Nobuyo Oyama, voice of ‘Doraemon’, dies at 90

The actress voiced the beloved anime cat from 1979 to 2005

Nobuyo Oyama, the actor known as the voice of the anime cat Doreamon in the show of the same name, has died at the age of 90.

The news was confirmed by her agency, who said that she passed away on September 29 due to old age. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness you extended to the deceased during her lifetime,” a statement from the Actors 7 agency read, per CNN.

Oyama voiced the eponymous character in the beloved Japanese show Doreamon from 1979 until 2005. Created by Fujiko F. Fujio and based on the manga series of the same name, the show followed the adventures of its title character – a robotic cat from the 22nd century who arrives in the present day to help a boy named Nobita, who is chastised for being “terrible at everything”.

The series was a huge hit in its native Japan and beyond, running for over 1700 episodes and being translated into dozens of languages around the world. The franchise also spawned films, video games, albums and further manga series.

Oyama was born in Tokyo on October 16, 1933, and got her break as a voice actor on the NHK puppet show Boo Foo Woo in the 1960s, but it was Doreamon that gave her a legacy that will be remembered.

Fans of the show have been paying tribute to Oyama on social media, with one X user writing: “Ms. Mobuyo Oyama, we will never forget your voice as Doreamon, the beloved character from Japan’s national anime. It may be a while, but please let me hear that voice again someday. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.”

Per The Independent, Oyama’s husband revealed in 2015 that she had developed dementia.

Her passing comes just months after the death of Noriko Ohara, the actor who played Nobita in Doreamon.