equinox
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Musician and composer
YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) founder, composer for The Wings of Honneamise, Appleseed
Toshio Sakata
Comedian and voice actor
Member of comedian duo "Comedy No1," voice actor in Mind Game
Kenichi Sakemi
Novelist
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
Atsushi Sakurai
BUCK-TICK vocalist
Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective, Trinity Blood, xxxHOLiC
Nami Sano
Manga creator
Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto, Migi & Dali
Takako Sasuga
Voice actress
Sazae-san, Dangonronpa
Kenpachiro Satsuma (real name Yasuaki Maeda)
Godzilla suit actor
1984 Godzilla film to the 1995 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah film
Mitsuo Senda
Voice actor
Kingdom, Gon, Golgo 13
Peter Spellos
Actor, voice actor
Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Digimon Adventure
Leo D. Sullivan (Leo Sullivan)
Animator
1986 U.S. television series Transformers, Soul Train opening sequence
Yukihiro Takahashi
Musician
Drummer and lead vocalist of the group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO)
Hiroyuki Takizawa
Manga creator
Female Announcer Nanase, Secret night of a national qualified woman
Yoshitaka Tamaki
Game artist
Shining Force, Shining Tears
Shinji Tanimura
Singer, songwriter
Theme songs for Turn A Gundam, Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms
Buichi Terasawa
Manga creator
Space Adventure Cobra, Goku - Midnight Eye
Osamu Tezuka (no relation to the manga creator of the same name)
Toei Company Ltd. president and CEO
Yoshiko Tsuchida
Manga creator
Tsuruhime-ja!
Hiroe Tsukamoto
Producer
Samurai Champloo, Trigun, Serial Experiments Lain English dubs
Nizo Yamamoto
Art director
Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke
Hitoshi Yoshioka
Novelist
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Producer
Robot founder, producer for Godzilla Minus One, Stand By Me Doraemon
Frank Agrama
Harmony Gold founder
Yasunori Arai
Drummer for rock band BAAD
Slam Dunk
Naoto Asahara
Novelist
Kanojo ga Suki na Mono wa Homo de Atte Boku de wa Nai
Yusuke Chiba
The Birthday band's singer, guitarist, and songwriter
The First Slam Dunk, Zombie-Loan theme songs
Keijirō Chō
Manga creator
13 Dogs, Kiseki no Hito
Jiro Dan
Actor
Return of Ultraman
Masanori Hata
Zoologist and essayist
Koneko Monogatari/The Adventures of Milo and Otis writer and director, Donbē Monogatari author
Miyuki Ichijou
Voice actress
Detective Conan, The House of the Lost on the Cape
Shōzō Iizuka
Voice actor
Zendarman, Mobile Suit Gundam, Dr. Slump
Manabu Ishikawa
Producer and scriptwriter
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Psycho-Pass 2, Fullmetal Alchemist
Shōji Izumi
Manga creator
Jan-Ken-Pon
James (Jim) Kaposztas
Longtime Otakon staffer
Recognized in the U.S. anime fandom as the first known person to create an anime music video (AMV)
Hajime Kikuchi
eufonius composer
True Tears, Clannad, Futakoi soundtracks
Takahiro Kimura
Character designer and animator
Code Geass, GaoGaiGar: King of the Braves
Haruko Kitahama
Voice actress
Mazinger Z, Osomatsu-kun
Ippei Kuri (birth name Toyoharu Yoshida)
Former CEO and co-founder of Tatsunoko Production
Junnosuke Kuroda
Rock band sumika guitarist
Maon Kurosaki
Singer
A Certain Magical Index II, Hakuōki, Dances with the Dragons theme songs
Yasumichi Kushida
Voice actor
planetarian, Demon Prince Enma, The aquatope on white sand
Shunpei Maruyama
Producer
Former president of Actas, producer for Girls & Panzer, Princess Principal
Leiji Matsumoto
Manga creator, illustrator, designer
Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Queen Emeraldas
David McCallum
Actor
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NCIS, Batman: Gotham Knight
Yōsuke Naka
Voice actor
Doraemon, The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Hisaya Nakajo
Manga creator
Hana-Kimi
Tohru Okada
Musician
Japanese rock band Moonriders member, also known for creating the iconic sound effect of the PlayStation logo.
Ryuho Okawa
Happy Science founder
The Laws of the Sun, The Golden Laws, The Laws of Eternity
Gosaku Ōta
Manga creator
Mazinger Z, UFO Robo Grandizer, Mach SOS
Lance Reddick
Actor and voice actor
The Wire, John Wick, Castlevania, live-action Resident Evil
Paul Reubens
Actor
Pee-wee's Playhouse, Voltron: Legendary Defender
William Ruzicka
Storyboard artist / animation director
High Guardian Spice, Onyx Equinox
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Musician and composer
YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) founder, composer for The Wings of Honneamise, Appleseed
Toshio Sakata
Comedian and voice actor
Member of comedian duo "Comedy No1," voice actor in Mind Game
Kenichi Sakemi
Novelist
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
Atsushi Sakurai
BUCK-TICK vocalist
Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective, Trinity Blood, xxxHOLiC
Nami Sano
Manga creator
Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto, Migi & Dali
Takako Sasuga
Voice actress
Sazae-san, Dangonronpa
Kenpachiro Satsuma (real name Yasuaki Maeda)
Godzilla suit actor
1984 Godzilla film to the 1995 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah film
Mitsuo Senda
Voice actor
Kingdom, Gon, Golgo 13
Peter Spellos
Actor, voice actor
Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Digimon Adventure
Leo D. Sullivan (Leo Sullivan)
Animator
1986 U.S. television series Transformers, Soul Train opening sequence
Yukihiro Takahashi
Musician
Drummer and lead vocalist of the group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO)
Hiroyuki Takizawa
Manga creator
Female Announcer Nanase, Secret night of a national qualified woman
Yoshitaka Tamaki
Game artist
Shining Force, Shining Tears
Shinji Tanimura
Singer, songwriter
Theme songs for Turn A Gundam, Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms
Buichi Terasawa
Manga creator
Space Adventure Cobra, Goku - Midnight Eye
Osamu Tezuka (no relation to the manga creator of the same name)
Toei Company Ltd. president and CEO
Yoshiko Tsuchida
Manga creator
Tsuruhime-ja!
Hiroe Tsukamoto
Producer
Samurai Champloo, Trigun, Serial Experiments Lain English dubs
Nizo Yamamoto
Art director
Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke
Hitoshi Yoshioka
Novelist
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor