Zero Matsumoto created watercolor paintings in solidarity with the earthquake-stricken areas of his hometown of Kumamoto Prefecture. (Oriental IC)
According to foreign media reports, 81-year-old Japanese manga artist Matsumoto Yukishi was suspected of being hospitalized for a stroke during an event in Italy on the 15th.
According to Japan's "Kyodo News Agency" quoted the Italian "Corriere della Sera" on the 16th, Matsumoto Specially visited Turin in order to attend the 40th anniversary of the animation of the representative work "Cosmic Pirate Captain Harock" in Italy.
Manhole cover with the theme of "Galaxy Railway 999" in Kitakyushu, Japan (Oriental IC)
He arrived at the cinema scheduled to release "Galaxy Railway 999" on the evening of the 15th, but due to physical discomfort, he was persuaded by the staff to return to the hotel to rest. He was allegedly rushed to hospital afterwards.
In 1971, Matsumoto began serializing "We Are Men" in magazines about the poor life of young people renting a house in Tokyo, which won praise.
In 1974, the anime series "Space Battleship Yamato" broadcast on television began the animation boom that followed, and Matsumoto's masterpieces "Galaxy Railway 999", "Captain Harock the Cosmic Pirate", and "Millennium Queen" were also made into animation films.
Matsumoto has served as chairman of the Japan Cosmic Youth League, professor at Takarazuka University, and visiting professor at Kyoto Sangyo University. He is also known for his active presentations in the global environment and intellectual property. In 2001, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal and in 2010, he was awarded the Rising Sun Ribbon.