RIP Chikao Otsuka (Japanese voice actor of Eggman)

I just found out he was the voice of Weil 10 minutes ago, and it's sad to say that's all I know him for. I don't listen to Sonic games in Japanese, or watch much anime. But even though the Zero games had very little voice acting, there was something about Weil's voice that always sounded sinister.

Looking over his Wikipedia page, he was not Death in Castlevania Rondo of Blood as I had suspected, but it appears he was Dr. Peace in the first No More Heroes game, a character based on the roles of Charles Bronson voiced by the official dub artist for Charles Bronson.

 

It never really dawned on me that he was in his 80s until recently.

Rest in peace. We'll miss the hell out of you.

 

This is a rather scary coincidence, but Deem Bristow also passed away on January 15 exactly ten years prior.

 

That is freaky, what did Deem die of again?

 

Apparently heart attack, but that's from IMdb and he doesn't have a Wikipedia page.

 

If I recall correctly Deem had been out dancing when he had his heart attack?

 

So he died of heart issues too?! fuck now thats REALLY weird.

 

It is such a shame, and well.. quite shocking that he passed away.
Rest in peace, Chikao Otsuka.

 

I can't say I'm familiar with the man's work, but it sounds like he contributed to a lot more than Sonic and it's a damn shame to see artists go like that. Rest in peace.

Holy crap, those exist? Strange, given that those were very western-targeted shows and that Sonic never really had a big following in Japan anyway.

 

Have you ever played Sonic Adventure 2? Know how Eggman does that "e-Yo!" sound when he jumps and goes "Yosh!" all the time? That's because it's pitched down from the Japanese version. Therefore we've all heard him at some point.

 

Gonna add this one in here if it hasn't been mentioned already.

He was also the real life father of Akio Otsuka (the Japanese voice actor for Snake from MGS. Fans of Street Fighter will know him as the Japanese Seth voice), and the two performed together for the finale of Metal Gear Solid 4, where they played a fictional father and son.

Here's the cutscene in Japanese with Chikao and Akio Otsuka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oWSo5KnJ2c
(SPOILER ALART for.. well, the entirety of the MGS franchise I guess!)

It's a tad more emotional now in light of current events.

 

It's a shame Chikao is gone. I never understood enough Japanese to switch the games to that language full time, but he was clearly a proliferous actor, and he clearly loved what he did.

Also, exactly ten years after Deem Bristow? Someone warn Mike Pollock.