Joseph Luster
November 8, 2021 
Another veteran of the anime industry is no longer with us, as the Theater Echo Group has announced that voice actress Yoshiko Ota passed away at the age of 89. Ota was known for roles such as Atsuko Kagami in 1969’s Himitsu no Akko-chan anime, as well as Baby Panda in 1969’s Panda! Go, Panda!, Leo in 1966’s Jungle Emperor Leo, and more. According to the announcement, she passed away on October 29 at a Kanagawa prefecture hospital due to heart failure.
After being a member of the 35th generation of the Takarazuka Revue from 1947 to 1952, Yoshiko Ota joined the Theater Echo Group with fellow voice actor and husband Osamu Saka upon moving to Tokyo in 1964. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Tokyo Anime Award Festival for all of her amazing contributions to early anime productions.
Ota will be missed, and our thoughts go out to her friends, family members, and colleagues.
Source: NHK via Crunchyroll
