Legendary voice actor Eiko Masuyama passed away on Monday, May 20 at the age of 88. Masuyama was best known for voicing Fujiko Mine in the Lupin III anime, as well as Honey Kisaragi in Cutie Honey and Bakabon’s Mama in Tensai Bakabon. According to a report by Spiel Anime, she had a few different health issues and passed away due to pneumonia last month.
Masuyama’s agency Aoni Production announced her death in a public statement last month. It said Masuyama “had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, but passed away on May 20th, 2024, due to pneumonia for which no medicine could cure. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to us during her lifetime and would like to inform you of this news.” Afterward, the official Lupin III social media pages posted a tribute to Masuyama as well. It said: “We would like to express our gratitude for her many years of success and our condolences. Thank you.”
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Masuyama was born in Tokyo, Japan on April 22, 1936 as the youngest of four sisters. In an interview with the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, she explained that she took an interest in acting because she was told that she spoke too slowly when she was young. She studied theater and discovered a passion for the art form. As a young adult, she found voice acting to be the most convenient to balance work with childcare.
Masuyama became a member of Aoni Productions in the 1960s, giving her over half a century of work with the company. She has been a part of anime history since the beginning with a role in the original Astro Boy as Kipiah Lucia. However, she focused on narration work as much as possible in her career, meaning her character voices are limited in many cases.
Masuyama has at least 118 acting credits – some spanning many years and some confined to one episode or movie. She first joined the Lupin III franchise in 1969 with Lupin the Third: Pilot Film, and held the role of Fujiko Mine from then on. The series follows Lupin (Yasuo Yamada), the “world’s greatest thief” who goes on high-stakes heists with a rotating cast of characters, including his love interest, femme fatale Fujiko. Out of all his associates, she manipulates Lupin and double crosses him the most often.
Lupin III has been popular in Japan for decades but only began to break out in the U.S. over the last decade or so. The series was directed by Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki for many years, adding to its prestige.
Masuyama kept her personal lifre relatively private, so it’s unclear who survives the actress. However, she definitely has a lot of fans around the world mourning her passing right now.
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