Image via Aoni Pro website
The voice talent agency Aoni Production announced on their official website June 27 that voice actor Taiki Matsuno passed away on June 26 due to a brain hemorrhage. He was 56 years old.According to the statement, the wake and funeral service will be held for close relatives only following wishes from his family. The agency writes, “We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness he received during his lifetime, and would like to respectfully inform you of his passing.”Taiki Matsuno was born in Tokyo on October 16, 1967. He began his professional career as a child actor, joining the Himawari Theater Company when he was young. While working on many live-action TV dramas and movies, he also made his debut as a voice actor at the age of 10. From the end of the 70’s to the present, he continued to work on various anime characters and Japanese dubs for foreign films, including the Japanese dub version of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Other notable anime character roles Matsuno played include:
The Prince in The Adventures of the Little Prince (1978)
Pegasus in Sailor Moon SuperS (1995)
Hajime Kindaichi in Kindaichi Case Files / Kindaichi Case Files R (1997-2016)
Echoes in Boogiepop Phantom (2000)
Koga in Inuyasha (2001-2010)
Jun Manjome in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2004-2008)
Wisdom in Pretty Cure / Futari wa Precure Max Heart (2004-2006)
Agumon in Digimon Savers (2006-2007)
Tarte in Fresh Precure! (2009-2010)
Norio in Idol Time Pripara (2017)
Mori Shellmon in Digimon Ghost Game (2021)
Our condolences go out to Matsuno’s family, and we want to thank him for his contributions to the anime industry.
Source: Aoni Pro official website (1, 2)
