Shozo Iizuka, Voice Actor for Dragon Ball Z’s Nappa and More, Passes Away

A veteran of the voice acting industry is no longer with us, as the agency for Shozo Iizuka announced that the revered VA has passed away at the age of 89. According to the agency’s announcement, Iizuka passed away on February 15 due to acute heart failure.

Iizuka developed a distinct accent from growing up in Fukushima, and he used it to great effect during his storied voice acting career. Following his first anime role as Kin Sankaku in Astro Boy, he would go on to voice characters ranging from Daimajin in Urusei Yatsura to Android 8 and Nappa in Dragon Ball, Ryu Jose in Mobile Suit Gundam, Genji Kamogawa in Hajime no Ippo and many more. 

Tokusatsu fans will also recognize his voice as that behind many of the villains and monsters in classic series like Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, Chouriki Sentai Ohranger, Kamen Rider Black, Space Sheriff Gavan and beyond. 

Shozi Iizuka’s close family already held a private funeral. He will be missed, and our thoughts go out to all who knew him or appreciated his work from afar. 

Via Crunchyroll News