Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Yakuza 0 Voice Actor Keiji Fujiwara Has Died

Keiji Fujiwara, a notable voice actor in dozens of anime and games over the years, has died. His talent agency announced (via Oricon) that Fujiwara died at age 55 from cancer on Sunday, April 12.

Born in Tokyo on October 5, 1964, Fujiwara was well known for his roles in both anime and games, playing several beloved characters over the years. On the games side, Fujiwara voiced several RPG mainstays like Axel from Kingdom Hearts, Nishitani in Yakuza 0, and more recently, Reno in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

In anime, Fujiwara was the voice of Maes Hughes in both the original Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood, as well as Leorio in Hunter x Hunter, Holland in Eureka 7, and Hiroshi Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan. Fujiwara also did dubbing work, most notably dubbing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Marvel movies.

Many are expressing their condolences and grief over Fujiwara's death today. Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura shared a message on Twitter, thanking Fujiwara for his work voicing Axel and Final Fantasy 15's Ardyn. "For delivering Axel's passionate lines, moving our hearts, giving me the power to make so many songs... 'See you again, partner.'"

Fujiwara had gone on hiatus for medical treatment in 2016, at the time citing an unspecified illness. He returned to work in 2017. He also founded the Air Agency, a talent management agency, in 2006 and acted as its representative director.