Through various Japanese news sources, Anime News Network confirms that manga creator Yoshito Usui has died, after his body was found near a mountain in Gunma Prefecture.
The 51-year old creator of Crayon Shin-Chan was reported missing after he failed to return from a hiking trip on September 11, 2009. The body was sighted by a mountain climber on Saturday, September 19 at the bottom of Tomoiwa cliff, on Arafune mountain. It took authorities until Sunday morning to positively identify the body as Usui.
Futabasha, the publisher of Manga Town, the magazine that is currently serializing Crayon Shin-Chan has announced that they will continue to run the remaining installments of the series through November, but that the "future publication [of Crayon Shin-chan] is to be determined." Futabasha also extended their condolences to Usui's family.
The title character of Crayon Shin-Chan is Shinnosuke Nohara, a mischievous five-year old who has a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, and generally getting into trouble. Crayon-Shin Chan has been adapted as an animated TV series and 17 feature-length animated films. CMX Manga is currently publishing the Crayon Shin-Chan manga in the U.S., with Volume 10 due out in December 2010.
Image credit: © Yoshito Usui
Comments
shin chan was my favorite cartoon,im 12 years old,god bless the creator and may he rest in peace