Toshiya Ueda, the voice of Kunitachi the gardener in the original Sailor Moon anime, has died at age 88

Toshiya Ueda the voice of Kunitachi

Some sad news for Sailor Moon fans today. Toshiya Ueda died earlier this month on February 8th at the age of 88. He had an extensive resume of anime voice work including a recent role as Vilk in The Promised Neverland. Sailor Moon fans would know him as the voice of Kunitachi the gardener in a first season episode of the original Sailor Moon anime. In episode 15 Toshiya Ueda’s character is transformed by Nephrite from a kind man to one who’s angry and violent in protecting his park from development.

Sailor Moon episode 15 - Ami and Mr. Baxter

Five years ago Chris Wiggins, the English voice actor of that same character, named Mr. Baxter in the DiC dub of the original Sailor Moon anime, died at the age of 87.

Source: Anime News Network

Chris Wiggins, Sailor Moon’s narrator and the voice of Mr. Baxter, has died at age 87

Chris Wiggins

I am sad to report that Chris Wiggins, a voice actor from the original English dub of the Sailor Moon anime, has died at age 87. He passed away on February 19th after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The provided the voice of Mr. Baxter from the episode “An Unnatural Phenomenon”. Mr. Baxter was a mild mannered gardener turned ecoterrorist thanks to Nephlite’s influence. He also voiced the narration included at the beginning of the first episode and episode 41. This first narration, added for the dubbed English version, provided excessive spoilers for the upcoming season including the identity of the Moon Princess and Prince Darien as well as the specific fate of the Moon Kingdom.

Sailor Moon episode 15 - Ami and Mr. Baxter

Aside from his brief work on Sailor Moon Chris Wiggins also had a lengthy resume. As a fellow Canadian the roles I knew him best for were Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget and No Heart from Care Bears. His obituary can be found in The Toronto Star. He will be missed by fans around the world.