Another veteran of the manga industry has left us, this time with the passing of manga creator Gosaku Ota at the age of 74. Haruka Takachiho, co-founder of Studio Nue, reported the sad news via Twitter on Sunday.
Though Ota stabilized after catching COVID-19 at the end of November, he contracted pneumonia as his strength decreased, which has been reported as the cause of his death.
Prior to his debut as a shojo manga creator, he got his start in the industry as one of Shotaro Ishinomori’s assistants. Some of Ota’s most well-known works include manga adaptations of Go Nagai creations like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, UFO Robo Grandizer, Getter Robo, Getter Robo G and Kotetsu Zieg.
Our thoughts go out to Gosaku Ota’s family members, friends and colleagues.