Matt Schley
May 28, 2025 
It’s the end of an era for Japan’s long-running children’s show Anpanman. Voice actor Hisako Kyōda, who plays the character Omusubiman, is retiring at the age of 90. Replacing the 90-year-old Kyōda in the role is none other than Masako Nozawa, the legendary voice behind roles like Goku in Dragon Ball and Tetsuro in Galaxy Express 999. Nozawa is currently 88, and turns 89 this October.
Practically a spring chicken!
Kyōda had played the character since 1988.
Aside from Omusubiman, Kyōda is best known for playing Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho, Yukari in Maison Ikkoku and Obaba in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. She won an a lifetime achievement award at the Seiyū Awards in 2019. We wish her the best in retirement.
Meanwhile, earlier this year Nozawa declared her intention to act until age 182.
Akira Kume, who died in 2020, continued working as a voice actor up until her death at age 96.
Several Anpanman films are available in English on Tubi. In Japan, the series has been running since 1988, and there are currently over 1,600 episodes. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest number of characters in an animated series: 1,768 as of 2009.
Source: Mulboyne
