Masami Suda, Slam Dunk and Fist of North Star Legend, Dies at 77
The world of animation lost a major talent with the passing of Masami Suda, an anime director that [...]
The world of animation lost a major talent with the passing of Masami Suda, an anime director that had lent his talents to the likes of Fist of the North Star, Speed Racer, and Slam Dunk to name a few. Originally getting his start within the medium via Tatsunoko Productions, Suda worked several times for Toei Animation throughout his career that saw him also working as both a character designer and an animator across a number of different series throughout the decades. Suda was also a prominent member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association.
The news of Suda's passing was revealed by Twitter User Olivier Fallaix, breaking down some of the big works of his career that had spanned decades and saw him working on countless series including Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lupin The 3rd, and Hellsing, going to show how versatile he could be:
L'animateur Masami Suda est décédé à l'âge de 77 ans. Son travail le plus marquant fut le character design de Hokuto no Ken (Ken le survivant). Il est venu plusieurs fois en France à Cartoonist et Chibi Japan Expo. Il était membre de @janica_jp (source : Pierre Giner) pic.twitter.com/ckWqeKocHJ
— Olivier Fallaix (@OlivierFallaix) August 17, 2021
The translation of the Tweet reads as such:
"Host Masami Suda has passed away at the age of 77. His most notable work was the character design of Hokuto no Ken (Ken the Survivor). He has been to Cartoonist and Chibi Japan Expo several times in France. He was a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association."
Suda's final anime series that he contributed to was Fist of the Blue Sky, which was released in 2018, and has the following official description:
"Long before Kenshiro said, "You're already dead," a different Kenshiro walked the violent streets of Shanghai. The city is in constant crisis as two mafia families battle one another for supremacy. In the crossfire, a little girl named Erika is orphaned and soon taken under the wing of martial artist Liu Fei-Yan. Sorrow seems to follow the girl, as every time Fei-Yan attempts to hand her off, her new guardians end up dead. Fei-Yan decides to bring the girl to a man named Guise but instead crosses paths with powerful Kenshiro Kasumi."
Our thoughts are with the family of Masami Suda during this difficult time.