Japanese voice actor Noriko Ohara, best known for providing the voice of Nobita Nobi in the popular anime series "Doraemon," died on July 12. She was 88.
Ohara, whose real name was Noriko Tobe, was receiving treatment for a disease, according to her agency.
A Tokyo native, Ohara served as the voice actor for Nobita, the lazy but optimistic boy looked after by robotic earless cat Doraemon, for 26 years from 1979. With the role, she became known to a wide range of generations.
Ohara also played a variety of characters in other anime works, including energetic boys such as Peter, a goatherd in "Heidi: Girl of the Alps," and Conan in "Future Boy Conan," and sultry females such as Doronjo, villain in "Yatterman," and Oyuki in "Urusei Yatsura."
In addition, Ohara did the voice of U.S. actor Shirley MacLaine and French actor Catherine Deneuve for movies dubbed in Japanese.
Ohara received an achievement award at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007, for outstanding performances in voice acting in anime and other works.