Takeshi Shudo was the chief writer for the original series of the Pokémon anime, as well as being the sole writer for the first three Pokémon movies and the Mewtwo Returns TV special. He also wrote several novelizations of the anime.

He was hospitalized on October 28th, 2010 when he was found collapsed at a train station in Nara. He was later pronounced dead at the age of 61 early in the morning of October 29th, 2010. The cause of death was a Subarachnoid hemorrhage.