Noriko Ohara, who voiced Nobita in 'Doreamon,' passes away at 88
Japanese actress Noriko Ohara, who starred in Doraemon as Nobita, has passed away. She was 88.
Her agency, 81 Produce, announced her passing on July 23, sharing that she "underwent treatment for an illness that was ineffective." The actress died on July 12 and had a private funeral. Her cause of death was not further disclosed.
Ohara, whose real name is Noriko Tobe, was born in Tokyo on October 2, 1935. She appeared in children's programs and on stage when she was a child.
The actress is most known for her role as 10-year-old Nobita in Doraemon from 1979 to 2005.
In a 2017 interview with Japanese news site Cinema Today, Ohara described playing the character as an intense task.
"Working on Doraemon was like being an athlete. We recorded seven to eight episodes at a time, and Gian (the bully in Doraemon) was always chasing us. I had to build up my stamina," she said.
In addition to the hit anime, she also lent her voice to other popular shows like Future Boy Conan, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Yatterman, Wacky Races, Urusei Yatsura, and Super Dimension Fortress Macross.
In 2007, Ohara won an Achievement Award from the first ever Seiyu Awards and the Synergy Awards from the same body in 2013.
Doraemon is an anime series based on Fujiko Fujio's manga first serialized in 1969. The story follows the titular robotic cat as he travels back in time to help out Nobita. There have been three iterations of the manga in 1973, 1979, and 2005.
Ohara is survived by her son, Atsuo Tobe, who's also an animator and director in the industry.
