Anime director Yuji Yanase, who helmed multiple MAHO Film productions in the last few years, has died aged 59 from a heart attack.
The announcement was made by the X/Twitter accounts of the ongoing The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for The Throne and The World’s Strongest Rearguard TV anime, and also the MAHO Film website. Yanase is said to have passed on August 22, just weeks after appearing at Otakon 2026 as a guest.
Yanase spent much of his career as an animator, animation director, storyboard artist and episode director. Among the titles he was involved with early on include 1996’s Saber Marionette J (animation director), 1997’s Speed Racer (animation director and key animator), 1998’s Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (episode director and animation director), and 1999’s Excel Saga (animation director and key animator). As a director, Yanase’s initial credits include the 2001 adult animation Tokubetsu Jugyo (on which he was also character designer and more) and 2014’s Himegoto. He also directed the first season of In Another World with My Smartphone.
Yanase was heavily involved with the studio MAHO Film, which he joined as an employee in 2023, in the latter years of his life. Aside from the aforementioned titles, he directed for them anime like 2020’s By The Grace of the Gods (and its 2022 second season), 2023’s My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1, 2024’s I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History, and 2025’s Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra: World Conquest Starts with the Civilization of Ruin.
In a 2017 interview with Rooftop, Yanase said that there was a time where he aspired to be a manga artist, and that he once made a submission to the shojo magazine Ribbon. In the same interview, he shared that he wanted to create a place that provided opportunities for young people.
Update: The article has been updated with Yanase’s age and cause of death.
Sources: @sn_degarashi, @Rearguard_PR, MAHO Film website
