Joseph Luster
September 26, 2021 
As announced during a Tokyo screening of 1973’s Belladonna of Sadness over the weekend, the anime film’s director, Eiichi Yamamoto, passed away due to heart failure on September 7. Yamamoto was 80 years old, and his close family held a funeral for him on September 12.
According to event organizers, a family member contacted them and told them the news after they saw a listing for the Belladonna of Sadness screening on social media. Despite being sick for the past few years, Yamamoto had maintained his enthusiasm for creating works and anime in general.
Yamamoto got his start in animation when he joined Ryuichi Yokoyama’s Otogi Productions, shortly after which he caught wind of a new studio being started up by the God of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka. He then became one of the founding Mushi Production members in 1961, co-directing Tales of the Street Corner, the studio’s first work. He went on to direct episodes of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, the Cleopatra anime film, and more.
Yamamoto’s final anime film for MushiPro prior to it going bankrupt would be the cult classic Belladonna of Sadness. He also wrote screenplays for the Space Battleship Yamato anime, co-directed Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight, and handled many other projects throughout his career.
Our thoughts go out to Yamamoto’s family, industry colleagues, and friends.
Via Crunchyroll
