Voice Behind Popular Anime Characters, Naoki Makishima, Passes Away After Cancer Battle

It was belatedly revealed that Japanese voice actor Naoki Makishima was secretly battling cancer and passed away last September at 61 years old.

Office Kaoru announced Makishima’s death on June 3 through its official website.

The notice they posted was titled “Naoki Makishima has passed away.” It read, “We regret to announce that our affiliated voice actor, Naoki Makishima, passed away at 61 on September 29 last year. We apologize for the delay in this announcement due to various circumstances.”

Makishima confessed in a blog post in 2020 that he was diagnosed with cancer. At that time, he admitted, “Cancer has metastasized throughout my body. I’m in stage 4.”

Makishima regularly updated his fans through his blog. In 2021, he posted, “I aim to enjoy life and grow until the end.” In April of last year, he mourned a friend he met during his cancer treatment. At that time, he said, “A friend I met during cancer treatment has died. It’s shocking. Thanks to that person, cancer treatment was not hard,” and mourned, “I pray for his soul. I’m grateful for everything so far.”

Since July last year, no new posts have been made on Makishima’s blog.

Makishima appeared in animations such as Assassination Classroom, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Case Closed. Outside of animation, he actively worked in the narration of various broadcast programs and dubbing for video games and drama series.