Edge Rewrite
translate Source code View original
Jump to content

Tarako

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tarako
Tarako in 2015
Born
Non-public[1]

(1960-12-17)December 17, 1960
Ōta, Gunma, Japan[2]
DiedMarch 4, 2024(2024-03-04) (aged 63)
Other nameTara-chan (タラちゃん)[3]
Occupations
Years active1981–2024
EmployerTroubadour Musique Office
Notable workChibi Maruko-chan as Momoko "Maruko" Sakura
Let's Go! Anpanman as Frankenrobo
Danganronpa as Monokuma
Magical Taruruto-kun as Taruruto
InuYasha as Kirara
Hunter × Hunter as Melody
Urusei Yatsura as Sugar

Tarako (たらこ, Tarako; December 17, 1960 – March 4, 2024)[2][4][5][6] was a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and narrator.

Her debut voice acting role was as a preschooler in Urusei Yatsura.[6][7] She is most famously known as the original voice actress of Momoko "Maruko" Sakura, the titular character in the long-running television anime series Chibi Maruko-chan from its debut in 1990 until its conclusion in 1992 and its subsequent revival, which premiered in 1995 and continues to this day.

Other notable roles of hers are as Monokuma in the Danganronpa franchise from 2016 to 2024, Frakenrobo in the long running children's anime series Let's Go! Anpanman, Kirara in InuYasha, the titular character of Magical Taruruto-kun, Melody in Hunter × Hunter, and Altena in Noir.

She was employed by the talent management firm Troubadour Musique Office.[7][8]

Biography

[edit source]

Early life

[edit source]

Born in Japan in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo[1] on December 17, 1960, everyone in her family loved music, with her older sister being a part of a choir.[9]

As a child, she entered the Gekidan Nihon Jido theater troupe alongside her older sister.[9] Ever since she was in the second or third grade of elementary school, she had been a member of the music club, and would play the recorder.[9] In fourth grade, she performed a Junko Sakurada song in a local karaoke contest, but didn't end up winning.[10]

In the fifth grade, she moved from Edogawa Ward to Gunma Prefecture.[9] At that time, she was particularly fond of sports and would play tennis, table tennis, volleyball, badminton, and others.

In fifth grade, she took piano lessons for about a year and reached the Beyer level, occasionally performing on stage.[1][9] During her time at Ota City Kuai Elementary School, she was a member of the boys and girls choir.[10] From her days at Ota City Higashi Junior High School, she joined the basketball club and even served as its captain during her junior high school years.[9]

She ended up quitting high school basketball because her mother got worried about her arriving home late, so then took up folk music.[9] She already had owned a guitar and wrote her very first song during her first high school year.[1] She independently managed and hosted music events at local venues and small halls.[10] Around that time, she admired the television anime Lupin the Third and formed an anime club.[11]

Thinking "I want to become an anime voice actress" and believing that "acting skills are necessary for that", she moved to Tokyo after graduating from Gunma Prefectural Ota Girls' High School and enrolled in the Acting and Voice Acting Department at the Tokyo Academy of Visual Arts, but ended up dropping out.[1][9][10] During her student days, she was referred to as "Tara-chan" by a classmate because she acted, looked, and sounded similar to the Sazae-san character Tarao Fuguta, often referred to by the name Tara-chan.[12] She made the nickname her stage name by adding "ko" at the end and romanized the name.[12]

Career

[edit source]

In 1981, Tarako made her debut as a voice actress as a preschooler in the Urusei Yatsura television anime series.[7][11] At the time, she couldn't make a living from just doing voice acting, so also worked in various part-time jobs.[11]

While still in school, she got to sing at a pub where a friend of hers was working a part-time job. The president of the Troubadour Music Office, who was there as a customer and later signed her on, invited her, saying, "I'm producing a live show, want to be the opening act?", leading to her and the friend to perform together as a guitar duo.[10] Troubadour's president and Urusei Yatsura sound director Shigeharu Shiba were acquaintances, she was invited with, "I want to audition people who aren't professional voice actors". She auditioned for the role of the female protagonist Lum, but failed the audition.[10][1][11] However the staff took an immediate liking towards her distinct voice, so she appeared in nearly every episode in a supporting role.[11]

