The famous and beloved voice actor Emi Shinohara (real name Emiko Watanabe) sadly passes away. The news broke out by her agency, 81 Produce, announced on September 10.
The statement from her agency read: “'[Sad news] Shinohara Emi (real name Watanabe Emiko), an actor affiliated with our company, passed away on September 8, 2024, at the age of 61, while undergoing medical treatment.”
“We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to us during her lifetime.”
Anybody unfamiliar with Shinohara by name will recognize her voice. The actress started her career in animation more than a decade ago. She first played the role in Dream Hunter Realm in 1986, but it was only Sailor Moon in 1992 that placed Shinohara on the global stage. In the anime, the late actor voiced Sailor Jupiter (Makoto Kino) and other background characters as well.
In addition to voicing the Bakuryuu Pteranodon in the Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger tokusatsu series, the star also translated foreign films into Japanese, including The Wizard of Oz, Clueless, Nikita, Home Alone, and many more.
Tokusatsu actor Hiroshi Watari was married to Shinohara. The couple had a son together, who released a statement from Shinohara’s X account. We are grateful to Shinohara for being the voice of a generation, and our prayers go out to the rest of her family.