Doraemon Voice Actress Noriko Ohara Dies at 88
The Tokyo-born voice actress passed away earlier this July.
(SPOT.ph) Japanese voice actress Noriko Ohara, known for her work on Doraemon, has passed away on July 12, 2024. She was 88.
According to a NHK report, Ohara's agency 81 Produce said in a statement that the voice actress was "receiving medical treatment for an unspecified illness but died on July 12." Her funeral was a private at the request of her surviving family.
Noriko Ohara for Doraemon
Ohara was most known for voicing Nobi Nobita, a schoolboy who befriends robot cat Doraemon, the eponymous character from the long-running anime series. She went on to lend her voice to the character for 26 years, starting from 1979, for animations, movies, and television dramas.
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Noriko Ohara as a voice actress
The Tokyo-born actress actually got her start acting for television before she began voice acting in the '60s. Apart from her work on Doraemon, she also voiced Conan from Future Boy Conan, post-apocalyptic science fiction anime series adapted from Alexander Key's 1970 novel The Incredible Tide.
But perhaps Filipino fans will best know her for voicing Hiyoshi Go, or better known as "Little John" Armstrong, the youngest sibling in the Voltes V franchise. Thought Filipinos never get to hear her voice on the official Philippine broadcast, she brought the 10-year-old genius to life in the original animation.
Ohara went on to win in the first ever Seiyu Awards in 2007, bringing home the Achievement Award. Six years later in 2013 at the 7th Seiyu Awards, she won the Synergy Award for "maximizing the appeal of voice-acting in a work as a whole."
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