Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Veteran voice actor Motomu Kiyokawa passed away on Aug. 17 at the age of 87 due to pneumonia. He debuted his career as voice actor in Big X (1964) anime series.

The official Studio Khara Twitter page released a statement by Hideaki Anno: “Motomu Kiyokawa, who I’ve been a big fan of since I was a student, has passed away. I have hoped to keep casting him in more roles, and I’m very sadden by his passing. One time a while back, I ran into him at Shinjuku station, and he said to me: ‘Anno chan, if you don’t end Evangelion soon, I’m going to be gone’ with a smile, and when we finished with the 2nd post recording of the Shin Evangelion, he said to me: ‘Anno chan, we made it in time’ and left with a smile.

To think that me saluting him out of the recording studio would also be the last time I get to see him.

I would like to express my sincere condolences. I’ll never forget the smile he had when we talked about the stories he had while working on his previous works. Thank you very much.”

Famous Japanese voice actor Tomokazu Seki (Suneo in Doraemon (2005), Rob Lucci in One Piece, Whisper in Yo-kai Watch & Touji Suzuhara in Evangelion franchise) said on Twitter: “Senior Motomu Kiyokawa passed away. At the time of my debut, we were in the same agency, so I was blessed with many opportunities to work together with him, and I was very grateful. He was strict with his acting, and I was afraid of being scolded a lot. Thank you for your hard work, senior!”

The official BLAZBLUE video game series page on Twitter mentioned: “Motomu Kiyokawa, who played Valkenhayn in the ‘BLAZBLUE’ series, has passed away. We are deeply grateful for his kindness during his lifetime and pray that his soul rests in peace.”

The late voice actor Motomu Kiyokawa was known for his iconic role as Kozo Fuyutsuki in the Evangelion franchise including Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime series, the Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth film, and the Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion film as well in the four more recent reboot films in the franchise.

Kiyokawa was also known for his roles in many anime series such as: Gargoyle in Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Walter in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate, Tem Rey in Mobile Suit Gundam, Tippy in ‘Is the order a rabbit?’ franchise.

Kobayashi was the first voice for Ultraman King in Ultraman franchise and was known for his work in multiple TV shows and Drama.