Hamada joined Madhouse in 1990.
Veteran animator and character designer Kunihiko Hamada has announced that he left the animation studio Madhouse at the end of March 2026 after working there for 35 years. Hamada announced this news through an X (formerly Twitter) post that he made on his birthday on 30 May, 2026. The animator has also revealed that the company offered him no severance pay after he worked there for 20 years as a staff employee.
Why did Kunihiko Hamada leave Madhouse?
Kunihiko Hamada’s post about the matter states (machine translated):
I've turned another year older.
I left Madhouse at the end of March. There was no attempt to persuade me to stay, it was a simple end. 35 years dedicated to Madhouse. Over 20 years as an employee, zero severance pay.
I've already found a job at another company. With a fresh start, I'm diligently studying while looking at Shibayama-san's portfolio, treating myself like a newcomer.
I will not be replying to DMs or other work requests. My apologies.
Hamada’s post reveals that despite working at Madhouse for 35 years, 20 of those as a staff employee, he was offered no severance pay when he left. Moreover, the company also didn’t persuade him to stay when he wanted to leave. However, he already has started working at another company, although he didn’t reveal any details about his new work.
As of now, Madhouse has not officially released a statement regarding this matter.
What projects did Kunihiko Hamada work on?
Kunihiki Hamada joined Madhouse back in 1990. He worked as the animation director and character designer in anime projects such as NANA, Monster, Chihayafuru, My Love Story!!, My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999, No Game No Life, Cardcaptor Sakura, the Summer Wars movie and many more. The final project he likely worked on for Madhouse is Awajima Hyakkei, an anime which is currently airing.
Although saddened by his departure from Madhouse, fans are looking forward to future animation projects that Hamada is going to be involved in.