[Old News] Leiji Matsumoto, a cartoonist known for 'Galaxy Express 999' and 'Space Battleship Yamato' dies



It turned out that Leiji Matsumoto, a manga artist known for `` Galaxy Express 999 '', `` Space Battleship Yamato '', and `` Space Pirate Captain Harlock '', died of acute heart failure on February 13, 2023 (Monday). I was 85 years old.





'Space Battleship Yamato' 'Galaxy Express 999' Reiji Matsumoto dies, 85 years old Acute heart failure-Okuyami: Nikkan Sports
https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202302200000303.html

Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto dies at 85 years old Works such as 'Space Battleship Yamato' | NHK |
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20230220/k10013985711000.html



Matsumoto was born in 1938 in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture. I have loved drawing since I was in elementary school, and when I was 9 years old, I started drawing manga when I met Tezuka Osamu's 'New Treasure Island' and 'Moon World Gentleman'.

And when he was 16 years old, he drew 'Honeybee's Adventure' and was selected as the 1st Rookie of the Year in Manga Shonen. It was in 1957, after graduating from high school, that I started working as a cartoonist in earnest, and my debut work as a cartoonist was 'Kuroi Hanabana', which was published in the girls' manga magazine Shoujo. At the time of her debut, she was active as a shoujo manga artist under the name of 'Akira Matsumoto'.

In 1962, he married manga artist Miyako Maki . For a while, he continued to write for shoujo manga magazines, but in 1968 he serialized the sci-fi manga 'Sexaloid' in the magazine/manga Goraku dokuhon. In 1971, ' Otoko Oidon ' serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine became his first hit.

I was invited to work as a mechanical designer on the TV anime 'Space Battleship Yamato', but halfway through I became deeply involved in overall production, including character and story creation. Mr. Matsumoto also wrote the manga version of Space Battleship Yamato.



Space Battleship Yamato sparked an anime boom that could be called a social phenomenon, and with the success of Space Battleship Yamato, Mr. Matsumoto's long-running sci-fi cartoons 'Galaxy Express 999' and 'Space Pirate Captain Harlock' were also made into animations, becoming huge hits. Recorded.



In recognition of these achievements, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2001. In 2012, he received the Chevalier of the French Order of Arts and Letters . Mr. Matsumoto is popular not only in Japan but also overseas .

Daft Punk-Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Official Video)-YouTube


In 2019, it was reported that he fell ill while visiting Italy to attend an event and was rushed to a local hospital. At this time, there was no life-threatening condition, and Mr. Matsumoto announced the following comments after being discharged from the hospital.

To all the fans, I am very sorry for worrying you. There have been various reports, but I am fine. It's true that Italy at that time was extremely cold and I had a bad cold and fell asleep, but more than that, I slipped and fell several times, which required all sorts of tests, and I couldn't return home. After returning to Japan, I checked every corner of my body again, and it was confirmed that I was in such good health that I didn't need to change my diet or lifestyle! Please rest assured.

Since I was in the hospital for a long time, my muscle strength seems to have weakened a little, so I'm doing my best now while doing muscle training slowly so that I can return to work as soon as possible. However, thanks to this time, many ideas were born in my head. I feel that the time has finally come to challenge the story that should be drawn. We will report on future activities and new works through this website. Thank you for your continued support.

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in Video,   Manga, Posted by log1i_yk