Art Director Shichirou Kobayashi died due to congestive heart failure on August 25. He was 89 years old.

Kobayashi was born in August 1932, in Hokkaido prefecture and joined Toei Animation in 1964 after graduating from Musashino Art University. In 1968, he founded Kobayashi Production, which primarily focused on background art.

Kobayashi's portfolio as an art director include Lupin III: Cagliostro no Shiro (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro), Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena), Kenpuu Denki Berserk (Berserk), Nodame Cantabile, and Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (Maid-sama!). He worked as the art director for the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes television anime in Fall 2010 before retiring.

Kobayashi won the Best Art award at the Japan Anime Awards in 1986, Distinguished Achievement Award at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2009, and the Film Achievement Prize at the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2011.

Source: Comic Natalie