FILE PHOTO: Author of several anime and manga series Leiji Matsumoto poses during a photocall for the movie "Harlock: Space Pirate", directed by Shinji Aramaki, during the 70th Venice Film Festival in Venice September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Leiji Matsumoto, the Japanese manga and anime author known internationally as a creator of the 1970s TV series "Space Battleship Yamato", has died aged 85, his office said on Monday.
Matsumoto gained global fame as director of the series, which was titled "Star Blazers" in the United States.
Other well-known works include the manga series "Galaxy Express 999", which was also turned into a popular anime series.
He is the recipient of several awards from the Japanese government, as well as the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government.
Matsumoto, who started drawing at the age of six, died of heart failure on Feb. 13 in Tokyo, Japanese media reported.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Bradley Perrett)
