Interest

GoFundMe Campaign Launches for Macross Mechanical Designer Kazutaka Miyatake

A GoFundMe campaign launched on Saturday to raise funds for new accommodation and work supplies for Kazutaka Miyatake following a fire at his residence last year. The campaign — organized by visual artist Tenjin Hidetaka, Adrian Lozano, Gwyn Campbell, Peter Kim, and Renato Rivera for the 71-year-old mechanical designer — met its minimum US$18,000 goal on the same day and has raised US$38,113 as of press time.

Miyatake was hospitalized after a fire broke out at his residence in Yokosuka city in Kanagawa prefecture on May 22, and was discharged on May 28. Miyatake's wife — 60-year-old Tomoko Watanabe — passed away after being taken to the hospital. Studio Nue founder Haruka Takachiho said on May 25 that through Miyatake's head nurse he learned Miyatake's injuries were minor, although he did suffer from some carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to the GoFundMe campaign, the fire partially destroyed Miyatake's house, but the city of Yokosuka has provided him with temporary housing. The campaign stated Miyatake will soon need to find permanent housing.

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.

Image via Sunrise's Dunbine website

Sources: GoFundMe, Udon Entertainment's Twitter account

Disclosure: Adrian Lozano and Gwyn Campbell have contributed to ANN event reports in the past.