Gosick Artist Hinata Takeda Passes Away
Today, the manga and anime fandom finds itself in mourning following the news of an artist’s [...]
Today, the manga and anime fandom finds itself in mourning following the news of an artist's tragic passing. Not long ago, the author of Gosick confirmed its illustrator Hinata Takeda passed away from an unspecified illness. Kazuki Sakuraba announced Takeda had passed on her official blog today, and the update was also included in Kadokawa's Dragon Age magazine.
If you are not familiar with Takeda name, then you will know her art. The artist was best known for her work on Gosick, a mystery light novel series which inspired the popular 2011 anime. The franchise's first six volumes were drawn by Takeda, and she also provided art to Gosick's sequel. The illustrator also worked on the manga Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth back in 2007. The series was then given a fantastical anime adaptation back in 2011.
Sakuraba wrote a few poignant tributes to her friend as she recalled Takeda's beautiful art. The writer said her editor first showed off Takeda's artwork. Sakuraba said she was then blown away by the whimsical piece Takeda submitted for the first volume of Gosick. The writer even said she decided to write the story around Takeda's art so Sakuraba would have an iron-clad excuse to hire the artist. However, in the end, the writer says Takeda's artwork quickly overlooked her own work with Gosick.
「武田日向さん」
— 桜庭一樹 (@sakurabakazuki) May 9, 2017
ゴシックブログ更新しました。https://t.co/zF3XMNWOKs pic.twitter.com/VEbuwdvN7b
Later on, Sakuraba confirmed Takeda provided her last artwork for Gosick back in 2011. The piece was used at the anime title's DVD box art. Sakuraba noted her friend hadn't been in the best condition at that time, but Takeda had been determined to finish the piece.
Our thoughts and well-wishes are with Takeda's loved ones during this time.
If you are interested in picking up Gosick, then you can buy its original light novels on online vendors such as Amazon. As for the anime, U.S. audiences will soon get a chance to enjoy an English dub of the title. Gosick was recently acquired by Funimation for home video releases. The studio will release the anime's English dub on Blu-ray and DVD at the end of May.
[HT] ANN