Shoko Ikeda

Shoko Ikeda, a native of Kyoto Prefecture, Inspired by the anime OVA Gunbuster to pursue a career as an animator, and she joined Kyoto Animation in 1996. During her early years in Kyoto Animation, she worked as an animation director for Inuyasha, for which the studio was a coloring subcontractor, during which she encouraged employees at the studio to "make works of higher quality than any other company". In 2006, Ikeda was the character designer and chief animation director for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. At Anime Expo 2008, she won the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Award for Best Character Design for her work on the anime. She also worked as an animation director for Kanon, Lucky Star and K-On!, among others. ==Personal life==

She was a fan of the Takarazuka Revue's productions of the musical Elisabeth, at one point doing a parody at Kyoto Animation's end-of-year party. ==Death==

Ikeda was killed in the Kyoto Animation arson attack on 18 July 2019; her body was found on the second floor. She was 44 years old. She was posthumously credited as character designer for the 2023 theatrical OVA Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest and, alongside , for the 2024 third season of Sound! Euphonium. ==Filmography==

Television series Films ==References==