Denis Akiyama, the voice of Malachite from the English Sailor Moon dub, dies at age 66

Sailor Moon episode 29 - Kunzite and Zoisite

With great sadness I share the news that actor Denis Akiyama, known to Sailor Moon fans as the voice of Malachite in the original English dub of the Sailor Moon anime, passed away on Thursday at age 66. Malachite was the English name for Kunzite in the DiC dub of the series. In addition to his voice acting roles in Sailor Moon and other anime, cartoons and video games Denis Akiyama was also an accomplished live action actor with roles in films such as Johnny Mnemonic and the film Pixels in which he portrayed Pac Man creator Toru Iwatani who was attacked by a recreation of Pac Man.

Denis Akiyama as Shinji in Johnny Mnemonic

Just last month I was looking up Denis Akiyama and his career as I watched Johnny Mnemonic, a film which was partially shot in the actor’s home town of Toronto and was released around the same time as the Sailor Moon anime was originally playing on TV here in Canada. Denis Akiyama leaves behind a great legacy of performances in TV and film. He will be greatly missed.

Source: Anime News Network

Sailor Moon episode 29 - Kunzite and Zoisite

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18 thoughts on “Denis Akiyama, the voice of Malachite from the English Sailor Moon dub, dies at age 66

  1. He gave Malachite such gravitas and strength. When the character spoke, you could feel his hatred and anger coursing through the words. It’s such a shame he died at a relatively young age. He will be missed. My condolences to his loved ones.

    • Definitely one of the best of the Dic dub.They were honestly all good, the dub itself was just a product of it’s time…the VAs were great though.

  2. Rest in peace, Mr. Akiyama. I don’t know your work as Kunzite’s voice actor, but Kunzite is one of my favourite Sailor Moon characters, so I thank you for giving him an English voice. My condolences to his family and friends.

      • I have never grown up with the Dic dub. I actually watched the show in various languages as a child, because it has never been broadcast in my country.I don’t like the way they changed everything, but I can honestly say the cast in the DiC dub was great. They all did deliver, although some of them were miscast. Cloverway dub, although a bit more faitful had horrible voice work done. Linda Balantine sounds like cheap fan parody as Serena.This is my personal opinion. Most of the DiC VAs though were top-noth.

      • I will have a look on YouTube then ;) . Thank you!

        (I wanted to write “have a listen”, but it seems to be very incorrect English.)

        • Either way is fine, and since you will be listening to his voice, you would be using it correctly. :)

          • Thank you saintfighteraqua!

            I read on several websites that “have” or “take a listen” is an heresy, and I always pay attention to speak the best English possible.

            I had issues with my connexion recently, and still haven’t listened to Denis Akayama’s voice, though.

  3. Guys it has been 4 days without a single piece of news on Sailor Moon official wesite. Could it be they are planning the reveal of the designs?

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