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Born on July 26, 1959, Takafumi Ieiiri began their career as a mangaka and illustrator by working for over a year for Gekkan OUT, a magazine specialising in animation. From the end of 1983 until 1985, they drew short stories featuring anime series characters, as well as calendar illustrations. Their first pen name - Panda no Yomeri - was shortened to Panyome while they were still working for the magazine. They worked for it again for a few months in 1989, while holding another position.
In the second half of the 80s, probably after a spell as a freelancer during which they did a promotional illustration for Alpha, a Square game released in 1986, they joined RED, a company that developed projects for both television and the video game industry. He notably co-created the universe for TV series such as Red Baron and RPG Densetsu Hepoi, an adaptation of which for the Mega Drive was in development for Sega in 1991. RPG Densetsu Hepoi is the first known collaboration between RED and Sega, who co-produced the TV series, almost 5 years before Sakurai Taisen. Ieiri, who designed the characters for the series, had other opportunities to work with Sega, notably on the Wonder Boy series. It is interesting to note that they took part in 2 different versions of Wonder Boy V, namely the one developed by Westone and produced by Sega for the Mega Drive - for which they drew the illustrations - and its adaptation for the PC Engine CD - Chō Eiyuu Densetsu: The Dynastic Hero - which they co-directed and for which they designed new characters.
Their contribution to the Wonder Boy series did not stop there, as they also designed a number of characters for Bikkuriman, a fairly important licence in Japan in the second half of the 80s, which was used for the PC Engine adaptation of Wonder Boy 2, among other games.
During their career at RED, they worked as an illustrator, character designer, director and producer, sometimes credited under their real name, sometimes under one of their pseudonyms. As the positions of illustrator and producer were not systematically credited in Japanese video games from the 1980s to 2000, it is difficult to draw up an exhaustive list of their various works, but in the early 2000s they were still credited in the Special Thanks section of various games developed by RED.
At the same time, they occasionally published doujin works, notably a game developed for the Mac and released in 1993: The Tower of Silka.
The news of their death came via a message posted on Twitter on August 26, 2024 by one of their former colleagues at Gekkan Out - Hanakoganei Kazunori. They died on August 24 in hospital from aspiration pneumonia at the age of 65. The funeral was attended only by their family.
Note: Ieiri probably illustrated all or part of the games for which he is credited as character designer (Chō Makai Taisen! Dorabocchan, Dynastic Hero).
Sources:
Birth date: Ieiri's Twitter bio
Panda no Yomeri = Panyome = Ieiri: via former Gekkan Out contributor Kazuyuki Takami:
https://x.com/takamikazuyuki/status/1828213008537133454
Gekkan OUT: credited as illustrator in the 1984 calendar and as mangaka in some later issues
https://x.com/okawari_star/status/1061540975745556485
http://outsite.cool.coocan.jp/out1984.html
http://outsite.cool.coocan.jp/out1985.html
http://outsite.cool.coocan.jp/out1989.html
RPG Densetsu Hepoi
https://twitter.com/gre80s90s/status/1060487935634489345
https://twitter.com/l8ARBE68k0WZFLk/status/1156805017434652672
https://twitter.com/l8ARBE68k0WZFLk/status/1155667136309673984
https://twitter.com/mito_chusui/status/1414808196925902851
passed away on August 24, 2024:
https://x.com/TuzinoYositeru/status/1828294784345350661
https://x.com/hanasan_out/status/1828146387961422195
General:
https://www.mobygames.com/person/515754/akafuku-ieiri/credits/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/188492/takafumi-ieiri/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/946840/panyome/
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=194960
http://raido.moe/
Alpha / アルファ (PC-88 - 1986, PC-98, X1turbo, FM-7 - 1986)
Promotional illustration (Source: signature found on the artwork)
Bikkuriman Daijikai / ビックリマン大事界 (PC Engine CD - 1988)
Assistant director (Source: in-game credits)
Bonogurashi / ぼのぐらし (PS1 - 1996)
Director (Source: in-game credits)
Chō Eiyuu Densetsu: The Dynastic Hero / 超英雄伝説ダイナスティックヒーロー (PC Engine CD - 1994)
Co-director, character designer (Source: in-game credits)
Chō Majin Eiyuuden Wataru: Another Step / 超魔神英雄伝ワタル ANOTHER STEP (PS1 - 1998)
Co-director (Source: in-game credits)
Chō Makai Taisen! Dorabocchan / 超魔界大戦！どらぼっちゃん (SFC - 1993)
Cover art, illustration (Source: Chō Makai Taisen! Dorabocchan Original Album booklet)
Character design (Source: in-game credits)
Crest of Wolf / クレスト・オブ・ウルフ狼的紋章, AKA Riot Zone (PC Engine CD - 1993)
Visual Director (Source: in-game credits)
Himiko-den: Renge / 火魅子伝 ～恋解～ (PS1 - 1999)
Producer (Source: in-game credits)
Kita e. White Illumination / 北へ。 / White Illumination (Dreamcst - 1998)
Co-producer (Source: in-game credits)
Mitsumete Knight / みつめてナイト (PS1 - 1998)
Animation Coordinator (Source: in-game credits)
Nemurenu Yoru no Chīsana Ohanashi / 眠れぬ夜の小さなお話 (FM Towns, PC Engine CD - 1993) Co-director
(Source: in-game credits)
PC Genjin / PC原人, AKA Bonk's Adventure (PC Engine - 1989)
? (Source: in-game credits)
RPG Densetsu Hepoi / RPG 伝説ヘポイ (Mega Drive - unreleased)
Original character design (Source: credited in the animated series of the same name)
Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku - The Apocalypse IV / 天外魔境 第四の黙示録 The Apocalypse IV (Saturn - 1997)
Production, Movie director (Source: in-game credits)
Tengai Makyō: Dennō Karakuri Kakutōden / 天外魔境电脳络缲格闘伝 (1995, PC-FX)
Co-Director (Source: in-game credits)
Tengai Makyō Zero / 天外魔镜0 (SFC - 1995)
Production Coordinator (Source: in-game credits)
The Tower of Silka, AKA Silka no Tō / シルカの塔 (Mac - 1993)
Planning and Production, Character Design, Scenario (Source: in-game credits)
Wonder Boy V: Monster World III / ワンダーボーイV モンスターワールドIII (Mega Drive - 1991)
Cover art, manual illustrations (Source: Sega TV Game Genga Gallery)
Bikkuriman World (PC Engine)
Cover art (Source: )
Makai Prince Dorabocchan / 魔界プリンスどらぼっちゃん (PC Engine - 1990)
(Source: cover posted by former RED employee Yoshiteru Tsujino on Twitter)
Alpha promotional illustration
Chō Makai Taisen! Dorabocchan
The Tower of Silka
Wonder Boy V: Monster World III
RPG Densetsu Hepoi (TV series)
Note: Ieiri is credited as director and co-designer on this document
Gekkan Out