Japanese animation artist Yoshito Usui, best known for the popular manga/anime 'Crayon Shin-chan', was found dead at the base of a cliff on the 19th September 2009. Usui went missing on the 11th September after telling his family he was planning to climb a mountain in Gunnma prefecture, north of Tokyo.
The body of 51 year old Usui was discovered by a hiker on Saturday morning, and a Gunma Prefectural Police helicopter lifted it out of the area on Sunday afternoon. An autopsy conducted at Shimonita Police Station concluded that Usui died after his lungs were crushed from the impact of the fall. The cause of the incident is still being investigated, but his family did not believe Usui to be suicidal.
'Crayon Shin-chan' started as a series in Futabasha's "Shukan Manga Action" magazine in 1990. The stories centred around a kindergartener named Shinnosuke Nohara, who lives in the city of Kasukabe and loves beautiful girls. The series became an instant hit and in 1992 an animated television version was also launched. Since 2000, 'Crayon Shin-chan' has been carried in the monthly "Manga Town" publication and is set to continue until the December issue.
'Crayon Shin-chan' was released on DVD by Funimation and is available now from Amazon.com.