Danica Davidson
August 20, 2024 
Sad news has been announced out of Japan as we learn of the passing of prolific voice actor Atsuko Tanaka. The news was revealed by her son, Hikaru Tanaka, who is also a voice-over talent.
According to Hikaru, his mother had been battling an illness for about a year, until she succumbed to it at age 61. He did not say what the illness was, because he says his mother didn’t want it made public.
いつもお世話になっている皆様へ pic.twitter.com/rfzWhMbsIl
— 田中 光（Hikaru Tanaka） (@HikaruTanaka_va) August 20, 2024
This is also the first time that the connection between the two Tanakas was made. There are plenty of unrelated people out there with the surname Tanaka, and Hikaru found it regretful that this is how people learned the connection.
The son expressed his gratitude to fans of Atsuko Tanaka, and asked that people remember her and her many works. On top of that, he described his mother’s life as “serious, dignified, and a little playful” while she battled her unknown illness.
Atsuko Tanaka was most famous for her role as Motoko Kusanagi throughout the Ghost in the Shell anime franchise. But that’s only scratching the surface of her career. She also was Bayonetta in the Bayonetta series, Trish in Devil May Cry, Caster in Fate/stay night, Harumi Kiyama in A Certain Scientific Railgun, Flamme in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen, Samari Ittan in Knights of Sidonia, Esmeralda in Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Cecile Hazuki in Speed Racer X, Mira in The Vampire Dies in No Time, Hibari Torii in The Way of the Househusband, Jagara in Wolf’s Rain, Rose in The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, and Omurasaki no Omae in YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master, to name a few examples.
Tributes have been pouring out in Japan and around the world from people who were touched by Tanaka’s voice work.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
