The good professor shall live on, guiding young trainers anew.
Earlier today, TV Tokyo announced that Kenyuu Horiuchi will succeed late actor Unshō Ishizuka as both Professor Oak and the narrator in the Pokémon Sun & Moon anime. Horiuchi’s first episode is slated to air on October 21, as Ishizuka recorded his dialogue up to that point.
Horiuchi has been active in the entertainment industry since 1983. Through his career, the actor has voiced numerous iconic roles, including Daley Wong (Bubblegum Crisis), Mashymre Cello (Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ), and Libra Dohko (Saint Seiya).
Unshō Ishizuka passed away on August 13, due to esophogeal cancer. He was 67.
Ishizuka began his career as a voice actor in 1984, when he played the narrator in Giant Gorg. Since then, he has gone on to perform numerous major roles, including:
- Mr. Satan (Dragon Ball franchise)
- Heihachi Mishima (Tekken franchise)
- Professor Oak (Pokémon)
- Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop)
- Joseph Joestar (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise)
- Sergei Smirnov (Mobile Suit Gundam 00)
- Ryōtarō Dōjima (Persona 4)
- Bunta Fujiwara (Initial D franchise)
- Fedok Wockam (Armored Trooper VOTOMS)
- Alex Rosewater (The Big O)
- Patrick (Blood Blockade Battlefront)
- Detective Nakamori (Case Closed)
- Van Hohenheim (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
- Quent Yaiden (Wolf’s Rain)
This season, Ishizuka was playing Dino Golzine in Banana Fish.
Outside of anime, Ishizuka has provided the Japanese dub voices for numerous prominent western actors, including Laurence Fishburne and Liam Neeson.
Source: Ota-suke
Kenyuu Horiuchi Succeeds Unshō Ishizuka in Pokémon Anime – Samantha Ferreira
