Kyoto Animation announced on Monday that its president and co-founder Hideaki Hatta died on February 16. He was 76. His family held a private funeral.
京アニ社長・八田英明さん死去 76歳
「『よってたかって作る』を合言葉に」https://t.co/CmCR4ehSwJ
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京都アニメーションのサイトで発表。1985年の設立から四十余年にわたり「よってたかって作る」を合言葉にしてきたと紹介。「これからも世界中の皆さまに楽しんでいただける作品をよってたかって… pic.twitter.com/5X5h4v044C
— オリコンニュース (@oricon) March 2, 2026
© Kyoto Animation
Shinichirō Hatta has immediately been appointed as president and chief executive officer following Hideaki Hatta’s death.
Husband and wife Hideaki and Yōko Hatta founded Kyoto Animation in 1981. Hideaki and Yōko Hatta have served as the animation studio’s president and vice president, respectively, since they founded the company. The studio remains well-known in the industry for works with attention to detail and character animation, works that emphasize the unique voice of its creators, and fair and sustainable working conditions. Some of its best known works include The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-ON!, Lucky Star, Clannad, Free!, Sound! Euphonium, Violet Evergarden, Liz and the Blue Bird, and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.
The Hatta couple shepherded the studio through possibly its most trying time in 2019, when an arson fire killed 36 people and wounded 32 others in the studio.
Source: Kyoto Animation’s website via Hachima Kikō
