Nobuyo Tsuda

Description
Nobuyo Tsuda was a Japanese voice actress and actress born on June 19, 1921, in Niigata Prefecture. She passed away on January 5, 2018, at the age of 96. Her real name was Mariya Takeda. In her early career, she was affiliated with the theatrical company Zenshinza, performing in stage productions such as The Merchant of Venice. She later joined Aoni Production, which was her final agency before her death. She was also known by the former stage name Mariko Tsuda.

Tsuda was a prolific voice actress whose career spanned from the 1960s to the early 2000s. She became a familiar presence in classic anime of the 1970s and 1980s, often cast in the roles of elderly women, grandmothers, and other mature female characters. Her extensive filmography includes numerous television series and films that are considered landmarks of Japanese animation.

Some of her most notable voice roles include Panther Zora and Tsuneni Miharu in Cutie Honey, Hara Arano in UFO Robot Grendizer, the fortune teller in Space Adventure Cobra, Otoyo in Triton of the Sea, and various characters in the first series of GeGeGe no Kitaro, including a mourner's wife and Grandma Jakotsu. She also contributed her voice to other major productions such as Devilman, Dororon Enma-kun, and Magic User's Club. Her work extended to animated films as well, with roles in Galaxy Express 999: Claire of Glass as Maboroshi no Haha and in the 1985 film GoShogun: The Time Étranger, where she is credited as the Elder. In addition to anime, she performed dubbing work for foreign films and television series, such as providing the voice for Endora in the Japanese dub of Bewitched.

Throughout her long career, Tsuda worked on numerous projects that featured recurring collaborations with other prominent voice actors. For instance, she worked alongside Joji Yanami, Katsuji Mori, and Eken Mine on both Triton of the Sea and Cutie Honey. She also appeared in the Crying Freeman OVA series with Yusaku Yara and Chiharu Kataishi. Her final acting credit was in the 2003 television series Texhnolyze, where she provided the voice for an Old Lady character.

Nobuyo Tsuda's legacy is that of a dedicated and versatile performer whose voice helped define the golden age of anime. Her contributions to the medium, particularly through her many roles in foundational series, have left a lasting mark on the industry and continue to be appreciated by fans of classic Japanese animation.
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