I wanted to express my brief thoughts on three different Japanese voice actors who passed away recently. I don’t mean to diminish any of them, but I’ve been unable to write in a timely fashion as of late, so this is the best I can do.

The first is Tanaka Atsuko, voice of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell and Bayonetta. Her voice had this wonderfully mature and rich quality, and every time she showed up, it felt like she elevated whatever character she played. This death blindsided me—it almost didn’t even seem possible that she would be gone so soon. She was 61.

The second is Shinohara Emi, voice of Sailor Jupiter, Kaho in Cardcaptor Sakura, and Youko from Maria-sama ga Miteru. She was also 61, and could sound powerful in different ways. I think just seeing voices from Sailor Moon leaving us really makes me feel the passage of time. 

The third is Ohyama Nobuo, the original voice of Doraemon. While she was 90 years old with a long and successful career, her work was important to me because of another starring role: Kappei, the main hero of Zambot 3, whom Ohyama played two years before Doraemon. Reportedly, Zambot 3 (and Gundam) director Tomino said that he was unsurprised that she got the part that defined her career because she was an incredibly versatile performer. While Ohyama hadn’t voiced Kappei in a long time, and you can tell that her clips in later Super Robot Wars games are recycled from previous appearance, her passion was more than evident. She also now joins Daitarn 3’s Suzuoka Hirotaki as being immortalized in those recordings.

The past few months have been a lot. I hope we can continue to celebrate their careers