Doraemon Voice Actress Nobuyo Oyama Died

Nobuyo Oyama, the original voice actress for Doraemon and more beloved characters, died on September 29, 2024 from natural causes. She was 90 years old. [Thanks, Yahoo!]

Oyama started her voice acting career in 1956. Her prominent roles include Doraemon in Doraemon, and she portrayed this role for 26 years. Other characters include Monokuma from Danganronpa and Katsuo Isono in Sazae-san. Her husband, the late Keisuke Sagawa, announced in 2015 that Oyama had dementia, which meant an indefinite hiatus in her career. Because of this, Tarako replaced Monokuma for titles like Danganronpa V3. Outside of voice acting, she has acted in live-action films and dramas, as well as worked as a writer, singer, and essayist.

Oyama’s death marks yet another major death in the anime and manga industry in Japan in 2024. Earlier this year, Akira Toriyama (creator of Dragon Ball) and Atsuko Tanaka (voice actress of characters like Motoko in Ghost in the Shell) passed away. Tarako, the replacement voice for Oyama’s Doraemon and the voice actress of Maruko in Chibi Maruko-chan, passed away in March 2024. A few months later, Noriko Ohara, who voiced Nobita in Doraemon and Doronjo in Yatterman, passed away in July 2024.

Nobuyo Oyama, the original voice actress for Doraemon, died on September 29, 2024.