Toei President and CEO, Osamu Tezuka, has died.
As detailed by Anime News Network, Toei recently confirmed that Tezuka (of no relation to the manga artist of the same name) passed away at the age of 62. A cause of death was not given. While a funeral will be held for Tezuka’s close family and relatives, Toei also plans to organize a memorial service for the late President.
Born in 1960, Osamu Tezuka served as an employee for Toei for almost 40 years. After joining the company in 1983, he was made an official board member in 2012, a managing director in 2016, and finally President and CEO in 2020. Noriyuki Tada, Toei’s managing director and chairman, is serving as the company’s current President in addition to his other roles for the time being.
Founded in 1948, Toei is responsible for some of the most beloved anime franchises of all time, including Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece and Digimon. The company’s first feature-length animated film, Hakujaden, or The Legend of the White Snake, was released in 1958 and is reportedly the film that inspired legendary filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, to choose a career in animation. In North America, the film was released under the alternate title Panda and the Magic Serpent. In television, Toei’s other hits include Mazinger Z, Galaxy Express 99, Transformers and Akira Toriyama’s Dr Slump, which came out five years before the first Dragon Ball anime.
The last few years have seen major theatrical successes for Toei. Last year, it earned over 32.5 billion yen (equivalent to about $246 million) in theatrical box office earnings, shattering its previous record of 17.9 billion yen (about $135 million). Toei attributes this milestone directly to One Piece Film: Red and The First Slam Dunk, which came out in Japan on Aug. 6 and Dec. 3, respectively. The former film alone earned over 19 billion yen (about $142 million) on the backs of over 13.79 million ticket sales. It also did well in North America, earning over $9.3 million in theaters throughout the United States and Canada. Still in the midst of its theatrical run, Takehiko Inoue’s The First Slam Dunk has earned over 10 billion yen ($75 million) on the backs of over 6.87 million tickets sold as of Feb. 9.
Toei has not yet announced when Tezuka’s memorial service will take place.
Source: Anime News Network
Leave a Reply