The role of a character designer and illustrator is integral to the impact a game has on people. They bring your constant companions throughout a journey to life, providing a visual signature and often being the first thing you experience with respect to a given game. To lose them is to lose something in that first step, that element you were always taking in but didn’t realize until its absence becomes real.
Such is the reality Tales of fans will experience due to the passing of Mutsumi Inomata.
We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Mutsumi Inomata after her passing.
We are grateful for how her talents and skills created irreplaceable characters that will shine brightly in the hearts of fans forever. #TalesOf
— Tales of Series (@TalesofSeries) March 18, 2024
She wasn’t there from the beginning — fellow designer Kosuke Fujishima would fill that role, and the two would regularly “alternate” who was designing and illustrating for certain titles as the series went on. That said, it could be argued her involvement heralded one of the series’ defining chapters.
Tales of Destiny, the series’ second title but its first to release in North America, was one of her’s, and it would go on to be an iconic chapter. From there she’d bring franchise icons, such as Leon Magnus, to life with her artistry. More contemporary Tales fans would no doubt recognize her work from the packaging of Tales of Graces and Tales of Berseria, and she’d divide the cast in half with Fujishima for Tales of Xillia — one of the bestselling entries in the series.
Her body of work extends beyond Tales of and games as a medium; including anime, novels, artbooks, and more. She will no doubt be remembered for her distinct and instantly recognizable style, and the characters that continue to endear themselves to fans year after year in Japan and around the world.
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Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
