An illustration by famed Japanese cartoonist Leiji Matsumoto that was placed in 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 (¥810,000).
There is little known about the purchaser of the illustration of the main character of the animation series "Space Pirate Captain Herlock." The illustration comes with a message in Italian that reads "Everything will be okay."
The proceeds will be donated to buy protective gear for the hospital in northern Italy that treated the 82-year-old after he was hospitalized for a few weeks in November after attending an event 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.