In 1982, she got her first regular voice acting role as Chill in Combat Mecha Xabungle.[10][1]

In 1983, she made her debut as a singer-songwriter with the LP album Totte Oki no Shunkan.[13]

In 1990, she started voicing the titular character of Momoko "Maruko" Sakura in the Chibi Maruko-chan television anime series,[4] which became her most popular and signature role. Initially a different actress was selected to voice Maruko, but a second auditioning was held because the actress didn't match the image that original creator Momoko Sakura had in mind.[11] Tarako was chosen to voice Maruko because her voice sounded just like Sakura's.[11] In addition, Tarako also served as a screenplay director for the anime and wrote scripts for several episodes.[4] It has been said that people would often tell her that her voice and appearance resembled and sounded just like Sakura's.

She also worked as a variety show host and handled plenty of narration jobs.[14]

She was the head of the theater company WAKU, also writing, directing, and performing in numerous stage productions.[4]

Being someone who was born in Gunma Prefecture, she served as the official guide for the Gunma Symphony Orchestra's summer vacation concert every year until her death.[15]

In 2016, it was announced that she had been selected to replace Nobuyo Ōyama in the role of Monokuma for the Danganronpa franchise due to Ōyama suffering from dementia.[16]

Death

[edit source]
Floral altar display for Tarako featuring her iconic voice roles at the TARA-chan Arigatou no Kai ~Taisetsu na Kimi he~ farewell gathering.[17]

Around November 2023, Tarako was diagnosed with a serious illness for which she was immediately hospitalized. At the beginning of her hospital stay, she was still well enough to continue voice acting. However, her condition gradually worsened to the point where she could no longer stand up and showed no signs of improvement.

Tarako died on March 4, 2024, at the age of 63. She had recorded her final lines for Chibi Maruko-Chan in the days before her death.[18][5][6][19]

The producers of Chibi Maruko-chan, as well as her talent agency Troubadour, Fuji Television and Nippon Animation announced her death to the public five days later on March 9, 2024.[20][19] At the 18th Seiyu Awards, held on the same day as the announcement of her death, a 15 second long moment of silence was held at the beginning of the ceremony in honor of her and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who died on March 1, in recognition of their contributions to the anime industry.[21]

At the beginning of the March 10 broadcast of the Chibi Maruko-chan anime that year, a memorial message from the entire voice cast and staff of Chibi Maruko-chan was shown at the beginning.[22] Days later on March 15, Megami no Marche, a show that she had served as the narrator for many years on, had a memorial tribute message for her shown at the beginning of that day's episode broadcast.[23]

In the eulogy written by the staff of Chibi Maruko-chan, they said she had been eager to continue voicing Maruko even while in the hospital and continued through her illness with "great love" for her work.[20] The following day, a message board was put up at the entrance to Chibi-Maruko Chan Land in Shizuoka for guests and fans to contribute messages of commemoration and thanks for her years of work.[24]

The last episode Tarako recorded as Maruko aired as a one-hour special on March 24, 2024 on Fuji TV and other FNS stations.[25]

Following her death, Kokoro Kikuchi took over the role of Maruko in Chibi Maruko-chan after the show resumed with new episodes on April 21, 2024.[26]

On June 15, 2024, a farewell gathering titled TARA-chan Arigatou no Kai ~Taisetsu na Kimi he~ was held,[27] with Yusaku Yara, Bin Shimada, Machiko Toyoshima, Keaton Yamada (who retired from voice acting in March 2021), Kōichi Yamadera, Bakushō Mondai (Hikari Ōta, Yuji Tanaka), and Minoru Kihara being amongst those in attendance.[28][29][30][31] Yamada and Hikara gave out eulogies as "words of graditude".[29] Near the end, Shimada left her a message as Maruko's grandfather and Yara as Maruko's father, both in the tones of their respective Maruko-chan characters.[28] At the end, everyone who attended performed "Odoru Pompokolin", the opening theme song of Chibi Maruko-chan, in a chorus.[28]

