Osamu Kobayashi Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know


Ours Karigurashi Magazine via YouTube

Ours Karigurashi Magazine interview Osama Kobayashi in his home in 2016.

Beloved Anime Director Osamu Kobayashi died at 57 years old after battling kidney cancer for two years, according to a post on his Twitter profile.

“I regret that I still had something I wanted to do and work I wanted to make. I’m sure I’ll be reborn and make good work!” the post said (translated from Japanese). “Adios. From the eternal 23-year-old.”

Kobayashi was best known as the director of cult classics BECK and Paradise Kiss, while also directing individual episodes for Naruto: Shippuden and Gurren Lagann.

Here’s everything you need to know.


1. Kobayashi Was Influenced by Hayao Miyazaki and Yoshinori Kanada Growing Up, But The Film that Inspired Him the Most was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

In an interview with Otaku USA, Kobayashi said that Yoshinori Kanada, a legendary animator responsible for such classic shows as Galaxy Express 999 and Toward the Terra, was one of his biggest influences. Future Boy Conan, a show by Ghibli Co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, was another huge influence on Kobayashi.

He was also influenced by a number of live-action movies, such as those by Akira Kurosawa, John Ford and Howard Hawks. In fact, he said that the one film that inspired him above all others was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

“It’s an old movie, yeah, but I cried in the theater when I saw it,” Kobayashi said.


2. Kobayashi Was Known For His Down-To-Earth Style and Love of Rock Music

Beck Opening Sound(original)rola is a very good video and enjoy it says add it to your favorites.2010-11-15T03:08:49Z

Kobayashi got his start as the mechanical designer for 1988’s Dragon’s Heaven, according to Otaku USA.

One of his biggest claims to fame is BECK, a 2004 show adapted from the manga of the same name about a group of teens and their rock band. He then followed that up with Paradise Kiss, an adaptation of a women’s fashion manga.

In 2005, he created an indie music video for Artist Captain Funk for the song “Losin’ My Way”, and Kobayashi did all the animation himself. The short showcases his grungier style, making him stand out from his contemporaries.


3. He Also Worked on Cult Classic Game Grandia

Grandia 1 OST Disc 1 – 1. Theme of GrandiaComposed by Noriyuki Iwadare. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in…2008-12-07T03:39:51Z

Kobayashi worked on video games as well as anime. He was in charge of the world design of the 1997 cult classic Grandia (which received an HD remaster in 2019) and even influenced the music score of the game.

“It was a role-playing game, which tend to have these kind of big, orchestral scores, but I didn’t think that was the right fit for the game,” Kobayashi said. “I pushed the composer, Noriyuki Iwadare, to have a lot of world music. Bali, kecak, bagpipes, etc.”

He said that the game’s director liked the idea so much that he okayed it for the game.


4. He Also Directed Episodes for Naruto, Lupin III and the Infamous Episode of Gurren Lagann

鳥居のあちらの秘密基地|吉祥寺・A吉スタジオ 第三話 「都会に空き地を作ります」宣言OURS.KARIGURASHI MAGAZINE ours-magazine.jp カリグラシTV[鳥居のあちらの秘密基地|吉祥寺・A吉スタジオ] 第三話 「都会に空き地を作ります」宣言 出演: 森本晃司 木原知明 コバヤシオサム 西田茜 音楽:松野泉 撮影:高橋明大 音声・編集:高橋明大&西尾孔志 監督:高橋明大&西尾孔志(チーム孔明)2016-04-12T01:09:33Z

Kobayashi had a hand directing individual episodes in more mainstream anime shows, bringing his unmistakable style for that episode. Notable examples include episodes 480 through 483 of Naruto: Shippuden, episode 12 of Lupin III (2015), episode 15 of Dororo, episode seven of Kemonozume, episode five of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt and episode four of Studio Gainax’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Kobayashi told Otaku USA that the character designer of Gurren Lagann, Atsushi Nishigori, was also the character designer for BECK. Kobayashi expressed concern that the drawings he was doing for episode four didn’t look like what was established by Nishigori, but Nishigori was all for using Kobayashi’s designs.

I actually asked him about that when we were working on it. “Hey, are you going to change my drawings? They don’t look like your designs at all.” And he just said “It’s okay. I really want to see your drawings for this one.” That’s the truth! Some people talk bad about me, saying I’m selfish, doing it my own way, but like… that’s not really me in that episode.

The community reacted poorly to the new take on the style as it was quite a departure from the first three episodes.

The show attracted derision from some viewers on the online forum 2channel since the premiere of the first episode. Gainax Co-founder Takami Akai and Production Staffer Keiko Mimori started posting in the forum under aliases defending the show from criticism, according to Anime News Network. At one point, Akai posted that reading the comments on the show was “like putting my face next to an anus and breathing deeply.” Shortly after Akai and Mimori were found out on the forum, Akai resigned his position as board member of Gainax.


5. Fans Are Morning the Loss of Kobayashi

Fans have taken to Twitter to celebrate the legacy of Kobayashi.

Read More: Kyoto Animation Fire: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know



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