Today, the anime industry is mourning the loss of one of its brightest executives. On December 25th, Yuji Nunokawa passed away at 75 years old. The creator of Studio Pierrot is said to have passed at home.
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If you are not familiar with Nunokawa or their work, you should know they helped turn Pierrot into the powerhouse we know today. During their career, the executive did everything from producing to panning and even directing. Of course, the majority of their work involved Pierrot titles, so Nunokawa helped oversee some of the shonen’s biggest titles.
For instance, the director helped oversee Naruto from the get-go and acted as executive producer on a number of its films. As for Bleach, Nunokawa helped bring its films to life. The founder also worked on popular titles such as Yu Yu Hakusho, Urusei Yatsura, and more.
As for Studio Pierrot, the company was formally established in May 1979 as Nunokawa brought together talent from Mushi Production and Tatsunoko Production. Michiyuki Honma serves as CEO at the present, and back in the day, Nunokawa helped found the studio with Hisayuki Toriumi. After getting to work in the 1980s, Pierrot became a success in less than a decade, but its global notoriety exploded when Yu Yu Hakusho debuted in 1992. By the time Naruto began in October 2002, Pierrot was a household name in the anime industry, and it has continued to thrive. Most recently, the studio has earned praise for its work on shows like Black Clover and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War.
Our thoughts are with Nunokawa’s loved ones at this time. May he rest in peace.ย
