Mutsumi Inomata, a longtime illustrator and character designer for video games, passed away on March 10 at 63 years old.
Per her official Twitter, her family held a private funeral, and a cause of death was not disclosed.
“It happened so suddenly,” wrote her sister. “She still has rough drafts, which I’m sure are still being worked on in heaven. Surrounded by her favorite cats, she’s surely creating more cute, strong-eyed characters.”
Born December 23, 1960, Inomata is best known for her work on Bandai Namco’s Tales games. Beginning with 1997’s Tales of Destiny, she would work as a lead character designer on most mainline entries up to 2016’s Tales of Berseria.
While at Bandai Namco, she also briefly did character design for the Tekken series with Tekken 5, Tekken 6, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Along with games, Inomata was a character designer or animator for anime. Those series ranged from City Hunter (and its sequel) to Sacred Seven and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny.
While the Inomata family declined any condolence gifts, her sister encouraged people to share their thoughts and memories of the late artist in the replies. “I plan to keep this account open for a while anyway. […] I’m sure it will reach [her].”