On December 17, 2024, on the Fuji Television network program Hoshi ni Natta Sutā Tachi, previously un-aired preview audio for the next episode, recorded by Tarako before her death, was used, marking her final performance as Maruko.[32]

Filmography

[edit source]

Animation

[edit source]

Television animation

[edit source]

Original video animation (OVA)

[edit source]
  • Hunter × Hunter OVA (Melody)
  • NG Kishi Ramune & 40 DX (Hebimetako)
  • NG Kishi Ramune & 40 EX (Hebimetako)

Theatrical animation

[edit source]

Commercials

[edit source]

Drama CDs

[edit source]
  • Eiyū Densetsu III: Shiroki Majo "Wakatareta Mizuumi" (Ban Ban)
  • Kaze no Densetsu Xanadu II: Heroine-tachi no Tanjōbi (Kururu)
  • Popful Mail Paradise 4–5 (Nairu)
  • Tarako Pappara Paradise (Tarako-neesan, Kururu, Nairu, Ban Ban, Obāsan

Live action

[edit source]

Films

[edit source]

Video games

[edit source]

Radio

[edit source]
  • Tarako Falcom Pīhyarara

Other voiceover

[edit source]

Fuji TV

  • The Judge! Tokusuru Hōritsu File "Korette Tsumi Janai no" segment (Narration)
  • Naruhodo! The World (Reporter)
  • Quiz & Game Tarō to Hanako (Host)

NHK Educational

  • Okome (Narration)

TBS

  • Shiawase Kazoku Keikaku (Narration)

TV Asahi

  • Zenigata Kintarō (Narration)

Other

Discography

[edit source]

Listed chronologically.

Albums

[edit source]
  • Totte Oki no Shunkan (1983)
  • Kaze ga Chigau (1984)
  • Warawanai Koibito (1985)
  • Kokuhaku (1985)
  • Sukoshi Dake Ai ga Tarinai (1986)
  • Anata ga Daisuki (1990)
  • Kanojo (1991)
  • My dear (1991)
  • Tengoku yori Takai Toko Ikō yo (1993)
  • Wāi. (1995)

