Leiji Matsumoto, whose real name was Akira Matsumoto, has died at the age of 85, according to a statement from his studio.
Studio Leijisha stated in a statement that he died of sudden heart failure on February 13th.
Matsumoto was recognized for his epic science fiction sagas, such as Galaxy Express 999, Queen Emeraldas, and Space Battleship Yamato.
His works frequently dealt with anti-war themes and emotional narratives.
Matsumoto’s daughter, Makiko Matsumoto, who is the head of Studio Leijisha, stated in the statement that he was the inspiration for the film “A trip to the sea of stars was undertaken. I believe he led a pleasant life, considering continuing to draw manga stories.”
Mitsubachi no Boken (Honey Bee’s Adventures), Matsumoto’s first work, was published in a manga magazine when he was 15 years old. He was born in 1938 in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture.
After graduating from high school, he came to Tokyo to pursue his ambition of becoming a successful artist.
In 1961, he wed Miyako Maki, a renowned manga artist and one of the earliest female manga artists in Japan. They worked on other projects together, and he changed his name to Leiji Matsumoto.
His big break came a decade later when he wrote Otoko Oidon, a series about a poor college student preparing for examinations. It received the Kodansha Publication Prize for Children’s Manga and was a tremendous hit.
Some of his manga comics have been adapted into anime television programs, notably the science-fiction epic Space Pirate Captain Harlock, which recounts the adventures of an outcast who becomes a space pirate.
Matsumoto was seven years old when World War II ended; more than 150 of his manga stories highlighted the horror of war.
Several years later, he said that his father, a former elite army pilot, had inspired him by teaching him that war should never be waged since it “destroys your future.”
Zack Davisson, a Californian author who translated a significant portion of Matsumoto’s works, stated on Twitter that the world had lost a “true giant.”
He noted that Matsumoto’s portrayal of emotionally vulnerable youths and young men demonstrated that it is acceptable to have emotions: “Star Blazers and Galaxy Express was a gut-wrenching experience. People… perished. People… wept. They… fell in love.”
“There was an incredible melancholy in his creations, a grandeur nowhere else witnessed. All wrapped in visually striking mythological and futuristic imagery “Mr Davisson remarked.
Daft Punk, admirers of Matsumoto’s art, commissioned him to make a number of animated music videos for them, most notably for the 2000 single One More Time.
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo both mentioned Matsumoto as a boyhood hero.
Together, they also produced the animated feature Interstella 5555, about an alien band. The Japanese journal Pen Online called it a cult classic before its release.
In 1999, a series of bronze monuments depicting characters or scenes from Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999 was constructed in the Japanese coastal city of Tsuruga.
Matsumoto has earned several renowned cultural and arts awards from Japan, including the Order of the Rising Sun, and the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government.
Due to the popularity of his works, they have been adapted and spawned spin-offs, impacting generations of manga and anime fans.
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