Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Long Time Voice Of Jigen In 'Lupin III' Has Passed Away At Age 89
Kiyoshi Kobayashi, the voice of Daisuke Jigen in the long-running Lupin III franchise from 1969 to 2021, passed away due to pneumonia on July 30th. His family held a private funeral, but the actor's talent agency, Haikyo, announced that it would be holding a public memorial service, with more details coming later. The actor was 89.
Kiyoshi Kobayashi was born on January 11th, 1933, in the Tokyo Prefecture. Kobayashi graduated from the Tokyo Metropolitan Koshikawa High School and the art department of Nihon University. Kobayashi is perhaps most famous for his role as Daisuke Jigen in Lupin III, but he also voiced several other characters, including Watari in Death Note, Bem in Yōkai Ningen Bem, Avdol in the 1993 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OVA, and served as the narrator in several shows including The King of Braves GaoGaiGar. Kobayashi had announced in September of last year that he was retiring from the role of Daisuke Jigen, with Akio Ohtsuka replacing him in the Lupin the Third Part 6 anime. He was the only original cast member still voicing in the franchise prior to his retirement from the role. Kobayashi received the Merit Award at the 11th Seiyu Awards in 2017 and the Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2018.
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Source(s): Anime News Network, Wikipedia, Lupin