Iconic Sailor Moon and Naruto star dies at 61

Emi Shinohara, the beloved voice actor of Sailor Moon and Naruto characters, died at the age of 61 on September 8, 2024.

The heartbreaking news was announced by 81 Produce, Shinohara’s talent agency, on their official website. The voice actor, who’s featured in many prominent anime shows, was suffering from an unknown condition and died while under treatment.

The company’s website states: “[Sad news] Shinohara Emi (real name Watanabe Emiko), an actor affiliated with our company, passed away on September 8, 2024, at the age of 61, while undergoing medical treatment. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to us during her lifetime.”

This is a blow to the anime industry as the late actor lent her voice to many iconic anime characters including Sailor Moon’s Sailor Jupiter, Naruto Shippuden’s Kushina Uzumaki, Cardcaptor Sakura’s Mizuki Kaho, and Loveless’ Katsuko.

Apart from her anime credits, Shinohara also dubbed foreign movies into Japanese. Some of her most well-known dubbing gigs include The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy (originally played by Judy Garland), The King and I’s Taptip (Rita Moreno), and Leon’s Matilda (Natalie Portman).

Following this announcement, fans are grieving her death and paying respect to her illustrious career on social media. One such fan wrote on X, “Rip Emi Shinohara, Kushina, Natsuhi, and Misuzu, thanks for voicing so many great mom characters.” 

“My deepest condolences to families, friends, and relatives. Last month too, Atsuko Tanaka passed away. This is unreal,” commented another user, referring to Ghost in the Shell voice actor’s death in August 2024. Coincidentally, Tanaka also voiced a female character from Naruto Shippuden – Konan. 

“Rest in peace, Shinohara-san. She has more noteworthy roles than Kushina, like Umineko’s Natsuhi, Project A-Ko’s Biko, & Kekkou Kamen by the way,” added a third. 

“NOOOOOO. 61?!! She was young af, man. we are having an awful year with so many legends passing,” said one user.

As we remember Shinohara and her contribution to the anime industry, we can revisit some of her best works. Our guides on Naruto episodes and Naruto filler will help you with that.