(cache) Yoshito Usui, creator of Crayon Shin-chan, found dead

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > ADTRW: ULTRA GORGEOUS SUBFORUM ~* OJIICHAN *~ > Yoshito Usui, creator of Crayon Shin-chan, found dead

Gothic Lolita: Jul 26, 2003; I got a pretty good look at you.

I heard about Usui's death on the radio in Hong Kong (his work is popular here), and am quite surprised that there isn't a thread about it. He went hiking and fell off a cliff, apparently.

quote:

Famous Japanese manga artist falls to death in mountains

The popular Japanese manga artist of “Crayon Shin-chan,” Yoshito Usui, was found dead in the mountains of Gunma prefecture after apparently falling to his death off a cliff. Usui had reportedly gone missing on the 11th of the month after telling his family he was going for a day-hike in the mountains.

The body of 51 year old Yoshito Usui was discovered by a hiker yesterday, September 19th (JST), at the bottom of one of the steep cliffs of Mt. Arafune, about 90 miles northwest of Tokyo. The incident appears to have happened on the north face of the mountain just off a popular hiking trail on a part of the cliff that is about about 100 meters (330 feet) tall . Mt. Arafune is famous locally for its colored cliffs which run between 200 to 300 meters tall (about 650 to 1,000 feet) in some areas, and is considered to be one of the top 200 mountains in Japan. While there are no guard rails along the cliff edges, accidents on the mountain are reportedly rare.

Rescue workers yesterday were unable to retrieve the body, which was already believed to be lifeless. Today, September 20th, around 17 police officials hiked up to the body’s location and had it airlifted out by helicopter in the late afternoon. Although descriptions of the body’s clothing matched Usui’s, identification was not officially determined until late this evening after matching dental records. A broken digital camera and a beige bag were also found in the same vicinity.

Usui, who enjoyed hiking, left his home early in the morning of the 11th after telling his family that he was going to Mt.Arafune and would be back by the evening. However, when he didn’t return home or answer his cell phone on the 12th, his wife went to the police. A faint signal from the phone was located in the Mt. Arafune area on the 13th, but could not be pinpointed. The signal disappeared on the 15th according to reports.

The cause of the incident is still being investigated, but his family did not believe Usui to be suicidal.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-16352-Jap...th-in-mountains

My whole family love Crayon Shin-chan, and I was very shocked to hear about this on the radio. Sad that no more new stuff will come out, hope the family is coping well.

Gothic Lolita fucked around with this message at Sep 21, 2009 around 03:52

# ? Sep 20, 2009 17:39

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# ? Sep 23, 2009 09:50

Righteous Oyster: Jun 11, 2007; The finest mollusk ever to grace the world

Gothic Lolita posted:

I heard about Usui's death on the radio here in Hong Kong (his work is popular here), and am quite surprised that there isn't a thread about it here. He went hiking and fell off a cliff, apparently.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-16352-Jap...th-in-mountains

My whole family love Crayon Shin-chan, and I was very shocked to hear about this on the radio. Sad that no more new stuff will come out, hope the family is coping well.

Argh, I was just creating a thread about this. Oh well, you saved me the effort.

I hoped Usui was ok since I learnt of his dissapearance on September 11th. I don't know you, but Shin-chan was pretty big with kids here in Spain. He'll be sorely missed by manchildren like me and butt-dancers everywhere. Rest in peace, you rogue genius.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 17:42

OnimaruXLR: Sep 15, 2007; Lurklurklurklurklurk

An accidental death from falling off a cliff, in this day and age, just strikes me as really really hosed up for some reason. I'm sad he's gone, I really liked Shinchan even before Funimation added those extra 100+ jokes in.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 18:22

Rednuhtfonos: Nov 28, 2007; Ow. A godless womanizer and young temptress. Wow.

I grew up watching Shinchan on terrible fansubbed VHS tapes, this is so sad.

It'd be nice if important childhood things stayed sacred forever.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 18:41

livingfruitvirus: Nov 20, 2002; Grrr

I'm surprised this isn't getting more coverage in the anime world, considering this would be like if Matt Groening died here. Even though Shin chan doesn't uphold the anime status symbol, it's a classic over there.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 20:57

Radio Help: Mar 22, 2007; ^Chip_Chip_?

Aw man... thanks for the laughs, dude.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 21:07

Soth: Jul 21, 2004; And lo, the god of atheism didst smite the Mushroom Kingdom!

Gothic Lolita posted:

Usui, who enjoyed hiking, left his home early in the morning of the 11th after telling his family that he was going to Mt.Arafune and would be back by the evening.

9/11. A day which will live in infamy.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 21:21

ConanThe3rd: Mar 27, 2009

Apparently the manga will continue to November, on the principle that the dood had two further installments done ahead of time and the Anime is TBD but it's taking a pre-planed week out on October 15th.

But man, Shin-chan's been here there and everywhere. I mean I even remember that one time where Shin more or less flashed ChibiUsa in that one episode of Sailor Moon S (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ueiZbr4_Y) It's crazy to think that's been running for as long as it has.

# ? Sep 20, 2009 21:42

TenementFunster: Feb 20, 2003; never forget

Soth posted:

9/11. A day which will live in infamy.

word

# ? Sep 20, 2009 22:32

Ihatesoup: Jul 25, 2008

I've never liked Japanimation, but for some reason I loved Shin-chan.

Odd to just die falling off a cliff. I know it's plausible and all but it's seems pretty benign.

Never watched the dubs, but I like what Adult Swim was airing during the nights.

*sigh*

Another one of my favorite things, dead.

# ? Sep 21, 2009 00:38

Zarblebug: Jan 28, 2005; Be happy !!

Man, that sucks. Such a sad loss, and frustrating because it feels so meaningless. Usui was the source of a lot of laughs and heartfelt moments over the years, and he obviously had more in him. Although the manga will end, Shin-chan is more or less an institution at this point, and I'm sure the anime and films will continue on Usui's legacy. Still, really sad to lose the guy like that.

# ? Sep 21, 2009 01:22

Mirconium: Aug 01, 2009

Ihatesoup posted:

I've never liked Japanimation, but for some reason I loved Shin-chan.

Odd to just die falling off a cliff. I know it's plausible and all but it's seems pretty benign.

Never watched the dubs, but I like what Adult Swim was airing during the nights.

*sigh*

Another one of my favorite things, dead.

Cliffs are 600-1000 ft high. Not something I'd call benign.

# ? Sep 21, 2009 06:53

Guerrand: Mar 12, 2006; RING RING RING RING RING RING

I can't find the photo I saw of how tall (and sudden) the cliff was, but the video here should be enough.

Apparently they were able to recover the photos from the digital camera, and the final photo was a shot looking down from the cliff. Creepy and sad.

# ? Sep 21, 2009 07:05

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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > ADTRW: ULTRA GORGEOUS SUBFORUM ~* OJIICHAN *~ > Yoshito Usui, creator of Crayon Shin-chan, found dead