It is with great sadness that I share the news that actor Akira Kobodera died earlier this week at the young age of 43. He is likely best known to Sailor Moon fans as the actor who portrayed Kunzite in the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series. The character in that series was quite different from that in other continuities, as he was at first seen as Shin, a young man with amnesia who didn’t know something sinister inside him, and later as Kunzite deals with conflicted feelings about his past and current life. Akira Kobodera brought wonderful emotion to the character which was a highlight of the series.
Fans may also have seen Akira Kobodera in various Kamen Rider series. He was Kanai in Kamen Rider Blade, Aberu in Kamen Rider Kiva and Doctor Fujita in Kamen Rider OOO.
Source: Anime News Network
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What a young age. Bummer.
I got cut off! Rest well, sir.
My condolences to his friends and family. Do we know if he died of natural causes?
It’s not looking like it. I won’t post what people are saying happened here in case it turns out not to be true.
But if anyone is depressed and feels like they can’t go on, please seek help. One conversation might not change your mind but maybe it can give hope.
This pandemic won’t last forever and neither will hard times.
Yeah, absolutely. My own life has been rescued because I sought and found the help that continues today. I have nothing but empathy and sympathy for those struggling, pained folk, but there ARE other options.
I for one, am glad you are still with us.
Thank you! I tried to describe it as clear as possible while still leaving it with enough vagueness!
I am happy to know you, Jo, though we never met in real life
. Sailor Moon News was a blessing in my life so thank to all of you, my friends!
* thank you
Thank you so much, Aurélia! Well, we might have never met in person, but I like to think that I’ve still met you in a non-physical sense! Absolutely. I consider this as a kind of “Digital Communal Pen Pal” thing, but I could be wrong. Heh. I will say, my dear, I have mentioned you to a friend of mine, person. I blocked out your name, but I referred to you as a “French Sailor Moon fan.” So, yeah. You and others have crept into my life, it seems.
Yeah, I really love Sailor Moon News here. On my computer, it’s one of the six ‘go-to’ pages on my default screen. Heh. A giant icon of “SailorMoonNews.com”.
Sometimes I think about you guys as well.
Sending good thoughts your way!
Daw, shucks! Group hug!!
saintfighteraqua, is that really you in the avatar?
I apologize for the late reply!
“I consider this as a kind of “Digital Communal Pen Pal” thing, but I could be wrong.”
. It’s nothing but normal that we ended up creating a bond over our shared interest 
. And I know it may sound cheesy as hell, but I do consider this as a blessing.
You aren’t! It’s a neat idea and I share your vision
“I have mentioned you to a friend of mine”
! I feel grateful for this! Sometimes I, too, mention you as well as Saintfighteraqua and the other people of this site to my husband, because I like to tell him our greatest Sailor Moon jokes and puns 
.
Oh! Thank you
Yeah, it’s me, almost two years ago, now, but besides having not had a haircut this year, I’m the same, lol.
Lookin’ good, slick! Guess I’ll join the party for now!
Wish we got updates on Sailor Moon every day like with Pokemon on the Serebii site.
Yeah me too, sadly the Sailor Moon machine just doesn’t release enough info for sites to report on (Toei’s constant long periods that lack any new Sailor Moon info have always been a point of contention with fans), but major props to Adam at sailormoonnews for being on top of the goings-on in the SM world and serving it up to us!
I guess Pokemon’s more popular than Sailor Moon.
Well, we all kind of fill in with minor news that might slip through the cracks (like merchandise and stuff).
Major news is kind of hard to come by and sometimes the news is sad.
For lore, there is Tuxedo Unmasked.
I think it’s good for us to all check news via Google, Twitter, etc and post it here, sometimes it’s big enough for Adam to make an article and even the really small stuff might delight us, readers, in the comments.
I think Joe Merrick doesn’t have a day job!! I struggle to find things to post about but if the site was a major source of income for me I’d probably find something most days!
Wow, he was the same age as me.
How sad. <:(
That’s unfortunate. Kobodera was one of the better parts of the live action series. He brought intensity, complexity, and charisma to what was a bog standard villian. Kobodera’s Kunzite is delightful to watch.
That is so sad!
May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family. He was such a beautiful man…
Really sad.
i found out that Hikari Yoko AKA voice actress of Kaolinite from Sailor Moon Crystal passed away adam could make a make news post about it
Hikari Yono just passed away, too.