Cartoonist Monkey Punch, best known as the creator of the Japanese megahit comic series Lupin III, has died at age of 81.
His office, MP Pictures, said Wednesday that Monkey Punch, whose real name is Kazuhiko Kato, died of pneumonia on April 11.
The story of master thief Lupin's adventures with his gang — gunman Daisuke Jigen, sword master Goemon Ishikawa and sexy beauty Fujiko Mine, as well as a detective, Zenigata — started in 1967.
This undated photo shows Monkey Punch's megahit comic series of master thief Lupin The Third. His office, MP Pictures, said Wednesday, April 17, 2019, that Monkey Punch, whose real name is Kazuhiko Kato, died of pneumonia on April 11. (Sadayuki GotoKyodo News via AP)
The cartoon also was adapted for TV animation and movies, some directed by renowned animators including Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
Kato himself directed the 1996 animated film "Lupin III: Dead or Alive." Miyazaki, who directed a 1971 Lupin animation for TV, made his feature-length film debut with "Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro" in 1997.
The hard-boiled, yet comical story with a bit of sexy content has quickly won adult comic fans and became a longtime best-seller. Kato's intended readership was adults, and he reportedly has told younger fans to watch Lupin TV animation and read comic books when they become high school students.
The main character in his trademark red jacket is a grandson of famous Arsene Lupin in a Maurice Leblanc detective story.
The son of a fisherman in Hokkaido, in northern Japan, Kato debuted as a professional cartoonist in 1965 while working part time at a rental bookstore, and started using his penname Monkey Punch soon after the Lupin series started in the Weekly Manga Action magazine.
Despite his age, he quickly adapted to digital animation and studied animation on multimedia formats at a technical graduate school in Tokyo in the 2000s. Kato also taught animation at a university in Nishinomiya in western Japan.
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DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
