Voice Actor Unsho Ishizuka Known for Iconic Roles in Persona 4, Pokemon Has Died

Veteran voice actor Unsho Ishizuka has died. The announcement was made by his talent agency through Twitter. Ishizuka was 67.

Ishizuka is probably best known for being the voice of Professor Oak as well as the narrator of Pokemon in the Japanese dub of the Pokemon anime. However, Ishizuka has a long career in the voice over industry, voicing iconic characters like Jet Black in Cowboy Beblop as well as Ryotaro Dojima from Persona 4.

The news from Ishizuka's talent agency was translated by Twitter user @bk2128, but support has come from other studios who have worked with Ishizuka including Bandai Namco.

He also took over the role of Dragon Ball's Mr. Satan (Hercule in North America) after voice actor Daisuke Gori died in 2010. In other video game roles, Ishizuka voiced characters like Heihachi starting in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and Steven Armstrong in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

His most recent voice roles included "Papa" Dino Golzine in Banana Fish, as well as the narrator in Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online.

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