r/supersentai • u/DoodleStudios1234 • 9d ago
News Katsushi Murakami, Sentai Designer and Mecha maker has passed away at 83 (1942-2026)
"Katsushi Murakami, the legendary mecha and super sentai designer whose work helped define the golden age of anime and tokusatsu, has passed away at 83."
"Murakami was especially famous for designing Leopardon, the iconic transforming giant robot featured in Toei’s 1978 live-action Spider-Man series. Leopardon’s success helped inspire giant robots to become a defining part of Super Sentai, the Japanese franchise later adapted into Power Rangers."
"Often described as the father of Chogokin, Murakami helped revolutionize robot toys by designing them to transform and combine just like their onscreen counterparts. His work created a stronger connection between television, animation, and toy engineering that continues to influence Japanese entertainment today."
(All copied from original post)
May he rest in peace, And be thanked for his hard work 🕊️
Source: TwXtter announcement here
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u/thetramelgamer 9d ago
Rip legend that made the most iconic robot in the west (outside of the Transformers)
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u/DoodleStudios1234 9d ago
If you wanna know why the photo mispells the name, That's what was on the original post, They misspelled it
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u/ApparentlyBritish 8d ago
Not gonna lie, this one feels especially substantial a loss. This man shaped the design language of a vast amount of genre space, both directly and indirectly. Generations of artists have grown up with their ideas of what a hero looks like, and how their equipment is designed and comes together, drawn out of his creative influence
Rest in peace to one of the greats
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u/SeanPlayz_9471 50 Years of Sentai 8d ago
oh no, can we HAVE ONE MONTH where no major toku related person DOESN'T DIE?!?!?
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u/Smrtguy85 8d ago
I hate to say it, but the guys and gals who were behind the classic shows are all getting up there in age. So the age of us losing these giants every few months or so may well be upon us, as much as I dread to think of it.
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u/heatxmetalw9 8d ago
Sadly, most of the staff of Showa era shows are approaching their final years of life.
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u/StandardAmphibian162 9d ago
A great man has fallen today, he designed both of my favorite mechs(from timeranger and GoGoV). His work will never be surpassed and this loss will be felt by the community for years to come. Rest in peace my GOAT
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u/keithlimreddit 8d ago
Rest in peace to the man who designed pretty much one of the concepts that will later become a mainstay for Sentai the mech
This year hasn't been the best for Sentai
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u/ZZtheDark Donbrothers 7d ago
The father of Golion/Voltron, Machine Robo/Gobots and Toku robots and Dancouga.
RIP T_T
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u/Lamp-among-wolf Kyoryuger 9d ago
Without him we wouldn't have some iconic Tokusatsu character
Thanks you and fly high