Kunihiko Hamada, a veteran animator and character designer, announced on his personal X/Twitter account last Sunday, which was also his birthday, that he ended his work with studio Madhouse at the end of March and has already moved on to a new company.
35 Years with Madhouse
Hamada began his career at Madhouse in 1990, with Cyber City Oedo 808 as his first work. His relationship with the studio spanned 35 years, more than 20 of them as a full-time employee. He also noted that he did not receive severance pay when leaving the company.
Notable Works Across His Career
Over the years, Hamada has served as chief animation director on many well-known series, including:
- Monster
- NANA
- Kaiji -Ultimate Survivor-
- Chihayafuru
- My Love Story!! (Ore Monogatari!!)
He is also known as a character designer for works such as NANA, Chihayafuru, My Love Story!!, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, and My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999.
On the animation side, he also contributed to major projects including Summer Wars and No Game, No Life.
His Name Still Appears in Recent Work
Although Hamada has left Madhouse, the studio’s recent work A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA, which aired this past April, still credits him as the series’ character designer.
Fans are now watching to see where Hamada will bring his talents next.
Source: ann_jp

