[Chuo - Dori] In memoriam Kawai Eri

On August 4th 2008 a 43 year old woman, who had recently been admitted into a Japanese hospital, quietly passed away, with little ceremony, and only her closest friends and family at her bedside.
On any other day this event, although tragic, would have been an all too common occurrence.
But it was who it was, and just what an effect her death had on anime fandom [and also to me] that gave this event a much greater gravitas.
Her name was Kawai Eri,and this was her all too brief life.