References

[edit source]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 「アニメ・スクランブル」in『マイアニメ』(in Japanese). June 1983 issue. Akita Shoten. May 1983. pages 122–123.
  2. 1 2 "【TARAKO】プロフィール(年齢・身長) - エキサイトニュース". Excite News (in Japanese). Excite Japan. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. ↑ 「第21回 TARAKO」『山寺宏一のだから声優やめられない! 声優・山寺宏一と30人の声の役者たち』(in Japanese). December 1, 2000. pages 214-223. ISBN 4-07-229270-2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "TARAKO - タレントデータバンク" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "「まる子」声優のTARAKOさん死去、63歳…「いけずぅ」「わたしゃ疲れたよ」お茶の間に" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Shimbun. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "声優のTARAKOさん死去 「ちびまる子ちゃん」の主人公まる子役" (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "TARAKO｜アニメキャラ・プロフィール・出演情報・最新情報まとめ". animate Times (in Japanese). animate. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  8. ↑ Doi, Hitoshi. "Tarako". Seiyuu Database. July 5, 2010. Archived March 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 「声優インタビュー TARAKOさんの巻」in『月刊OUT』(in Japanese). September 1983 issue. Published by Minori Shobo on September 1, 1983, pages 95–100.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 「第21回 TARAKO」in『山寺宏一のだから声優やめられない! 声優・山寺宏一と30人の声の役者たち』(in Japanese). Published by Shufu no Tomo Sha on December 1, 2000. pages 214–223. ISBN 4-07-229270-2.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "TARAKO｜就職ジャーナル" (in Japanese). April 1, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "声優のTARAKOさん急死 63歳「ちびまる子ちゃん」を35年 最近までアフレコ参加". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 14, 2024.
  13. ↑ "春休み、GW限定上映決定!『プラネタリウム ちびまる子ちゃん 星にねがいを』【同時上映】まる子声優、TARAKOさんによる春の星座解説". Konica Minolta Planetarium (in Japanese). March 7, 2019.
  14. ↑ "TARAKOさん、声で支えた功績 『銭形金太郎』など各局の番組&企業のCMナレーション担当". Oricon (in Japanese). March 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ "「まる子」TARAKOさん、出身地・群馬で「夏休みコンサートの顔」…訃報に「今までありがとう」". The Japan News (in Japanese). March 9, 2024. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024.
  16. 1 2 "TARAKO Replaces Nobuyo Oyama as Monokuma in Danganronpa Franchise". Anime News Network. April 18, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  17. ↑ "本日、TARAKOさんの生前のご厚誼に深謝し、お別れの会「TARAちゃんありがとうの会 ~たいせつなきみへ~」を執り行います。". Twitter (in Japanese). June 14, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  18. ↑ "TARAKOさん"最期のまる子"音声を初公開 重い病も気丈に振る舞う". Oricon (in Japanese). December 18, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  19. 1 2 "トルバドール音楽事務所の公式ホームページ". Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  20. 1 2 "TARAKO氏のご逝去について". Fuji Television Network, Inc. March 9, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  21. ↑ "『声優アワード』異例の黙とうで開幕 鳥山明さん・TARAKOさんの訃報受け15秒間". Oricon (in Japanese). March 9, 2024. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024.
  22. ↑ "アニメ『ちびまる子ちゃん』でTARAKOさん追悼 テロップで「長い間、本当にありがとうございました」 1990年の放送開始からまる子役". Oricon (in Japanese). March 10, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  23. ↑ "番組ナレーターのTARAKOさんが3月4日に逝去されました。謹んでお悔やみ申し上げます。". Twitter (in Japanese). March 15, 2024.
  24. ↑ "ボイス・オブ『ちびまる子』TARAKOさんロス…訃報にアニメの舞台・静岡市清水区でも悲しみの声広がる". Shizuoka Daiichi Television Corporation (in Japanese). March 11, 2024. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  25. ↑ "TARAKOさんの後任は「対応検討中」とフジ 最後の出演回は3月24日にオンエア". The Sankei Shimbun. March 9, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  26. ↑ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (April 11, 2024). "Kokoro Kikuchi Debuts as Chibi Maruko-chan Anime's Lead Role on April 21". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  27. ↑ "「TARAちゃん ありがとうの会 ～たいせつなきみへ～」ご案内". Chibi Maruko-chan Official Website (in Japanese). May 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  28. 1 2 3 "TARAKOさんお別れ会に"ちびまる子ちゃんファミリー"集合「見守っていておくれ〜!」　最後は笑い泣きの「おどるポンポコリン」合唱". Oricon News (in Japanese). June 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  29. 1 2 "TARAKOさんお別れの会、キートン山田ら弔辞　祭壇は「ちびまる子ちゃん」美術監督デザイン". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). June 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  30. ↑ "山寺宏一、TARAKOさんに惜別の涙「『ちびまる子』はたらちゃんじゃなければ…」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). June 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  31. ↑ "爆笑問題がTARAKOさんを追悼 田中裕二「年齢も近いし、とてもショックが大きい」". Sanspo.com (in Japanese). June 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  32. ↑ "TARAKOさん"最期のまる子"音声を初公開 重い病も気丈に振る舞う". Oricon (in Japanese). December 18, 2024.
  33. ↑ "劇場作品 | 作品紹介". Nippon Animation. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  34. ↑ "映画ちびまる子ちゃん イタリアから来た少年(2015)". allcinema (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  35. ↑ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (February 24, 2024). "Tomokazu Sugita, TARAKO Join Cast of Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction Anime Films". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  36. ↑ "【2月12日】今日はPCE版『コットン』の発売26周年！【レトロゲーム】". Gamedrive. February 12, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
[edit source]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tarako&oldid=1367922153"