Voice Actress Atsuko Tanaka Passed Away…
- The anime industry mourns the loss of Atsuko Tanaka, known for her iconic “boss lady” roles, at age 61.
- Tanaka’s notable roles include Major Makoto Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, Konan in Naruto, and Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen.
- Her voice will continue to live on through the memorable characters she portrayed across anime and video games.
Man, I hate opening up a week with a downer of a news. Nothing gets worse than a talented person passing away. The anime industry lost another great talent recently, Atsuko Tanaka. Think of a strong “boss lady” type anime character, and there is a good likelihood that they were voiced by Atsuko Tanaka. For example, Caster from Fate/Stay Night, Rose from The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, Lisa Lisa from JoJo, and more. Over the years, she has done many iconic roles and her voice will be missed.
So let’s quickly go over the details of what happened, I don’t want to discuss that stuff for too long. The main objective of this article is to highlight some of her amazing voice work so that she may be remembered through her voice. Let’s get started.
About Atsuko Tanaka
She was born in November 1962 in the Gunma region of Japan. After graduating from university, she worked at an office for 6 years while attending classes at Tokyo Announcement Academy on weekends and at night. She debuted in the Kobo-chan anime as the voice of Norko. Her first major role came in Lupin III: Voyage to Danger as Karen Korinsky in 1993.
The details of passing are requested to remain undisclosed by her son, Hikaru Tanaka, which is fair enough. But she passed Tuesday, 20th August at the age of 61.
Her Work
Perhaps Atsuko Tanaka’s best and most famous work is Major Makoto Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. Makoto is a complex character and she goes through a lot during the story sure enough, Astusko Tanak delivered a phenomenal performance. Another one of her famous roles is Konan from Naruto. We all love Konan, right? She was singlehandedly one of the best-written characters in Naruto.
If you are into games, she voiced HMS Hood and KMS Tirpitz in Azur Lane, and Eva/Trish in Devil May Cry (Japanese version, ofc). Continuing with the Japanese versions, she also voiced Bayonetta and Kaine from NieR. I already mentioned Caster and Lisa Lisa. More recently, her major roles include Hanami from Jujutsu Kaisen and Flamme from Frieren. As I said, her career is full of impressive roles and her voice will continue to live on through these characters.
That is all for now
Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I do not like starting a week with news like this but hey. Atsuko Tanaka will be missed and let us make sure to never forget the iconic characters she has given her voice to over the years. For through them, she may live forever. With that said, I will take my leave here.
