Passion Unbroken by Cancer or Dementia... Original Doraemon Voice Actor Passes Away [Japanese Side]

Doraemon Voice Actor Nobuo Oyama Passes Away at 90
Dedicated to Doraemon Voice Acting Despite Battling Liver Cancer... Also Trained Successors as Principal

"Jinguya, did you fight with Tungtungi again?"

Jingu, the representative character of 'The Kid Who is Really Good,' Doraemon. The blue cat Doraemon always fills in for Jingu's somewhat clumsy and half-smart parts. Everyone remembers Doraemon's distinctive scratching voice, right?

In Japan, on the 11th, news of the passing of Nobuo Oyama, the voice actor who played Doraemon in the Doraemon animation, sparked a wave of tributes. He was 90 years old. It was reported that he had suffered from cancer and dementia, which added to the sadness.

A photo of Nobuo Oyama during his lifetime. (Photo by Nittere)

Today, we share the story of the original Doraemon voice actor, Nobuo Oyama.

Oyama was born in Tokyo in 1933. When he was young, he was often told he sounded like a "boy" because of his husky voice. However, he turned this disadvantage into an advantage and entered the path of acting. Even as a voice actor, he mainly took on boy roles.

Then, in 1979, he was cast as the voice of Doraemon in the animation. He was not the first voice actor, though. The first animation adaptation of the original work was by Nihon TV, and at that time, the role of Doraemon was given to a male actor who had dubbed movies like 'Rocky.' Naturally, it was an older man's voice. However, as the ratings did not improve, the voice actor was replaced by Masako Nozawa, who voiced Son Goku in Dragon Ball. Despite this, the popularity remained low, and eventually, Nihon TV stopped the Doraemon animation production.

Six years later, in 1979, TV Asahi cast Oyama, who was famous for his boy voice at the time, and for the role of Nobita, they brought in Noriko Ohara, who voiced Conan in Future Boy Conan, forming a top-notch voice actor team. Oyama read the manga thoroughly to prepare for the role and created his own interpretation. He considered Doraemon's characteristics as a cat-type robot from the future and thought about a relaxed voice personality, while also coming up with the distinctive scratching voice style. The original author, Fujiko F., was impressed upon hearing the voice, saying, "So this is what Doraemon's voice is like."

He also reinterpreted the original work with his own color. The line "Boku, Doraemon desu (ぼく、ドラえもんです)!" which is translated in Korea as "Hello, I'm Doraemon!" was not originally in the script but was thought up by Oyama himself.

Appearance of Mr. Oyama. (Photo by NHK)

Another notable aspect of the Doraemon animation is the absence of profanity. This was due to Oyama's interpretation that the original work should faithfully depict Doraemon as a future-type cat robot who takes care of children. He reasoned that a robot sent to look after children would never swear, so all profanity was removed. Therefore, lines like "You idiot!" which often appeared in the manga, were not used in the animation.

Thus, Doraemon gained tremendous popularity for 20 years. Around the time 20 years had passed, the production team wanted to continue working with these voice actors for the next 20 years. However, in 2001, Oyama was diagnosed with occupational cancer and hospitalized. Despite this, he could not let go of Doraemon and resigned from all roles except Doraemon to focus on it. He was 71 years old at the time. Then, in 2004, when all voice actors were replaced, he stepped down, expressing regret, saying, "I can still do more."

Thumbnail of Doraemon airing on TV Asahi. (Photo by TV Asahi)

However, even after stepping down, he remained passionate, becoming the principal of a sound arts vocational school in 2007 and dedicating himself to training the next generation. Then, in April 2008, he was hospitalized due to myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction, and in 2012, he was diagnosed with dementia. His husband cared for him at home, but in 2016, when his husband also developed cancer, Oyama entered a nursing facility. When his husband passed away the following year, Oyama's name was listed as a mourner at the funeral, but his health had deteriorated to the point that he could not attend, adding to the sorrow. This year, he was repeatedly hospitalized and discharged, but his dementia progressed severely, leaving him unable to speak on his own and only responding to calls from nursing facility staff. His passing has deepened the fans' sadness.

During his lifetime, he said, "I hope Doraemon will continue to be loved by everyone far into the future." Especially now, most of the original Doraemon voice actors, including the voice actor for Nobita, known as 'Nobita' in Korea, have passed away. This adds to the feeling that an era is ending. However, his wish to remain as the beloved Doraemon will forever remain in the hearts of fans.