Born in
Sakata, Yamagata to a family of tailors, Nunokawa studied at the Nippon Design Welfare College, graduating in 1967. He made his professional debut as a
colorist for an
Eiken subsidiary. He then worked as a freelancer animator and a technical director at several anime production companies, notably
Mushi Production and
Tatsunoko Production. He was key animator for
Robotan, and he made his directorial debut in 1975 with the series
Time Bokan. In 1979 Nunokawa decided to establish his own company, and founded
Studio Pierrot, which in a few years got a string of successes, including
Creamy Mami,
Kimagure Orange Road,
Naruto,
YuYu Hakusho,
Bleach,
Tokyo Ghoul. He also served as chairman of the
Association of Japanese Animations from 2009 to 2014. During his career Nunokawa received various awards and honours, notably the and the
Blue Ribbon Medal of Honor. He died on 25 December 2022, at the age of 75. ==References==