Mob Psycho 100 art director Ryo Kono passes away

Modified Nov 01, 2024 21:06 GMT

Mob Psycho 100 art director Ryo Kono passes away (Image via BONES)

Saturday, October 26, 2024 saw the nephew of Mob Psycho 100 art director Ryo Kono (real name: Hiromi Kono) reveal her passing on October 23 via her X (formerly Twitter) account. Per her nephew’s post, she died suddenly due to suspected gastrointestinal bleeding. As of this article’s writing, the official cause of death has not been shared by her surviving family members.

It seems likewise unlikely that the late industry veteran’s cause of death will be shared, given the status of Kono’s X account. As of this article’s writing, the account has been set to a restricted status, likely out of respect for the deceased. Likewise, it’s unclear whether or not fans will get any further updates on Kono’s cause of death as of this article’s writing.

Former art director for the entirety of Mob Psycho 100 passes suddenly per post from nephew

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Kono most notably served as the art director on the entirety of Mob Psycho 100, as mentioned above, and on Netflix’ Devilman Crybaby series. She also fulfilled the role on both seasons of Space Dandy, Super Crookers, Paranoia Agent, The Rolling Girls, Kemonozume, and Carole & Tuesday.

Kono also served as a background artist for many series. Some of the most notable include Kids on the Slope, the Psycho-Pass movie, Perfect Blue, the Ninja Scroll movie, A Wind Named Amnesia, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, the X movie, and Cardcaptor Sakura The Movie 2: The Sealed Card. Kono’s nephew also stated in the announcement of her death that every one of her works was a source of pride for their family.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much additional info on Kono, whose career in the anime dates back to at least the 19880s. However, her impact on the anime industry is made apparent by the works she contributed to. Some are considered the most transcendental anime series of the century, while others are late-20th-century classics that directly influenced the contemporary industry.

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Arguably, the best example of the former category is Mob Psycho 100, considered one of the most revolutionary anime series in recent memory. The series serves as the television anime adaptation of the original Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by One. The series began serialization on Shogakukan’s Ura Sunday website publication in April 2012 and ended in December 2017.

The anime, on which Kono worked all three seasons as art director, first premiered in July 2016 with a 12-episode season 1. This was followed by a 13-episode season 2, which aired in January 2019, and the conclusive 12-episode season 3, which first aired in October 2022. For many reasons, the series was considered unique for a shonen and has earned its place in history books.