Japanese news agency Kyodo News reported on Monday that manga author and animator Haruo Takahashi passed away on January 12 at a hospital in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Takahashi’s cause of death was not disclosed. He was 76 years old. His family will hold a funeral, with Haruka Takahashi, his eldest son, as chief mourner.
Manga artist Shigeru Tagawa also posted a tweet about Takahashi’s death, along with a screenshot. The ending credits of the anime Himitsu no Akko-chan list Takahashi as the animator.
Takahashi was born on March 30, 1947 in Hachioji city in Tokyo.
He drew the storyboards for the first Tensai Bakabon series and the first Lupine 3rd television anime in 1971. He was the chief assistant animator for the 1978 animated film Ringing Bell (Chirin no Suzu) .
Takahashi debuted as a manga artist in 1978. He became famous for his gag manga that incorporated current events. His four-panel manga Iwayuru Hitotsu no Chō-san Shugi was serialized in Bungeishunjū’s Weekly Bunshun magazine. The manga won the Bungeishunjū Manga Award in 1984 and in 2010, after 27 years, Takahashi ended the series.
Source: Natalie Comics