‘Naruto Shippuden’ Director Passes Away from Kidney Cancer at 57

Kobayashi’s Twitter shared the famed anime director died on April 17 after struggling with kidney cancer for two years, according to Anime News Network.

“Osamu Kobayashi, Aged 57—I set off for heaven last night. It’s unfortunate to say that I ran out of strength after battling kidney cancer for the past two years…It is regretful because there are still things I wanted to do and works I wanted to make. When I am reborn again, I will surely make some great works! Adios. The eternal 23-year-old,” the tweet said.

Born on Jan. 10, 1964 in Tokyo, Kobayashi worked as an animator, illustrator, mechanical designer and director, HITC reported.

Prior to the anime industry, he had designed a manga series after graduating high school.

In 1989, Kobayashi worked as a Mecha cleanup in the anime film “Venus Wars.”

He made his directorial debut with the 2002 film “Table and Fishman.”

Kobayashi later became well-known for his directorial work in the anime series “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad,” which ran from 2004 to 2005 and “Someday’s Dreamers: Summer Skies” in 2008.

One of his most notable works was directing a few episodes of the “Boyhood” filler arc in “Naruto Shippuden,” showing the characters when they were young, reported Hypebeast. The director also helped develop concept art for the 2014 film “The Last: Naruto the Movie.”

Many fans took to social media to extend their condolences.

Featured Image via @OctasInc (left) and iFrostHD (right)