Tomoko Kawakami
川上 とも子
Born
Rinko Kawakami

(1970-04-25)April 25, 1970
Tokyo, Japan
DiedJune 9, 2011(2011-06-09) (aged 41)
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationVoice actress
Years active1994–2010
EmployerProduction Baobab
Notable work

Tomoko Kawakami (川上 とも子, Kawakami Tomoko, April 25, 1970 – June 9, 2011) was a Japanese voice actress.[1] Having graduated from the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, she was a member of Production Baobab.

Career

Kawakami debuted in 1994 as a role of a boy in Metal Fighter Miku. Her first regular performance was in 1995 as Chiriko in Fushigi Yuugi. Two years after, she landed her first starring voice role as Utena Tenjou in Revolutionary Girl Utena. Aside from Chiriko and Utena, her famous roles are in Air (Misuzu Kamio), Bleach (Soifon), Chrono Crusade (Rosette Christopher), Hikaru no Go (Hikaru Shindo), Sgt. Frog (Fuyuki Hinata), Ape Escape (Natsumi),Yukiko Kawasaki (Dear Boys), Sugar (A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) & Aria (Athena Glory).

Kawakami provided voices for young boys, girls and comical characters. The best-known genre of her roles are tomboyish characters (Soifon, Utena Tenjou). With such a powerful voice, she was often affiliated in paranormal and yuri-themed anime. She also made her name voicing the heroine in the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series, based from the Neoromance game with the same title produced by Koei in 2000.

Illness and death

In August 2008, Kawakami had ovarian cancer,[2] which required surgery. During a three-year battle with cancer, most of her ongoing roles were replaced by other voice actresses, although Kawakami managed to do some voice work until her retirement in early 2010.[3] She died on June 9, 2011. Her death was met with an outpouring of grief.[4] Kumiko Watanabe, a particular voice actress and a close friend of hers prior to her passing whom worked alongside Kawakami for works such as the Klonoa video game series and Sgt. Frog anime, responded on her web diary with condolences just two days after her death.[5]

Filmography

Anime series

Anime films

Video games

Dubbing roles

Original video animation

Successors

References

  1. ↑ Doi, Hitoshi. "Kawakami Tomoko". Seiyuu Database. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  2. ↑ 声優の川上とも子さんが卵巣がんで死去 『ヒカルの碁』主人公役 [Voice actress Tomoko Kawakami passes away from ovarian cancer, known for the lead role in Hikaru no Go]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Oricon. June 10, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ Masutō, Tatsuya (March 5, 2009). 佐藤順一総監督 ロング・インタビュー [Long Interview with Junichi Sato, the General Director]. Kinema Junpo (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Kinema-Junpo. 1528 (March 2009): 140.
  4. ↑ "Utena Voice Actress Tomoko Kawakami Passes Away". Anime News Network. June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ "くれたもの - メリケンブロー海：楽天ブログ".
  6. ↑ "IMDb: Emily of New Moon - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "KOFキャラクター - THE KING OF FIGHTERS OFFICIAL WEB SITE". kofaniv.snk-corp.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Legend of Dragoon (1999)(VG)". IMDb. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  9. ↑ "ブルークラッシュ". Star Channel. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  10. ↑ "TVアニメ GUMBY　ガンビー (1956～)について 映画データベース - allcinema".
  11. ↑ "アトランティスのこころ". Star Channel. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ "「日曜洋画劇場」版日本語吹替音声を初収録『ヒート』製作20周年記念版発売". Tower Records. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  13. ↑ "ジュマンジ". Star Channel. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Tomoko Kawakami". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 17, 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

Sources

  • Nakagami, Yoshikatsu. "The Official Art of AIR" (October 2007), Newtype USA. pgs. 135–41
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