Vocaloid fans are saddened at the news that well-known producer and guitarist wowaka has died, passing away at the young age of 31 due to a heart attack. wowaka made many great tracks over the years and had a great musical style on stage. He’ll be sadly missed by all of us.
令和きれいだー。
— wowaka (@wowaka) April 1, 2019
His final tweet was, “The new era name is Reiwa. That’s pretty…”
Sadly, none of us knows when we’ll be called to the great beyond, and it’s all too common for anime fans around the world to hear of the untimely passing of someone special to us all. Here are ten times we had to say goodbye too soon to the people who helped make anime and related media such a joyful in their brief time on the planet.
Hiromi Tsuru
The veteran voice actress had so many amazing roles, it’s hard to pick one, but most will know her as the voice of Bulma from Dragon Ball. I personally loved her as Madoka Ayukawa, my first-ever waifu, from Kimagure Orange Road. She passed away at the age of 57.
Miyu Matsuki
Another amazing voice actress that made our lives better was Miyu Matsuki, who voiced dozens of characters, including Anna-senpai from Shimoneta. She died of an illness at the age of 38.
Tomoko Kawakami
Yet another sad anime death was Tomoko Kawakami, the voice of Utena from the stylish series Revolutionary Girl Utena, as well as many other roles. The climactic scene from the Air anime is doubly sad because of Misuzu’s voice actress’s death.
Shingo Minamino
Japan has low crime, but one sad event that can happen are random stabbings, known as 通り魔 toori-ma, or “a devil passing by on the street.” This is what happened to NitroPlus music producer Shingo Minamoto, who oversaw Super Sonico’s songs and created NitroPlus’s music label. One of the most senseless anime deaths we can remember.
Noboru Yamaguchi
One of the best anime shows based on a light novel series, Zero no Tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero) brought smiles to all its fans. Sadly, the writer of the series passed away at the age of 41 after a two year battle with cancer.
Kazunori Mizuno
A veteran animator who worked on shows like Naruto Shippuden and Bleach, Mizuno passed at work, apparently a victim of 過労死 karoshi, or death from overwork. It can be hard to find the right work/life balance in busy, bustling Japan, but this sad event reminds us of how important that balance is.
Cocoa Fujiwara
I loved Inu x Boku SS, a great anime about a high-security apartment building inhabited by supernatural people with youkai or demonic powers, and the bodyguards who guard them. The series was created by Cocoa Fujiwara, who had debuted as a professional mangaka at the age of 15. She passed at age 31, due to an illness.
Yoshito Usui
While the meme that Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world is inaccurate (Japan ranks #30), it is sad whenever a person chooses to take their own life prematurely. This happened to Crayon Shin-chan creator Yoshito Usui, whose body was discovered in the mountains in Gunma. The manga creator, an evangelical member of the Jehova’s Witnesses, had been showing signs of stress and depression. One of the saddest anime deaths ever.
Fuyumi Shiraishi
Another beloved voice actress was Fuyumi Shiraishi, who provided the voice of Mirai from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, who passed away just this week. A classic seiyu from the golden age of anime, she provided voices in the original Osomatsu-kun from 1962-1969. Since Bright Noa‘s voice actor Hirotaka Suzuoki died from lung cancer in 2006, Mirai is reunited with her husband in the great space colony in the sky.
Carl Macek
Though he gets shade for editing three unrelated mecha series together, Carl “the Gene Roddenberry of Anime, Fight Me” Macek made Robotech, which was extremely influential in making anime the mainstream thing it is today, back in the days before Sailor Moon and Akira. I was floored when Carl died suddenly in 2010, because he was the reason I went into business in the anime industry. I always wanted to grow J-List into a large and successful company and someday buy Mr. Macek dinner to thank him for being my inspiration.
What anime deaths have hit you especially hard? Tell us in the comments below!
