“The Vision of Escaflowne”. Image: Twitter/@nobuteruyuuki
To pay tribute to the passing of colleague and anime producer Minoru Takanashi, character designer and animator Nobuteru Yuuki posted a Tweet last April 12.
Roughly translated, “Bandai visual producer Takanashi Minoru has passed away. I think Escaflowne would not have been realized without his planning power. We truly appreciate the work done in developing various goods for 2199 (Space Warship Yamato 2199). It seemed only yesterday that our eyes were sparkling with wonder. May his soul rest in peace.” Image: Twitter/@nobuteruyuuki
Anime News Network reports that Takanashi was involved in the development of content in Bandai Visual for almost three decades. He was part of the team for most Macross projects, including Macross II, Macross Plus, Macross 7 and Macross Zero. There was also a proposed live-action Macross movie that has remained unproduced.
Apart from his work on the Macross series, he also acted as Bandai Visual’s project planner for a number of high-profile titles. These include “Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket”, “The Vision of Escaflowne”, “Gunbuster”, “Giant Robo”, “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie” and “Wolf’s Rain”, to name a few.
Takanashi also regularly participated in Anime Expo and other overseas conventions as a guest. Alfred Bayle/JB