Illustrator and animator Mutsumi Inomata has passed away at the age of 63. Her sister released a notification about You can see the full announcement and translation below.
Mutsumi Inomata has passed away | Notification
It happened so suddenly… There were even unfinished rough sketches, but she must have been drawing them in heaven.
Surrounded by her beloved cats, she should have continuously created cute and strong-eyed characters.
We express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has loved and supported Mutsumi Inomata.
We sincerely hope for your continued love and support in the future and inform you with deep respect.
The funeral is held privately for relatives only.
In accordance with the wishes of the deceased, we respectfully decline any condolences, monetary gifts, offerings, floral tributes or any other form of condolence.
We kindly extend our condolences of sympathy.
Kadokawa also released a statement, offering condolences and mentioning that they had worked with Mutsumi since the 1980s and some of its most famous works.
She is the main character designer for multiple Tales games, and she has worked as an animator, character designer, and animation director for several anime titles, including Windaria, Brain Powerd, and Future GPX Cyber Formula.
She is the illustrator of the novels Utsunomiko (written by Keisuke Fujikawa) and The Weathering Continent (written by Sei Takegawa). She also worked as an illustrator for Dragon Quest. Many of her illustrations have been collected in her art books, including Voice of the Stars, Dreams of the Moon and SAI, among many others.
She was also a manga artist, debuting with GB Bomber and writing Nyan no Ohanashi (Anime Juke Mix) based on her love for cats.
Source: Official website