Animator Youichi Oonishi Passes Away

Animator Eisaku Inoue announced on Facebook on January 8, 2025, that animator and character designer Youichi Oonishi (大西陽一) has passed away. No further details were given.

Youichi Oonishi joined the industry as an animator at sub-contracting studio Monsieur Onion Production in the early-to-mid 1980s. Some of his first jobs were primarily situated around Toei Animation, where he did in-betweens on works like Fist of the North Star (1984) and Great Riot! Seigi Choujin (1984). By the early 1990s, he had been promoted to key animator and animation director, for which he was one of the animation directors on rotation for the original Slam Dunk (1993) television series. In 1996, he got his first job as a character designer on Toei and chief director Yukio Kaizawa’s adaptation of Hell Teacher Nube. He would also design the characters for the studio’s adaptation of Kanon (2002) and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (2006), among others, and was one of the animation directors on rotation for Doctor Slump (1997).

Throughout the mid-to-late 2000s, Oonishi participated across a number of works, and in 2012 became one of the animation directors on rotation for Saint Seiya Omega and later contributed to Dragon Ball Super. Most recently, Oonishi had worked on some episodes of Astro Note and A Condition Called Love as an animation director, and since 2023 had been the character designer and chief animation director for the ongoing Tousouchuu: Great Mission television series.

As Inoue’s desk at the studio was close to Oonishi’s, he saw Oonishi whenever he got up to get coffee.

Featured image:
Kanon, © Visual Art’s / Key / Toei Animation
Hell Teacher Nube, © Sho Makura, Takeshi Okano / SHUEISHA, TV Asahi, Dentsu, Toei Animation
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, © Yoshio Sawai / SHUEISHA, Toei Animation