After 26 years of being the outspoken Shin-chan of “Crayon Shin-chan”, voice actress Akiko Yajima will be stepping down from the role. Announced on the official website of the series, Yajima’s final episode as the character will be released on June 29.
According to Yajima, it has become more difficult for her to produce the character’s voice naturally. After consulting the anime’s staff she had come to her decision of stepping down. A decision is still being made by the staff for the protagonist’s new voice and will be revealed in July.
Akiko Yajima has been in the voice acting business since 1988. More than the role of title character Shinnosuke Nohara, Yajima is also known to have played the role of Riku and Diva in “Blood+” and Kohaku in “Inuyasha”.
“Crayon Shin-chan” first made its debut in 1990 as a manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. First published in a Japanese weekly magazine called Weekly Manga Action, which is published by Futabasha, the original form of the manga ran until September 9, 2011. It was at this time that the creator had passed and such came the end of the manga’s original form.
In the summer of 2010, a new form of the manga was published. Titled as “New Crayon Shin-chan”, the manga is currently running with around 7 volumes released.
The anime adaptation of the series was produced by Shin-Ei Animation and premiered in April 1992. Originally directed by Mitsuru Hongo, the first series of the work ran until 1996 with more than 200 episodes. The series is currently running with Yuji Mutou as its director.
As for the cast of the series, it includes:
Keiji Fujiwara as Hiroshi Nohara
Miki Narahashi as Misae Nohara
Satomi Koorogi as Himawari Nohara
Mari Mashiba as Kazama-kun
Tamao Hayashi as Nene
Chie Satou as Bo-chan
Mie Suzuki as Masao-kun
Ayako Kawasumi as Ai Suotome
The story of the series sets in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture and features five-year-old Shinnosuke “Shin” Nohara. It tells of his daily adventures along with his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbors, and friends.
“Crayon Shin-chan” has become known as one of the most watched anime series in Japan. More than the anime series, “Crayon Shin-chan” has also gained a series of 25 films.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork