Animator And Character Designer Minako Shiba Dies

 Studio Pierrot reported on Tuesday that animator and character designer Minako Shiba has passed away.

Shiba is perhaps best known for her character designs in such anime as Noir, Black Butler, Hikaru no Go, and Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. She also designed characters for .hack//SIGN, Madlax, Rental Magica, Red Data Girl, Tegami Bachi, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, and has worked on character designs as recently as last year's Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima.

In many of these projects, she has also been credited as a key animator, episode animation director, or chief animation director, and has been animation director on numerous other anime, including Dr. Stone and Blood+.