Noriyoshi Ohrai / Godzilla ©Toho

You may not know the name Noriyoshi Ohrai, but if you've seen a movie in the last thirty years, you know his work. Sadly, the Japanese artist, famed for his illustrations that graced posters and covers for the likes of Star Wars and Godzilla, passed away yesterday. Ohrai was 79, and died of pneumonia.

Born in 1935 in Hyogo Prefecture, Ohrai's future career in the arts got off to a shaky start when, in 1957, he dropped out of the Oil Painting Course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He found work as a newspaper advertising editor, and worked on layouts and artwork for book publishing.


In 1973, he relocated to Miyazaki, hometown of his wife Yasuko, where he set up his own studio. After years providing cover art for fantasy novels and manga tankobon, Ohrai's big break came in 1980 when he produced the international poster design for The Empire Strikes Back.

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Ohrai's Star Wars art was revelatory, rivalling only Drew Struzan for a near definitive view of George Lucas' universe. His Empire was so striking, Ohrai returned to provide fresh posters for A New Hope upon re-release, and he went on to produce breathtaking imagery for Return of the Jedi and countless Japanese Star Wars books. You can find a gallery of his work at FilmOnPaper.

In order to see this embed, you must give consent to Social Media cookies. Open my cookie preferences. MGS & ZOE posters I'd asked Noriyoshi Ourai. All his work means a lot to me but MGS THE TWIN SNAKES is my favorite.pic.twitter.com/0ibpCMNsjZ” — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) February 22, 2014


His unique style -- equally suited to presenting space armadas, giant robots, or grimy human realism -- saw Ohrai producing more work for Hollywood, including what may be the authoritative piece of art for 1985's The Goonies.

Ohrai was pivotal to Japan's movie industry too, notably working on Toho's kaiju franchise, Godzilla. Having produced the key promotional art for over half a dozen films featuring the King of Monsters, it was fitting that Ohrai also delivered the poster for 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars -- at the time, intended to be the last ever outing for the iconic creature.

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Anyone into video games will likely also be familiar with Ohrai's work. Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series -- a precursor to Dynasty Warriors -- was blessed by Ohrai's brush, as was Metal Gear Solid and countless more.


More of Ohrai's stunning work can be found on his official Japanese site. The English language section is minimal, but with talent like the departed Ohrai's on display, words are unnecessary.