Universally-Adored Robot Cat ‘Doraemon’ Loses Its Voice

London: ‘Doraemon’ has been a favourite with children not only in Japan, but all over the world including India.

Japanese actor Nobuyo Oyama, the voice of the much-loved cartoon cat robot ‘Doraemon’, passed away recently at the age of 90.

She passed away on September 29 due to old age, Oyama’s talent agency told AFP.

Oyama lent her endearing voice to Doraemon for a quarter of a century until 2005.

Appointed Japan’s ‘anime ambassador’ in 2008, Doraemon is from the 22nd century with his ‘magic pocket’ and its supply of fantastic gadgets.

Created by artist Fujiko F Fujio, Doraemon is a robot cat with a huge smile travels back in time to help a lazy schoolboy called Nobita overcome the trials of everyday life.

‘Doraemon’, whose first appearance was in December 1969 in a Japanese magazine, was turned into a TV series in 1973 and later appeared on the big screen. It’s still on air as one of the longest-running Japanese anime series.

Though Oyama’s successor has played the role for almost two decades now, the grand old lady is considered by many as the real and definitive sound of the robot.