Edens Zero Anime Director Suddenly Passes Away

The director behind Edens Zero‘s anime, Yuji Suzuki, has died before the airing of the anime’s final episode. The anime adaptation for Hiro Mashima’s newest series ended its two cour run today in Japan, and rather than be able to celebrate, the official website for the anime had some unfortunate news to announce. According to the official website and Twitter account for Edens Zero, the director behind the series, Yuji Suzuki (who has also been credited as Yushi Suzuki in some projects) has died suddenly as of September 9th. This news took the staff by surprise as well. 

The official message from the Edens Zero team expresses deep regret at the suddenness of Suzuki’s passing, and confirms Suzuki’s passing last month at a hospital in Tokyo. No cause of the passing has been revealed per their message, but it begins as such, “It is with regret that we have to report this to all the fans and people who have been supporting EDENS ZERO. Mr. Yuji Suzuki, the director of the animation EDENS ZERO passed away on September 9, 2021 at a hospital in Tokyo.”

【大切なおしらせ】アニメ「EDENS ZERO」の鈴木勇士監督がお亡くなりになりました。謹んでご冥福をお祈り申し上げると共に、ご遺族の方には心よりお悔やみを申し上げます。https://t.co/25Ki58hl1s

— EDENS ZEROプロジェクト公式 (@EDENSZERO_PJ) October 2, 2021

Their official message continues as such, “The news of his death came so suddenly that all the staff and people who have worked together to create this work are still in disbelief and in deep sorrow. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Director Suzuki for his great efforts in the animation EDENS ZERO. We would like to express our deepest condolences to the bereaved family.” Suzuki had been working on the series as director, and contributed work to series such as Fairy Tail, Space Brothers, and Talentless Nana in the past. 

If you wanted to see some of Suzuki’s work in action with Edens Zero, you can currently find the first 12 episodes of the anime now streaming on Netflix. It’s described as such, “It is the year X492, an age in which people freely travel through the universe. Rebecca, a video-creating B-Cuber, visits the robotic world of Granbell and meets a young man with special powers: Shiki, who’s lived his entire life among machines. Soon Shiki is exploring the cosmos with Rebecca, encountering new places, people and things, and making friends along the way. Join in the adventure starting in 2021 on Netflix.”

Yuji Suzuki’s passing is a huge loss that will be felt for a long time, and he will be missed by his friends and family.