Doraemon director, Tsutomu Shibyama, dies at 84

On March 17, Ajia-do Animation Works announced the death of ‘Doremon’ director Tsutomu Shibayama, as per reports. 

Shibayama's popular creation 'Doraemon' is the anime series that follows the title character, a cat-like robot from the 22nd century who goes back in time to deal with a boy named Nobita who struggles with studies. Along with the series, he also directed several anime films of the Doraemon franchise including Nobita and the Castle Undersea Devil, Doraemon: Nobita in the One Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey. 

Shibayama began his career in 1963 with Toei Animation. His first direction for Doraemon started in 1979 which played a crucial role in making character household names not just in Japan but globally. 

22 feature films were directed by Shibayama over a span of more than two decades. His each project added emotional depth, humor and life lessons which connected strongly with audiences of all age groups.