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Doraemon Voice Actress's Life Story Inspires Dramatized TV Special

Voice actress Nobuyo Ōyama's life story is inspiring the dramatized television special "Zutto Issho da yo ~Seiyū・Oyama Nobuyo Monogatari~" (Together for a Long Time: The Story of Voice Actress Nobuyo Ōyama). The special will premiere on NHK's BS Premium channel on December 13 at 10 p.m.

The special will tell the story of Oyama's 26-year journey voicing the robot cat Doraemon and her daily life with fellow voice actors. Actress Sawa Suzuki (Ore Monogatari!! live-action film, Aibō) will play Oyama in the special.

Additional cast includes:

• Misato Tanaka as Michiko Nomura (voice of Doraemon's Shizuka)
• Tsubaki Nekoze as Noriko Ohara (Doraemon's Nobita)
• Tetsuhiro Ikeda as producer
• Taku Suzuki as Kaneta Kimotsuki (Doraemon's Suneo)
• Naoya Ogawa as Kazuya Tatekabe (Doraemon's Gian)
• Kōsuke Toyohara as Oyama's husband Keisuke Sagawa

Oyama is voicing Monokuma (seen below) in the Super Danganronpa 2 ~Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen~ (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Academy) stage play. Oyama's most recent role before the play was Monokuma in the Danganronpa series of games and its 2012 TV anime adaptation Danganronpa The Animation.

Oyama is making new recordings as Monokuma for the play that will run from December 3 to 13 at the Zepp Blue Theater Roppongi venue in Tokyo. The role is Oyama's first work since her husband, actor Keisuke Sagawa, reported in May that she is suffering from dementia.

Sagawa stated in May that Oyama is suffering from memory loss and said, "I don't know whether or not she remembers [voicing Doraemon]." The 78-year-old actor said his wife seems to have no memory of that part of her life.

Sagawa said at that time that Oyama had begun to exhibit symptoms some time ago. Oyama suffered from cerebral infarction in 2008, but Sagawa had thought the symptoms of dementia were only the after-effects of the ailment. Currently, Oyama resides at home where she is nursed and assisted by her manager, her husband, and their housekeeper.

Despite his wife's condition, Sagawa noted that Oyama can handle voice acting work while looking at a script. Sagawa explained that while he told Oyama that she did not have to use Doraemon's voice, her voice "became Doraemon's voice naturally" when she recorded an introduction for a CD album.

Her agency, Actors Seven, stated that she needed to get her strength back before she returned to the public and her work.

Oyama is best known for her work voicing the titular character of the Doraemon TV series and movies from 1979 to 2005, before new voice actors replaced many of the roles in the show. She also sang the "Doraemon no Uta" theme song for the show. She also voiced Kappei Jin in Muteki Chōjin Zambot 3, as well as the titular character in Hazedon.

Source: Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kikō