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