Junpei Takiguchi

Q: When did Junpei Takiguchi die?

Junpei Takiguchi died on August 29, 2011 in Tosa.

Q: How old was Junpei Takiguchi when they died?

Junpei Takiguchi was 80 years old at the time of death.

Q: What was Junpei Takiguchi's cause of death?

The cause of death of Junpei Takiguchi was stomach cancer.

Q: When was Junpei Takiguchi born?

Junpei Takiguchi was born on April 17, 1931 in Funabashi.

Kōhei Takiguchi (滝口幸平, Takiguchi Kōhei; April 17, 1931 – August 29, 2011), better known by his stage name Junpei Takiguchi (滝口順平, Takiguchi Jumpei), was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Chiba Prefecture.

Besides his narration roles in Burari Tochūgesha no Tabi and Pittankokan Kan and dubbing roles for various foreign films, he was also known for his anime voice acting roles in Time Bokan as Perasuke, Yatterman as Dokurobei, Mazinger Z as Count Brocken, Tekkaman: The Space Knight as Ranbos, Brave Raideen as Barao, Let's Go! Anpanman as Santa Claus, Lupin the Third Part 1 as Mr. X, Sonic the Hedgehog as Dr. Robotnik, D.Gray-man as Millennium Earl, and .hack//Roots as Phyllo.

Biography

Early life

Takiguchi was born in Funabashi, Chiba on April 17, 1931.

During his childhood, his father did not have a steady job, as he tried various things only to fail repeatedly, with his family always having been driven into a miserable life at the very bottom of poverty. Deep down in his heart, a voice would keep crying out, "You must keep doing one thing steadily, no — you have to keep doing it..."

Because he had loved radio dramas ever since he was in middle school and as the relative of rakugo performer Kasugai Baiō, he thought he wanted to pursue either acting or rakugo.

After he had graduated from the mechanical engineering department of Chiba Prefectural Ichikawa Technical High School in 1949, Takiguchi worked at a local factory, but then entered and passed the amateur talent show Nodojiman Shijin Engei Kai (now known as NHK Nodojiman) using the recitation skills he had practiced in the broadcasting club during high school.

After that, he would join the theater troupe Kirinza, led by Genki Koyama, and started to train to become a voice actor.

Career

Having decided that "the broadcasting industry is the future", he applied for the 1st-generation Radio Tokyo (currently known as TBS Holdings as a corporate entity, and TBS Radio & TBS Television as broadcasters) Drama Troupe, established after the war. Of about 3,000 applicants, he was selected and passed the audition, officially entering the entertainment world. At the time, he had the top grades, and Takiguchi, at 20 years old, was reportedly the youngest among the males.

In February 1957, wanting to "test my true worth as a voice actor in a broader world", Takiguchi left the troupe, and after affiliations with Kinugasa Productions, Group Rindo, the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, and Tokyo Actor Pro, he became a freelancer.

He appeared in numerous radio dramas, and later on worked on Japanese-language voice dubbing for various foreign television films, becoming a pioneer in post-recording dubbing.

Final years

Even approaching the age of 80, he appeared in television anime such as the remake of Yatterman and Let's Go! Anpanman, and frequently served as a narrator for variety shows using his Dokurobei-style voice, such as in the "Celebrity Shindoi Command" segment of Tsuyoshi Domoto's Shindoi.