The iconic voice actor of Lupin III's Daisuke Jigen, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, has passed away recently at age 89 as shared by the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society.
The official Lupin the Third Twitter account also shared information via a tweet that informed fans that Kobayashi has passed away in late July.
According to his agency, Kobayashi passed away due to pneumonia on July 30 at 7:06 AM. Following his death, a private wake and funeral were held which were attended only by close relatives.
The agency also announced that a farewell party will be held at a later date.
For fans of Kobayashi’s work, the agency asked that they refrain from interviewing relatives or directly saying their condolences.
Regarding his passing, fellow Lupin the Third cast members shared their farewell messages. These messages were shared through the Lupin the Third Twitter account.
Specifically, there were messages of condolences from Lupin the Third voice actors, including Kanichi Kurita (Arsene Lupin III), Akio Otsuka (new Daisuke Jigen voice actor), Daisuke Namikawa (Goemon Ishikawa), Miyuki Sawashiro (Fujiko Mine), and Koichi Yamadera (Inspector Zenigata).
Kiyoshi Kobayashi was a veteran voice actor who is known for his role as marksman Daisuke Jigen in the Lupin the Third anime series and movies.
Kobayashi played the role of Daisuke Jigen in the first Lupin the Third TV anime. He then continued to play Jigen in the subsequent anime series and movies until he retired from the role in 2021.
His last performance as Jigen was in the first episode of Lupin the Third Part 6. The next episodes of the series starred Akio Otsuka in the role.
Aside from Jigen, Kobayashi has also performed in a variety of anime, including Muhammad Avdol in the 1993 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure OVA, as well as Adrian Rubinsky in Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
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