Minako Shiba, the character designer behind the Black Butler anime, has passed away at 50 years of age. Animators and character designers are the souls of the anime industry.
They are the ones who bring to life, our favorite protagonists, villains, and every person in a series.
Experienced animators like Shiba are a treasure because of their talent and work ethic. Animators in Japan work for their passion more than anything and losing a veteran staff is a loss to the anime industry as a whole.
It was revealed on 16th March 2021 that Minako Shiba, a veteran animator and character designer from Japan, had passed away. She has adapted character designs for anime like Black Butler, Noir, Hikaru no Go, and many more.
In our work, Minako Shiba, who was the character designer for “Hikaru no Go” and “Tegami Bachi”, has passed away.
We would like to express our deepest condolences.
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Both Studio Pierrot and P.A. Works have tweeted about Shiba’s untimely demise and have expressed their gratitude to her. However, the cause has not been revealed by any of the studios.
Minako Shiba’s first work was in the early 1990s and she had almost 30 years of experience. She has worked as a character designer, key animator, and animation director.
We would like to express our deepest condolences to Minako Shiba for her death. At “RDG Red Data Girl”, she was the character design and animation director, and she has made great efforts in many of our works so far. We pray for the souls and extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
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She has even worked as the key animator for famous series like Case Closed, and Ghost in the Shell. Fans remember her for the animation in the Red Data Girl or the Dr. Stone series.
She has also animated the opening and ending themes of some series.
The loss is insurmountable; there are fans who actively liked her works and were looking forward to more. However, this news has dampened the spirits of otakus as well as a vast majority of anime staff.
She was definitely someone who young animators could look up to and we all hope that she rests in peace.
About Black Butler
Black Butler anime is directed by Toshiya Shinohara and produced by A-1 Pictures. The anime has been adapted from the manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Yana Toboso.
Black Butler is a story about Ciel Phantomhive, who is known as “The Queen’s Guard Dog” for taking care of the troublesome issues that take place behind the Queen’s back.
He is accompanied by Sebastian, a demon in disguise as a butler. Sebastian has signed a contract with Ciel for his vengeance against those who did injustice to him.
This is a story that plays the tune of mystery, demon, and comedy in perfect harmony.
Source: Studio P.S Works Twitter
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