In what is sad news for anime fans, it was announced recently that Fullmetal Alchemist writer and long-time Evangelion producer Manabu Ishikawa has passed away.
The news was revealed recently by talent agency Office PAC and anime industry veteran Mitsuyasu Sakai, though there weren’t a lot of details revealed regarding Ishikawa’s passing.
While Ishikawa might not be as well-known among newer anime fans, he is a well-regarded veteran in the industry, as he has worked on numerous popular anime titles over the past decades.
Manabu Ishikawa: A Notable Anime Producer and Writer
Manabu Ishikawa’s career began decades ago, and he has worked with the anime studio Tatsunoko Production on various anime productions.
For instance, he worked as the series composer for several Yozakura Quartet series.
One of his most notable projects is Fullmetal Alchemist, where he served as the scriptwriter for a few episodes.
Take note though, Ishikawa worked on the original 2003 anime and not Brotherhood.
The first Fullmetal Alchemist was released in 2003, and while it was also made by Bones, the series’ latter parts were a major departure from the manga story-wise.
Ishikawa is also a key staff member in Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. For starters, Ishikawa served as a producer in the original 1998 anime.
Since then, Ishikawa has also been involved in future Evangelion projects. For instance, he served as an animation producer with Tatsunoko Production on the Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0 movies.
Aside from these, Ishikawa has also worked on various shows over the years, including titles like Love Hina, Psycho-Pass 2, Zaion: I Wish You Were Here, and Welcome to Irabu’s Office.
ALSO READ: Fullmetal Alchemist Watch Order: Which Should You Watch First?
Evangelion Producer Passes Away
Ishikawa’s passing was announced a few days ago by Mitsuyasu Sakai on Twitter.
There, Sakai shared his condolences for Ishikawa’s death, saying how they have worked together on some productions.
A day after, the talent agency Office PAC also expressed their condolences.
The statement also came via Twitter, and they shared how thankful they are for his help on Your Voice -KIMIKOE-.
In both statements, there was no word on Manabu Ishikawa’s cause of death, nor is there word regarding other details surrounding his passing.
Earlier this year, notable anime character designer Takahiro Kimura also passed away.
Kimura is best known for his iconic designs for Code Geass, as well as for other shows like Superior Defender Gundam Force.
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Source: Crunchyroll
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