Bayonetta 3
Image: PlatinumGames

There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan this week about the passing of Atsuko Tanaka - the voice actor behind many major video game and anime roles. This was revealed by her son Hikaru Tanaka on social media - with Oricon News noting how she died on 20th August 2024 at 61 years of age.

Some of her most notable roles included the voice of Bayonetta in the Japanese version of the game, Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series, Lara Croft and Motoko "The Major" Kusanagi - the protagonist of the famous anime series Ghost in the Shell. In addition to this, she played characters from games and anime like NieR Replicant (Kaine), Devil May Cry (Trish) and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Lisa Lisa).

PlatinumGames, the development team behind the Bayonetta series, has also issued an English statement on social media in response to Tanaka's passing:

PlatinumGames: "We are incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Atsuko Tanaka, who provided the Japanese voice of the titular character in the Bayonetta series. We are extremely grateful to her for breathing life into the character of Bayonetta, and offer our deepest condolences to her loved ones at this difficult time."

On behalf of the community and team here at Nintendo Life, our thoughts go out to Atsuko Tanaka's family and friends during this difficult time.

[source gamesindustry.biz]