Image: Noriko Ohara (courtesy of NHK), Nobuyo Oyama (courtesy of Yomiuri Shimbun)
Noriko Ohara and Nobuyo Oyama have both posthumously received the Chairman’s Special Award.
As reported by Anime!Anime!, the special award winners of the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize Association has been announced, revealing that the late Noriko Obara and Nobuyo Oyama, who were both known for their work in Doraemon, will receive the Chairman’s Special Award.
The Chairman’s Special Award is given to deceased individuals who have made significant contributions and have achieved outstanding results in the film industry over many years.
Noriko Ohara had a long and successful career as a voice actress and narrator, and is remembered for her roles of Nobita Nobi from Doraemon, a role she had performed for 1979 to 2005, as well as Oyuki from the 1981 iteration of Urusei Yatsura, Claudia LaSalle in Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Penelope Pitstop in Wacky Races, Peter in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Conan from Future Boy Conan, and all of the female lead villains in the Time Bokan series.
Ohara passed away on June 12, 2024 after an unsuccessful treatment for an undisclosed illness at the age of 88.
Nobuyo Oyama on the other hand, began her voice acting career in 1965 as the character of Punch in Hustle Punch, and after a few minor roles here and there, landed the role of the titular character of the beloved anime series Doraemon from April 12, 1979 to March 18, 2005. Oyama would retire from voice acting, but made a major comeback in 2010 by voicing Danganropa’s main antagonist Monokuma until 2016.
Oyama passed away on September 29, 2024 at the age of 90, due to a number of health problems attributed to her age.