Prolific Pokémon Voice Actor Passes Away
Most tributes have been private for family and friends, but fans are celebrating his life and work during this time of loss and mourning.
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Keiji Fujiwara passed away at the young age of 55 from cancer on April 1st, 2020. The news of his death first came out from the website of Air Agency, where his obituary was shared. Most tributes have been private for family and friends, but fans are celebrating his life and work during this time of loss and mourning.
Keiji Fujiwara was a prolific voice actor. He played Detective Looker or “Detective Handsome” in Pokémon. First appearing in Pokémon Platinum, Detective Looker is an international investigator who goes by the code name referring to his handsome appearance. He can be found in most Pokémon series investigating the evil deeds of villains and antagonists. In addition, he took up the mantle of Mewtwo for Super Smash Bros. For Wii U.
Fujiwara is also the voice of Reno from Final Fantasy VII. Reno, despite his harsh red hair and piercing blue stare, has a laid back personality. In the Japanese version, Fujiwara gives Reno a very unique style of speaking. One quirk he has is adding yo (よ) to the end of most of his sentences.
Fujiwara also brought the lovely Major Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist to life. Maes was a loving father, kind friend, and talented worker, whose death in the anime series is one of the most tragic plot lines.
Keiji Fujiwara also did a lot of work to dub foreign movies into Japanese. He is the voice of the Joker in the The Lego Batman Movie, and sits alongside greats like Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger in bringing this role to life. He also was responsible for dubbing Tony Stark in the MCU.
Outside of voice acting, Keiji Fujiwara boasted numerous other accomplishments. Fujiwara was the founder of Air Agency production and talent management agency starting in 2006, and was also a regular lecturer at the Japan Newart College.
In 2016, as he fell sick, other voice actors took his place in ongoing production. Kenyū Horiuchi took over for Detective Looker in Pokémon, Kenjirō Tsuda took over for Hannes in Attack on Titan, and Hiroaki Hirata took over as Shirō Fujimoto in Blue Exorcist. Fujiwara got back into the recording booth in 2017.
Keiji Fujiwara will be missed by fans, family and loved ones, but his works and talent will continue to be celebrated for a long time to come.
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