Noriko Ohara, the voice actress of Nobita Nobi in the anime series, Doraemon, has sadly passed away. Talent management agency 81 Produce, shared the sudden news today. It was revealed that Ohara had actually passed away on July 12, after undergoing treatment for an illness which turned out to be ineffective. A funeral was held in accordance to the wishes of her family which include the presence of close relatives only. The voice actress was 88 years old.
An Iconic Voice in Anime
Ohara is best known for her role in Doraemon as deuteragonist, Nobita Nobi. As one of the most popular and iconic Japanese anime, the significance of her role is not lost. This also includes the hundreds of Doraemon films, theatrical adaptations and original video animation that the franchise has produced over its 50 year history.
Her other notable works include playing all of the female lead villains in the Time Bokan series, Conan in Future Boy Conan, Oyuki in Urusei Yatsura and more. She also dubbed several western films and cartoons in Japanese such as the role of Valerie Brown in Josie and the Pussycats, Penelope Pitstop in The Perils of Penelope Pitshop and Miss Bianca in The Rescuers.
Celebrated in Her Own Right
Her work has always been lauded and recognized. In 2007, she won the Achievement Award during the first ever Seiyu Awards. In 2013, she again won another award called the Synergy Award for increasing the appeal of voice acting work as a whole. As a woman, Ohara was am early pioneer in the space that paved the way for many other aspiring voice actors.
It’s been a sad year for animation with several other notable forces in the industry passing on. Earlier this year we had the passing of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure producer, Hiroyuki Omori, as well as Dragonball creator, Akira Toriyama.
