Today, Toshiyuki Itahana, Final Fantasy IX Character Designer and long-time Square Enix employee, announced that he left Square Enix at the end of 2025.
Final Fantasy IX celebrated its 25th anniversary last year (with an adorable pop-up themed cafe in Tokyo), and Itahana-san explained that it felt like the right time to close that chapter of his life. After he worked on and supervised the illustration work done for the anniversary, he decided it would be a good time to explore other challenges.
Now, Itahana-san is working as a freelance illustrator and character designer. This will allow him to create new artwork in different styles using the experience he’s gained over the decades at Square Enix, though he’s not currently working on anything. Instead, he explains that he’s learning the ropes of being a freelancer with the advice and help from more senior freelance illustrators.
Toshiyuki Itahana has done much more at Square Enix than work on Final Fantasy IX — he was also the main character designer for the spin-off series Chocobo and Crystal Chronicles. He also worked on several other Final Fantasy games, including Final Fantasy XIV.
He also directed Code Age Commanders and worked as an illustrator for Makaitoshi SaGa, or The Final Fantasy Legends as known in North America (though it has nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series).
Itahana-san also thanked fans for all their love over the years at Square Enix, and he expressed hope that they’ll continue supporting his projects and work in the future. He also shared a parting image:
