Source: Hikaru Tanaka's official X account
Atsuko Tanaka, who voiced Bayonetta, Caster, Chun Li, Lara Croft, and many others has passed away.
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, voice actor Hikaru Tanaka revealed that his mother and fellow VA, Atsuko Tanaka - best known as the Japanese voice actress for the titular character of Sega’s Bayonetta - has passed away. She was 61 years old.
The sad news comes in tandem with the announcement of their parent-child relationship, which was only disclosed following Atsuko Tanaka’s death. She passed away after a nearly year-long battle with an illness she had wished to not be disclosed to the public. In his statement, Hikaru Tanaka wished that people would not forget his mother’s contributions as a voice actress to gaming and anime.
Atsuko Tanaka has had a long and celebrated career as a voice actress dating all the way back to 1993. She established herself in the industry with roles in video games featuring semi-mature action heroines, having voiced Lara Croft in the first five games of the Tomb Raider franchise before making waves as the iconic Bayonetta.
Tanaka also provided a voice for Chun Li in Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Namco x Capcom, Caster in the Fate series, Kaine in NieR Replicant, Tess in the Last of Us, HMS Hood and KMS Tirpitz in Azur Lane, Trish and Eva in Devil May Cry 5, and Rhinedottir in Genshin Impact, among other roles.
Besides working in video games, Atsuko Tanaka also made a name for herself in the Anime industry, having voiced well-loved characters like Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost In the Shell: Standalone Complex, Claire in the original 1998 Trigun, Konan from Naruto: Shippuden, Lisa Lisa in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Flamme in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, among other roles.
Atsuko Tanaka’s last credited voice role is that of the cursed spirit Hanami in the anime video game Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash, which was released back in February of this year.
