Joseph Luster
September 11, 2023 
Another legend of the manga world is no longer with us, as word came out on Monday of the passing of manga author Buichi Terasawa. Known for creating works like Space Adventure Cobra and Goku – Midnight Eye, Terasawa passed away on September 8 due to a heart attack at the age of 68.
Back in 1998, Terasawa was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, a fact he did not publicly reveal until 2003. The cancer relapsed, even with radiation and chemotherapy treatment, and the left side of his body was left paralyzed after his second surgery.
The original Cobra manga ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1978 to 1984, inspiring a 31-episode TV anime adaptation and an anime film in 1982. Terasawa’s Goku – Midnight Eye manga followed in 1987 and was adapted into a pair of OVAs in 1989. During his career, he also embraced working with computers to make manga as early as the 1980s, with his Takeru manga considered to be the first comic series created with computer graphics. Other Terasawa creations include the Kabuto and Black Knight Bat manga, and he also kicked off a Cobra sequel, Cobra: Over the Rainbow, in 2019.
Our thoughts go out to the friends, family and colleagues of Buichi Terasawa, who left an indelible mark in his field.
