Osamu Dezaki died recently, at the age of only 67 - of lung cancer.
When I found out the news, I momentarily turned into a detailed painting at the shock of it all.
There's a nice obituary for him on the Manga Entertainment website. They've published quite a few of his films in English, for example Golgo 13, Black Jack, and Space Adventure Cobra.
He is my all-time favourite anime director. He had a long and distinguished career spanning from the 1960s to almost the present day (as a result, I thought he would be older than he was). I'd been slowly making my way through his works, and enjoy the vast majority of what he's done, if not all. I'm currently watching "Hakugei: Legend Of The Moby Dick" and am really enjoying it.
His best works out of what I've seen so far:
* Rose of Versailles (he did the 2nd half of the series)
* Oniisama e
* Ace o Nerae
* Ashita no Joe
* Air (the movie adaptation)
I haven't seen the whole of Ace o Nerae or Ashita no Joe.
I'm feeling quite a sense of loss. May he rest in peace.
