News ► Makio Inoue, Japanese Voice Actor for Master Eraqus, Passes Away at Age 81

[Sign]

Makio Inoue, the voice behind Master Eraqus, passed away on November 29th at the age of 81 as a result of his worsening chronic angina. His agency, Aoni Productions, confirmed the news yesterday.

A veteran voice actor, Inoue had been performing since the early 1960s. He is perhaps most well known for his longstanding performance as Goemon Ishikawa XIII in Lupin III. Inoue was the second generation voice actor of Goemon, having taken over the role after Chikao Otsuka in 1977. He would go on to voice the character from 1977 - 2010.

Inoue joined the Kingdom Hearts series as Master Eraqus in 2010 with Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He returned to reprise the role in Kingdom Hearts III.

Source: Oricon

 

[AR829038]

So sad. Almost makes me start to think the game really is cursed.
How interesting that the voice actors for both Eraqus and Master Xehanort passed away so near in time to one another. And how strange that both their characters also happened to die together as well.
Come to think of it, another bizarre parallel: Eraqus' voice actor died after his character, and Master Xehanort's character died after his voice actor, so they were perfectly reversed.

 

[Zettaflare]

R.I.P. I'm happy he came back one last time to voice Eraqus.

Given what we know of Re:Mind I'm not sure if his character would have been given additional scenes

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

So sad. Almost makes me start to think the game really is cursed.
How interesting that the voice actors for both Eraqus and Master Xehanort passed away so near in time to one another. And how strange that both their characters also happened to die together as well.
Come to think of it, another bizarre parallel: Eraqus' voice actor died after his character, and Master Xehanort's character died after his voice actor, so they were perfectly reversed.

If KH is cursed, so is Lupin the 3rd.

The reality of it is these were sick and aging voice actors. Death comes for everybody in the end, so attributing certain actors to the franchises they belonged to and claiming those series are cursed because they passed is silly imo

 

[SweetYetSalty]

Very sad news. When Birth By Sleep was still new I would watch the Japanese videos and one of my favorites with Eraqus vs Terra. Every video made Eraqus look like a tough boss, and I will always remember his battle grunts when sliding and comboing. They were quite unforgettable. Rest in Peace.

 

[Wallflower3582]

So many coincidences… *suddenly fears for Mark Hamill*

 

[disney233]

So many coincidences… *suddenly fears for Mark Hamill*

I feel Mark may still have a few more years left before his time. I really have doubts that Nimoy and Otsuka's occurrence will repeat itself. As someone said in the comments, Death comes for all of us.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

So many coincidences… *suddenly fears for Mark Hamill*

He is clearly living in his prime right now and is constantly active. He’s got life ahead of him.

 

[Twilight Lumiair]

He is clearly living in his prime right now and is constantly active. He’s got life ahead of him.

True. Still, it's important to remember, all life can be cut short (unless you believe in fate/destiny). I've read of at least a few well known actors/voice actors dying to sudden heart attacks, seizures, and car crashes in recent years.

But that's just the cynic in me talking I guess.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

I was just watching the Japanese dub of BBS earlier today... ;A;

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I feel like y'all need to chill on the whole "death-superstition-videogame" mumbo jumbo. Their lives are tied to the natural progression of the human body, not that of a video game.

---

Anywho. It's a shame. Japanese voice-acting really is top-notch, and I guess that they may retire Master Eraqus' character, were they ever considering bringing him back via flashbacks or a very small apperance.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I feel like y'all need to chill on the whole "death-superstition-videogame" mumbo jumbo. Their lives are tied to the natural progression of the human body, not that of a video game.

---

Anywho. It's a shame. Japanese voice-acting really is top-notch, and I guess that they may retire Master Eraqus' character, were they ever considering bringing him back via flashbacks or a very small apperance.

I mean, at this point I think the young versions of both Eraqus and Xehanort were all we were ever going to get moving forward if they ever decided to revisit those characters.

 

[AdrianXXII]

I mean, at this point I think the young versions of both Eraqus and Xehanort were all we were ever going to get moving forward if they ever decided to revisit those characters.

Well before this death i could have seen Aqua or Terra having flashbacks showing childhood/early teens training with him.

Now I imagine we'd get them talking about it or a voice over at most.

It's sad to hear he's passed, hope it was peaceful and he could say goodbye to his loved ones.

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

RIP Makio Inoue. Now he joins Koji Tsujitani (Woody's Japanese voice actor in KH3) and Yu Shimaka (Goofy's Japanese VA) who passed away in the Japanese version of KH3.

True. Still, it's important to remember, all life can be cut short (unless you believe in fate/destiny). I've read of at least a few well known actors/voice actors dying to sudden heart attacks, seizures, and car crashes in recent years.

Not to mention suicide, I'm seeing a lot more people taking their own lives via suicide in recent years as well due to depression, mental illnesses, etc.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I mean, at this point I think the young versions of both Eraqus and Xehanort were all we were ever going to get moving forward if they ever decided to revisit those characters.

Yeah, their younger versions are pretty much what may seem to be the narrators of the KH saga.

 

[immblueversion]

He was actually just barely under 81; his birthday would've been the next day.

 

[johnsan92]

So sad to lose another member of the KH team