Scriptwriter Hiroyuki Kawasaki Dies at 60
Kawasaki's death removes a veteran writer whose career spanned decades and key titles from the 1990s and 2000s, and whose work as a mentor through his own writing group shaped a generation of anime screenwriters.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, MyAnimeList, Niche Gamer (Anime).
Scriptwriter Hiroyuki Kawasaki died on January 23, fellow screenwriter Takao Koyama announced on X/Twitter on Thursday. Kawasaki was 60. He was born on November 17, 1965. Koyama, who founded the screenwriter training group Brazaanoppo in 1988, noted that Kawasaki was among its first members and called him "one of the most prolific screenwriters among the Noppo members." Brazaanoppo disbanded in 2016, and some of its members later joined Kawasaki's own group, Hiroyuki Kawasaki's Screenwriting and Research. Kawasaki wrote scripts and series compositions for numerous anime, including Blade of the Immortal, Ryoko's Case File, Silent Möbius, After War Gundam X, Sakura Wars, and Shinkon Gattai Godannar. He also co-wrote the Love Hina light novel. Animation director Masami Obari posted a tribute on X, saying he was "greatly indebted" to Kawasaki for Platinumhugen Ordian.
Koyama's post on X/Twitter on Thursday broke the news that Kawasaki had died on January 23, more than four months prior. The delay in public announcement was not explained by sources. Koyama described Kawasaki as a founding member of Brazaanoppo, the screenwriter collective Koyama established in 1988 to discover and train anime writers. The group officially disbanded in 2016. After its dissolution, some former Brazaanoppo members moved to Kawasaki's own organization, Hiroyuki Kawasaki's Screenwriting and Research. Masami Obari, the animation director and animator known for works such as Fatal Fury and GaoGaiGar, posted a tribute on X specifically citing Kawasaki's work on Platinumhugen Ordian, a mecha anime from the late 1990s. Kawasaki's scriptwriting credits also include the series compositions for the full-length Sakura Wars television series and the After War Gundam X run, both of which required him to oversee episode-by-episode story arcs. The Love Hina light novel co-writing credit adds a novelization dimension to a career otherwise centered on television anime.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Scriptwriter Hiroyuki Kawasaki Dies
- MyAnimeList Hiroyuki Kawasaki, 'Tsubasa Chronicle' and 'Mugen no Juunin' Scriptwriter, Dies at 60
- Niche Gamer (Anime) After War Gundam X screenwriter Hiroyuki Kawasaki dies at 60