KYODO NEWS - Apr 27, 2020 - 10:55 | Arts, All, Coronavirus

An illustration by famed Japanese cartoonist Leiji Matsumoto, put up for an online auction to support a hospital in Turin, Italy, that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, was bought Sunday for 7,000 euros ($7,500).

There is little known about who purchased the illustration of the main character of the animation series "Space Pirate Captain Herlock," which comes with a message in Italian that reads "Everything will be okay."

(Undated supplied photo shows famed Japanese cartoonist Leiji Matsumoto holding an illustration of the main character of the animation series "Space Pirate Captain Herlock," which was put up for an online auction to support a hospital in Turin that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.)

The proceeds will be donated to buy protective gear for the hospital in northern Italy, which treated the 82-year-old after he was hospitalized for a few weeks in November after attending an event in Turin celebrating 40 years since the animation's first broadcast in Italy.

Matsumoto said he wanted to thank and "give back" to the hospital that treated him.

The hospital also thanked Matsumoto, who returned to Japan in December, calling him a great illustrator and a person with a noble spirit.

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Proceeds from cartoonist's illustration to support Italian hospital