Screen and voice actor Hiroshi Tsuchida has died at the age of 54, talent agency 81 Produce announced on Tuesday. Tsuchida passed away on October 11 due to heart failure, with a private funeral service held for close relatives only in accordance with the family’s wishes.
Hiroshi Tsuchida (Credits: Anime News Network)
Tsuchida was born in Tokyo on February 8, 1972, and built a career spanning live-action tokusatsu, anime, and dubbing work. He is best known to tokusatsu fans as Ninja Blue/Saizō in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, and he voiced the AI unit HANE2 in the 2022 Ultraman Decker series.
Anime Roles Across Gundam, Yamato, and Pokémon
In anime, Tsuchida’s voice credits include Kōichirō Iketani in the Initial D: Legend film series, Hyūi in the Fist of the North Star: Legend of Yuria OAV, and J.J. Sexton in the four-episode Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt net anime and its December Sky compilation. He also voiced Nadim Samaya in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – Prologue and Platane in the four-part Pokémon: Mega Evolution Special.
His other roles include Kurumi Risu Father in Sylvanian Families: Mini Story and Susumu Yamazaki in the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 anime and its later films, including the latest Star Blazers: Be Forever Yamato – Rebel 3199 series. He also played Trainer Okita in the 2023 Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Road to the Top net series and its 2024 compilation film.
Final Roles and Dubbing Legacy
Tsuchida remained active until the very end. He most recently voiced Shippo Marimo in Mebius Dust, which premiered on July 9, and currently voices King Lionel in The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom, which premiered on October 3. He also reprised his role as Damnatio Kira in Black Clover’s second season, appearing in the latest episode 173, which aired on Saturday.
In dubbing work, Tsuchida was the official Japanese voice of Lightning McQueen in Disney-Pixar’s Cars and of Cade Yeager in the live-action films Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight.
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Source: Anime News Network — read the full story there.
