News
Novelist Ryū Murakami Dies at 74
posted on by Alex Mateo
There was a private funeral for family members.
Murakami was born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1952. He made his debut with the novel Almost Transparent Blue, which sold more than 3.5 million copies.
Murakami's 1996 Love and Pop: Topaz II novel inspired the 1998 live-action film Love & Pop (pictured right), directed by Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion). GKIDS screened the film in North American theaters in February 2025, and it also releasing it on home video.
Murakami's other works include Coin Locker Babies, The World in Five Minutes From Now, Kyoko, and Tokyo Decadence. He wrote and directed film adaptations of some of his works. He was also an interviewer on the economic talk show The Cambrian Palace.
Sources: Gentosha's X/Twitter account, Cinema Today, Deadline (Zac Ntim)
