RIP: Veteran anime director with Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece credits passes away at 71

Japanese animator and director Shigeki Awai (or Shigenori Awai) has passed away. He was 71 years old.

Heartbreaking news shook the anime community this week, as reports and tributes following Shigeki Awai's passing poured out through reliable sources. Anime News Centre, an Instagram news and media source, announced on March 19 that the veteran anime episode director had been working in the industry as a key animator since the 1980s.

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Veteran anime director Shigeki Awai's works

His illustrious oeuvre included directing an estimated 200+ episodes and contributing to the key animation of around 400-500 episodes.

According to the artist's profiles on MyAnimeList and Anime News Network, Shigeki Awai left his mark on beloved franchises like My Hero Academia, Black Clover, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, Bungo Stray Dogs, Naruto: Shippuden, Bokuto: Naruto Next Generations, Detective Conan, Doraemon, Food Wars!, Haikyu, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Kuroko's Basketball, Mobile Suit Gundam, One Piece, Seven Deadly Sins, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Tower of God, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade and more.

His more recent credits included The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2, Suicide Squad ISEKAI, Uzumaki and Terminator Zero.

Tributes pour in for legendary anime director

Animator Tsutomu Ohno, who contributed to anime such as Bleach, Blue Lock Season 2, MF Ghost, Oshi no Ko, Sword Art Online, Tokyo Ghoul, Wind Breaker, and more, penned a heartwarming tribute to Shigeki Awai. At a specific point in time, both Ohno and Awai were affiliated with Studio Musashi.

Ohno reminisced how he relied on the late prolific animator for guidance. He also looked back to the time when they both worked on an episode of ODDTAXI anime. While Ohno joined the crew as an animation director, Shigeki Awai led the charge as the episode director.

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According to Anime Atelier, Hideaki Matsuoka, a fellow animator known for Code Geass, alongside other credits for Black Clover, Attack on Titan, Durarara, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, also remembered the good old times in the 80s and 90s as they worked together on many projects.