Veteran voice actor Unshō Ishizuka, whose body of work includes Pokémon, Cowboy Bebop, Lupin the 3rd, Dragon Ball Super, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, is dead. He was 67. (A more traditional method of calculating age in Japan puts his age at 68.)
Ishizuka died on Monday after a battle with esophageal cancer, according to the talent agency Aoni Production, but his death wasn’t announced until Friday.
His career in voice acting spans more than three decades and dozens of anime, films, and video games. He was the voice of Jet Black on Cowboy Bebop and fans of the Japanese version of Pokémon, however, might recognize him as the voice of Professor Oak and the narrator, which he provided in multiple series and movies. His resume is extensive, which credits him for voicing characters in the Tekken video game series, Naruto, Trigun, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and Attack on Titan. He is also the narrator of Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc to Renkin no Kishi, which will debut in October 2018.
Ishizuka also dubbed dozens of live-action and animated films and TV. Several of his of those credits include films starring Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne, but he also dubbed voices of many other films and shows like Jurassic World, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Lilo and Stitch, Wreck-It Ralph, and CSI: Miami.
A public memorial for Ishizuka will be announced later by his family.
H/T Kotaku
