Voice Actress Atsuko Tanaka Died

Voice actress Atsuko Tanaka died on August 20, 2024. Her son, voice actor Hikaru Tanaka, broke the news on his X (Twitter) account.

In his post, he reported that his mother Atsuko Tanaka died from an illness. To respect his mother’s wishes, he did not state what she had, but she’d struggled with it for a year. He thanks all of the fans who loved Tanaka’s work, as well as those associated with the voice actor industry for their support. Hikaru Tanaka states that it’s very unfortunate that he had to reveal his familial relation to Atsuko Tanaka in this way. Near the end, he states that he was fortunate to have been Atsuko Tanaka’s son. Finally, he hopes that people don’t forget the works and characters that the voice actress Atsuko Tanaka breathed life into.

Atsuko Tanaka was a veteran voice actress who was active from 1985 up until her passing. She had a husky and deep register, which often meant she was usually cast as more mature women. Her most prominent roles included Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, Medea in Fate/stay night, Lisa Lisa in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Karura in Utawarerumono, and Bayonetta in Bayonetta. Other roles are Kaine in NieR Replicant, Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen, and Silene in Devilman Crybaby. She was also the Japanese dub voice for Lara Croft until Takako Honda succeeded her.

Tanaka is not the only high-profile death in the Japanese media world this year. In March 2024, Toriyama Akira (the creator of Dragon Ball) and Tarako (the voice actress for Maruko in Chibi Maruko-chan) died. In July 2024, Noriko Ohara (voice actress for Nobita in Doraemon and Doronjo in Yatterman) passed away.

Atsuko Tanaka died on August 20, 2024 from an unnamed illness.