Legendary toy designer, planner, and mechanical creator Katsushi Murakami has passed away at the age of 83 on July 20, following a period of declining health over the past year.
Born in Gifu, Japan, on September 23, 1942, Murakami left an indelible mark on the anime and toy industries.
Throughout his career, he contributed mechanical designs to a wide array of notable anime series, including Shin Tetsujin 28, Gold Lightan – The Golden Warrior, Machine Robo: Battle Hackers, Video Warrior Laserion, Reideen the Brave, Gekisō! Rubenkaiser, Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula, and Space Adventure Cobra. Additionally, he designed vehicles for F-Zero Falcon Densetsu and served as a planner for projects such as 3×3 Eyes, Little Twins, and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: The Movie.
After beginning his career at Bandai in 1961 and later working with its subsidiary Popy, Murakami became widely celebrated for creating the iconic “Chogokin” line of die-cast metal robot toys—named after the futuristic alloy used to build the iconic mecha in Mazinger Z. His visionary toy designs also extended to live-action tokusatsu and sentai franchises, including the classic Kamen Rider series.
Source: Dengeki Hobby Web via Alien Anvil
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