After failing the university entrance examination, Shudo read
Scenario, a specialized magazine bought by his younger sister, which led him to enroll in a screenplay institute with the funds he had saved up to go to a prep school. He was recognized for the screenplays he had written there, and in 1969, at the age of 19, he made his debut as a scriptwriter in the 45th episode of the TV
historical drama Ōedo Sōsamō. However, he grew tired of having to revise scripts that he was not satisfied with, and decided to stop writing scenarios, claiming he was fed up with penning human drama pieces. He spent the rest of his time working as a salesman for educational equipment and various ceremonial occasions, while at the same time assisting in the writing of original stories for
shōjo manga, plots for TV dramas, and other jobs without taking credit for his work. Later, he roamed Europe with the money he had saved from his salesman job, and upon returning to Japan after running out, he was introduced by his acquaintance, screenwriter Fukiko Miyauchi, and in November 1976, he returned as a screenwriter for the animated TV series
Manga Fairy Tales of the World produced by Dax International. Thereafter, he worked for Dax for a long time on several series starting with
Paris no Isabelle and
Manga Hajimete Monogatari. In the early 1980s, he also worked for
Tatsunoko Productions, but it was
GoShogun and
Magical Princess Minky Momo by
Ashi Productions, where he was in charge of everything from the original concept to series composition, that revealed his talents as an author. He worked with
Kunihiko Yuyama, the main director of both series, on the
Minky Momo sequel and
Pokémon in the 1990s. In 1984, Shudo won the Best Screenplay Award at the first Japan Anime Awards for
Manga Hajimete Monogatari,
Magical Princess Minky Momo, and
Sasuga no Sarutobi. He also worked as a novelist, and his best-known work is the
Eternal Filena series. Shudo was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, but because his father was a government official, he lived in
Tokyo,
Sapporo, and
Nara Prefecture as a child, and he attributed his dry, non-indigenous writing style to that experience. He had lived in
Shibuya in Tokyo since the fifth grade of elementary school, and set the anime
Idol Angel Yokoso Yoko in Shibuya. Later, he moved to
Odawara in
Kanagawa Prefecture, and most of his later works were written there. In his later years, he contributed a column to the
Anime Style website and was preparing a feature film. The scripts and other materials for the major works he was involved in producing were donated to the Odawara City Library. Some of the library's materials are on permanent display at the Odawara Literature Museum. ==Death==