Hiroshi Tsuchida, Voice of Grisha Yeager, Dies at 54
Tsuchida's death cut across three audiences at once, tokusatsu viewers who knew him as Ninja Blue, anime viewers who knew him as Grisha Yeager, and game players who knew him as Kazuki in Like a Dragon, and the condolences from Toei, Disney, Bandai Namco Filmworks and RGG Studio show each side claimed him separately.
Key Facts
- Hiroshi Tsuchida died on October 11 due to heart failure at age 54, 81 Produce announced on October 20.
- Hiroshi Tsuchida was born in Tokyo on February 8, 1972.
- Hiroshi Tsuchida played Ninja Blue in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and voiced Grisha Yeager in Attack on Titan.
- Hiroshi Tsuchida voiced King Lionel in The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom, which premiered on October 3.
- Toei streamed Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Dai San-bu: Chūnen Funtō-hen free on YouTube from October 21 to October 23 at 11:59 p.m.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, The Indonesian Anime Times, OtakuKart Anime.
Talent agency 81 Produce announced on Tuesday that screen and voice actor Hiroshi Tsuchida died on October 11 due to heart failure. He was 54. A private funeral was held with close relatives only, in line with the family's wishes. Tsuchida was born in Tokyo on February 8, 1972. He played Ninja Blue in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and voiced Grisha Yeager in Attack on Titan, along with Kōichirō Iketani in the Initial D: Legend film series and J.J. Sexton in the four-episode Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt net anime. He voiced Trainer Okita in the 2023 Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Road to the Top net series and its 2024 compilation film. His most recent anime roles were Shippo Marimo in Mebius Dust, which premiered on July 9, and King Lionel in The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom, which premiered on October 3. In dubbing, he was the Japanese voice for Lightning McQueen in Cars and Cade Yeager in the Transformers live-action films.
Koichi Sakamoto's 30th anniversary special Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Dai San-bu: Chūnen Funtō-hen, made for the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club, was put on Toei Tokusatsu's official YouTube channel for free from October 21 to 23 at 11:59 p.m. The fan club said it wanted as many people as possible to see the work. Teruaki Ogawa, who played Ninja Red, posted about the stream and wrote that Tsuchida was "cute, pathetic, and really cool."
Condolences came from outside the tokusatsu cast as well. Yuki Kaji, who voiced father and son with Tsuchida in Attack on Titan, wrote that without Tsuchida's Grisha, neither Eren's beginning nor his end could exist. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and its head Masayoshi Yokoyama both commented; Yokoyama traced their work together to the in-house prototype of Like a Dragon 22 years ago, where Tsuchida voiced Kazuki after staff recordings were judged too weak to use. Disney's Japanese animation studio thanked him for voicing Lightning McQueen, Bandai Namco Filmworks cited his Nadim Samaya in The Witch from Mercury, and the Earth Defense Force team credited him as Public Relations Officer Honda.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Interest Anime World Offers Condolences After Screen, Voice Actor Hiroshi Tsuchida's Death, Part II
- The Indonesian Anime Times Seiyu Hiroshi Tsuchida Wafat
- OtakuKart Anime Attack on Titan’s Grisha Yeager Voice Actor Hiroshi Tsuchida Dies at 54