News
Macross Mechanical Designer Kazutaka Miyatake Hospitalized After House Fire
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Studio Nue founder Haruka Takachiho revealed on Twitter on Tuesday that 71-year-old mechanical designer Kazutaka Miyatake was hospitalized after a fire broke out at his residence in Yokosuka city in Kanagawa prefecture on Saturday. Takachiho linked to a report on the Japanese channel TBS, which stated that both the husband and wife who were residents of the house were hospitalized, but the wife — 60-year-old Tomoko Watanabe — passed away. Takachiho stated that Miyatake is still hospitalized, but is not in serious condition.
According to TBS, there was a report of the back of a house being on fire on Saturday after 3:00 p.m. local time, and 12 fire trucks went to the scene. The fire took two hours to be put out, and the house, which was a one-storied wooden house, was partially destroyed. According to police, Miyatake (unnamed in the article) was able to escape the house, but suffered from smoke inhalation and was hospitalized.
Police are examining the cause of the fire, and TBS noted that the kitchen area of the house had the most intense flames.
Miyatake is a mechanical designer for the original The Super Dimension Fortress Macross television series and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? film, including the title space fortress and most of the enemy ships and vehicles.
He collaborated with fellow Studio Nue member Naoyuki Katō on the iconic powered suit illustrations for the Japanese edition of Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers novel, and then designed the original video anime adaptation.
He is also a mechanical designer for the Space Battleship Yamato, Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX (specifically, the film version of the title spaceship), Aura Battler Dunbine, The Super Dimension Century Orguss, Gunbuster, Macross Plus (collaborator on the YF-21, Ghost X-9, and other designs), Macross 7 (title ship and other spaceships as well as vehicles), Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector, Dirty Pair Flash 1 - 3, and Tytania anime. He is credited for conceptual or artistic design for such anime as Star Blazers 2199, RahXephon, Macross Frontier, Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa, and Eureka Seven.
Sources: Haruka Takachiho's Twitter account, TBS News via Justin Sevakis' Twitter account
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