Seiyuu Shirakawa Sumiko Passes Away
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Nov 29, 2015 19:10 JST
- Tags: Announcements, Doraemon, Obituaries, Sazae-san, Seiyuu
The loss of another legendary seiyuu has unfortunately come to pass, with the renowned voice talents of Shirakawa Sumiko coming to an end and bringing grief to fans of such classics as Doraemon and Sakae-san, amongst others.
The dedicated 80-year old seiyuu’s absence from a recent recording session had aroused suspicion amongst family and staff, prompting a visit to her home where she was found collapsed in the bathroom; the cause of death has yet to be determined.
Shirakawa Sumiko was most notable for her roles as Doraemon’s Dekisugi and Sazae-san’s Nakajima, spanning a career of over 40 years and surely impacting those who grew up listening to the seiyuu’s voice.
Fuji TV will hold auditions in the near future for Sazae-san’s Nakajima.
Top 10 Most Anticipated Anime of Winter 2016
Splatoon “Super Play Time” Absolutely Cringe-worthy
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut “Dragons & Mechs?”
Monster Hunter X Megaman Event Profusely Blue
Love Live! Sunshine!! MV “Will Brighten Up Your Day!”
Top 10 Best Anime Girls of 2015
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar “Has Oppai!”
Picking Up Japan Express Vol. 36 Worth a Pickup
Dimension W Out Of This World
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir PV Certainly Nostalgic
One-Punch Man Soundtrack PV Packs A Wallop
XmasTrickStar “A White Christmas Indeed…”
Wo-Class Carrier Ero-MMD In Dire Straights
Voice Translation Tool Promotional Video “Inexcusable!”
Luck & Logic Far From Lucky
Yandere Simulator Possibly Headed to Kickstarter
Top 20 Recent Anime Most In Need Of A Sequel
Hyrule Warriors Legends PV Clashes Interminably
Akagami no Shirayukihime English Dub Surfaces
Koukaku no Pandora Really Opens That Box
Gothic Lolita Hatsune Miku Cosplay Busts Out
Delectable Dizzy Cosplay by Lechat
Dark Elf Cosplay by Non Very Dark Indeed
Titillating Tamako Cosplay Perfectly Pink
Goddess of 2ch: “Full of Lust & Urges (& Also Videos)!”
Raunchy Reisen Inaba Cosplay by Tsuyato
Haruhi Bunny Girl Cosplay Rocks Out
Youmu Ero-Cosplay by Madoka Adachi Deadly Sexy
Comiket 89 Cosplay Sickeningly Sweet
Comiket 89 Cosplay A Guilty Pleasure
In the greater context nothing is really dead. Everything is in flow. Shirakawa Sumiko lived her life, she was born, grew up, experienced happiness and sadness, mastered her life as best as she could and now her journey has ended. But that is not her end. And it will not be ours neither.
well until heat death of the universe
well said. rip.
Probably a sickness like pneumonia.
R.I.P
R.I.P.
RIP wonderful Seiyuu
Wow, I'm surprised the industry didn't force her out and recast her with a younger/cheaper actress years ago.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FUCK
"Legendary?" Lmao. I looked her up and she barely had any VA roles at all, let alone memorable ones. I doubt anyone knew who she was before she died.
As I have no clear idea what variety of world's population constitutes the audience here I can't tell if the author's choice of words is appropriate in the present case, but one thing notable is that at least to people living in Japan her death means much, seeing as Sazae-san is the kind of show that literally every Japanese knows by heart, that one fifth of the whole islanders keep watching every Sunday evening, that is simply part of people's daily lives, etc. and she is the woman behind Nakajima-kun starring there.
Lets not forget too that Sazae-san is literally the longest running animated show on TV. It has a Guinness World Record.
Agreed that the author's choice of words are a little off. She may've had a long-running career in two shows that are widely popular in Japan, yet those same two shows seem to get surprisingly little recognition outside of Japan (even among otaku, oddly), and she never exactly branched out to a variety of other roles in all this time either (unlike most seiyuu who DO get more recognition internationally). Hell, I probably wouldn't have even heard her myself if not for the fact that she makes a cameo appearance in Space Dandy (playing a character whom I'm just now learning apparently pays tribute to her role in Sazae-san). That said, calling her "legendary" does seem like a wee bit of a stretch, but I wouldn't speak ill of the dead nevertheless.
I stand corrected; looking at her Japanese wiki entry (rather than her pitifully short English entry), it seems that she DID branch out to quite a number of roles early on in her career. However, it seems that once the '70s were over, she began to restrict herself strictly to Doraemon and Sazae-san.
It seems that she's been as significant to Japan as deceased American voice-actress June Foray was to Americans.
June Foray is still alive.
Well, no one will remember you when you die. So compared to you she did bring much joy to those who knew her VA career.
How will people remember you when it's your time to go?
Will you do something worth while, or just be forgotten the instant you die?
You lose nothing if you show some respect toward other people.
Anyways. Rest in peace Shirakawa Sumiko.
By "looked up" do you mean you glanced at her page on the English-language Wikipedia? Because she had a lot more roles than that page lists.
Your little pillow froteur lolimoe pantsu niche is very small to the contrast of the popular culture regarding classical anime in Japan, get your head out of your shitty ass.
Burn to ashes.
you filthy uneducted barbarian swine...
Sazae-san was even part of my first-year japanese course.
Sounds like your teacher was a filthy otaku.
>muh weeaboo sentiments
Nobody cares, you pathetic nerd.
FCK u
doesnt mean you can be an insensitive prick about it
she just died, would it hurt to show a little respect
Why should I "show respect" for some nobody on the other side of the world who died of old age? People die everyday, grow some balls. I made that post because the author called her legendary when she clearly isn't.
Quite a number of people who are mainly adults now in the 30s or 40s grew up listening to her voice when watching anime in the 70-90s, so even if she wasnt as "legendary" as the author Claimed, she was still Legendary to a certain group of people. Least you could do is not be Rude about it.
So do you go around being a jackass about everyone else who dies or just people you find out that died in articles online? Whether she was a famous celebrity or a two bit farmer man it's not polite to speak ill of the dead. So do us all on the planet a favor. Be less of a jackass.
Poor thing. Once again, the wicked Sankaku has viciously failed to find the true victim in this story. Someone get him a security blanket to ease his suffering. Who knows what adjective may be used next to do him harm.