The government of Japan announced the list of People of Cultural Merit for this year, made up of 21 personalities featured from various artistic fields. Among those selected are the voice actress Masako Nozawa and the manga creator Keiko Takemiya, marking a historic event when Nozawa became the first seiyuu to receive this recognition.
The official ceremony will take place on November 4th at the hotel The Okura Tokyo, with the presence of other winners such as the dancer and actor Min Tanaka (participant in the film Children of the Sea and the saga Rurouni Kenshin) and the playwright Hideki Noda (narrator of the animated short Tokatonton).
About Masako Nozawa
Masako Nozawa he is one of the most influential figures in the history of voice acting in Japan. It debuted in the original anime of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) in 1963, and later played a Kitarou in Gegege no Kitarou (1968) and its 1971 sequel. Decades later, he returned to the franchise to voice Medama Oyaji in the 2018 remake and in the film GeGeGe no Kitarou: Kappa no Terraforming (2023).
However, its most emblematic role is that of Son Goku in Dragonball, a character he has played for more than four decades. For this work, Nozawa holds two Guinness records: that of “voice actress with the longest career playing the same character in video games” and the of “longest career in video game dubbing”.
In 2023, he received the Kan Kikuchi Award for being a pioneering figure in the seiyuu profession and an emblematic representative of Japanese popular culture.
About Keiko Takemiya
Keiko Takemiya she is one of the most influential authors in the history of modern manga. Along with Hagio Motorcycle and Riyoko Ikeda, it is part of the legendary Group of the Year 24, made up of creators who revolutionized shoujo and science fiction manga in the 1970s.
Among his most recognized works stand out Toward the Terra (To Terra), Kaze to Ki no Uta and Andromeda Stories, with which he won Shogakukan Manga Award. Your work Toward the Terra it was adapted into an anime in 2007, while his works were published in English by Vertical and licensed in 2019 by Planet manga.
Takemiya is considered a pioneer of science fiction manga and one of the authors who laid the foundations for manga aimed at women, bringing emotional depth and social themes to Japanese narrative.
