Tsuchida was also best known for voicing Grisha Yeager in Attack on Titan.
Prominent Japanese voice actor Hiroshi Tsuchida has passed away at the age of 54. He had suffered from heart failure and died on 11 October, though his agency, 81 Produce, had only confirmed his passing today, 20 October. His funeral was held privately with family members, in accordance with his family's wishes, the agency stated.
Hiroshi Tsuchida was a notable figure in the Japanese voice acting industry, having lent his voice to numerous memorable characters across a wide range of productions. His career spanned anime, video games, live-action television, international film dubbing and narration.
Many fans would mostly recognise his voice as Grisha Yeager in the anime Attack on Titan and as Ninja Blue in the 1994 Super Sentai series. Beyond these roles, Tsuchida also voiced numerous supporting characters in renowned anime series, including Raido Namiashi in Naruto, Capote in One Piece and John Titor in Steins;Gate.
In the video games industry, he provided the Japanese voices for Feng Wei in the Tekken series, Zasalamel in the Soulcalibur series and Kuroda Nagamasa in Nioh. His most notable work was likely his role as Kazuki in the Yakuza franchise, a character he voiced from the original game through to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, which launched in February this year.
Tsuchida also contributed to Japanese-language dubs of several blockbuster live-action films. These included voicing characters played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Don Jon. He also voiced characters played by Sean Gunn in productions including the Guardians of the Galaxy series, Interstellar, Tron and Squid Game.
His voice work extended to animation, where he voiced Lightning McQueen in the Cars series, Gwi-Ma in KPop Demon Hunters, and Donatello in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series.
Fans and the gaming community pay tribute to Hiroshi Tsuchida
Hiroshi Tsuchida leaves behind a lasting legacy in the entertainment industry, with fans and fellow industry figures sharing tributes and condolences following news of his passing.
Yakuza developer RGG Studio posted the following statement:
“Mr. Dai Tsuchida, who played the role of Kazuki in the ‘Yakuza’ series, has passed away.
On behalf of everyone at RGG Studio, we respectfully express our condolences and sincerely pray for his eternal rest.”
The director of Yakuza Kiwami 3 also paid tribute to the late voice actor:
“From the time when I was just a young rookie, you always kindly checked in on me at the site.
I'll never forget that we got to work together. That you gave me your passionate performance.
Tsuchida-san, thank you so much.
I pray for your eternal peace.”
Under the news of his passing, fans praise Tsuchida's performance as Grisha Yeager, and how he made a lasting impression.
“His acting for Grisha was insane. He would show up once a season to give the most incredible voice performance ever and then disappear until next season. Rest in Peace,” one fan wrote.
“He made every single scene as Grisha count, even if we only got to hear him a few times a season. What a heartbreaking loss. His performance is going to stay with fans for a long time,” another commented.
