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Friends, Fans Bid Farewell to Pokémon, JoJo's Voice Actor Unshō Ishizuka

Aoni Production announced the unfortunate passing of voice actor Unshō Ishizuka due to esophageal cancer in August. Ishizuka was the voice behind many beloved anime characters including Pokémon's Professor Oak, Cowboy Bebop's Jet Black, Dragon Ball Super's Mr. Satan, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's Joseph Joestar.

Ishizuka's private funeral and wake were held in August followed by a larger farewell service in Aoyama. The memorial took place on October 2 and included a floral display depicting a golf course with cut-outs of Ishizuka's characters standing on the green.

Voice actors Jouji Nakata, Tohru Furuya, and Ryōtarō Okiayu attended the service and shared messages and pictures on social media. Furuya wrote that he golfed with Ishizuka and that his passing came too soon.

Okiayu remembered Ishizuka as someone he initially expected to be so friendly and nice, and that he was even scared of him when they first met. He went on to say that he wished he could hear Ishizuka say "Zonis!" as the character Vincent Bari from Zatch Bell once again.

Actor Kappei Yamaguchi wrote that he came back home from the service only to hear his iPhone playing "Last Train Home" by the Pat Metheny Group. The song brought him to tears.

Voice actress Naoko Matsui complimented the central floral piece and thanked Detective Nakamori (Ishizuka's character in Case Closed) for all his hard work.

Producer Kiyoshi Sugiyama wished Ishizuka farewell on the official Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS Twitter account and thanked him for voicing the series' character Shūjirō Hongō.

[Via Nijimen]