Yoshito Usui, the creator of the "Crayon Shin-Chan" manga series, was found dead over the weekend on Mount Arafune, where he had gone hiking on September 11th and never returned. The body of 51-year-old manga-ka was found at the base of mountain, and he is believed to have fallen accidentally.

"Crayon Shin-Chan," which sold over 25 million copies of its first volume in Japan and is published in America by DC's manga imprint CMX, chronicles the adventures of a mischievous 5-year-old boy. Both the manga and the anime series it inspired were ongoing at the time of Usui's death, and whether the Japanese television episodes will air as scheduled next month is uncertain.

While the frequent Japanese language puns, anatomical jokes and racier humor (by American standards) of "Crayon Shin-Chan" often made the series difficult to translate for Western audiences, it was a story about a child that managed to be as simultaneously offensive and charming as children often are. Usui will be missed.

If you've never had a chance to see his work, take a look at a preview of "Crayon Shin-Chan" on the CMX website.

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