Nobuyo Oyama, voice of iconic ‘Doraemon’, passes away

Known as the raspy voice of Doraemon, Nobuyo Oyama died at the age of 90 years in Tokyo on 29 September, reported AP.
She voiced Doraemon for more than a quarter century and died of natural causes, AP quoted her agency Actors Seven as saying on Friday.
Oyama also performed the voice of the blue-and-white robotic cat from 1979 to 2005.
The anime series – where Doraemon and the story of his friendship with Nobita, created by cartoonist Fujiko F. Fujio in 1970 became hugely popular. Millions of fans in Japan and across the world have enjoyed it for years. The series was translated into dozens of languages.
Oyama was born in Tokyo in 1933 and debuted in a 1956 drama on Japan’s NHK public television. She lend her first voice acting role in 1957 in the dubbed version of the TV drama series “Lassie.”
Soon her voice gained popularity in anime and children’s programs. She even gave her voice as one of three piglets in a popular children’s puppet show in the early 1960s and of teenage boy Katsuo in the family anime series “Sazaesan” prior to “Doraemon.”
She took retirement as Doraemon in March 2005 as part of a renewal of the voice actors for the main characters.
Oyama had said, as AP quoted, “I hope Doraemon will still be a beloved character in the distant future.”
Her husband in 2015disclosed that she had developed dementia.
Actors Seven informed that Oyama’s funeral was held privately by her relatives. Earlier in July, Noriko Ohara, the voice of Nobita, died.
Earlier, famed Japanese manga artist Fujiko Fujio A, known for beloved children’s cartoons including “Ninja Hattori” and “Little Ghost Q-Taro”, has died aged 88. The artist, whose real name was Motoo Abiko, was found outside his home near Tokyo.
With agency inputs.