Kyoto Animation has announced the death of its president and chief executive officer Hideaki Hatta at the age of 76. Hatta passed on February 16.
Shinichiro Hatta, Hatta’s son and a Kyoto Animation producer, will take over the position.
A private wake and funeral were held for Hatta. It was requested that no “floral tributes, monetary contributions, or visits” be made.
Hatta was president and CEO at Kyoto Animation since it was established as a limited company in 1985 (Kyoto Animation was first founded in 1981, and became a corporation in 1999). The announcement says that he fulfilled his role “with the guiding principle of ‘all hands on deck,’ striving to build an entertainment company that values people and is grounded in sincere animation production.” That philosophy was noticed outside the studio, with industry observer and Sakuga Blog writer Kevin Cirugeda observing that the studio “operates in different ways than any other anime studio. Many unique features make them a much better workplace – objectively so in terms of working conditions, but also due to its family-like atmosphere.”
When the beloved animation studio’s Studio 1 building suffered a tragic arson attack in July 2019, taking the lives of more than 30 people and injuring almost as many, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Hatta remained at the site “until 6 p.m., consoling victims.” Later responses included a donation fund for the purpose of supporting the victims and their families and various forms of non-monetary support, including physician services and an effort to provide counseling aid.
Publicly, Hatta provided a face of empathy and resilience in the aftermath of the attack. “Rebuilding the company requires that people come together,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “As long as we have one person, we will keep going. We started from nothing. We will be together in this.” In 2020, Hatta said to Crunchyroll News: “We will continue to create animation for people all over the world to help them have dreams, hopes, and impress them.”
Prior to Kyoto Animation, Hatta worked at a railroad company and had a background in finance, according to anime director and animator Taku Sugiyama. Although Hatta held the studio’s top position, its creation is closely tied to Hatta’s wife (and Sugiyama’s younger sister) Yoko, who had experience coloring for Mushi Production. Sugiyama’s account says that Kyoto Animation’s roots can be directly traced to Kyoto Anime Studio, comprised of neighboring housewives gathered by Yoko to do finishing/painting work for anime. Kyoto Animation continued to focus on support work for many years, only releasing its first independent production, Munto, in 2003.
Hatta also has a slight connection with Production I.G, being an early investor back when it was founded as I.G Tatsunoko. A 37th anniversary message from Production I.G CEO and co-founder Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, who personally invited Kyoto Animation to participate in the 1987 anime Zillion by travelling to its home city, said that Hatta’s “invaluable support made it possible for me to launch this company.”
Update: Expanded on the fourth paragraph by including Kevin Cirugeda’s comment on Kyoto Animation’s positive practices.
Update 2: Added mention of Yoko Hatta’s Mushi Production past.
Source: @kyoani
