Kiyoshi Kobayashi Death – We are extremely saddened and deastated to announce the death of Kiyoshi Kobayashi, long time voice talent of Jigen Daisuke from Lupin III, who passed away at the age of 89 on July 30th due to pneumonia.
Kiyoshi Kobayashi has leant his talents to many other characters during his career, including Crystal Boy / Bowie from Space Adventure COBRA, Watari in Death Note, James Moriarty from Case Closed, and more. He has most recently starred as the narrator in a live-action TV drama about voice actors come detectives, named Seiyū Tantei.
Japanese sport and entertainment magazine Sponichi Annex broke the news last year that Kobayashi was to retire in the autumn, ahead of the release of Lupin III: Part 6. The veteran actor, who had played the character of Jigen for over fifty years, was sent off in style through the show’s prequel episode “The Times”. He was later succeeded by Akio Otsuka, who, at the time, humbly reported his affection and admiration for the work Kobayashi had provided prior to his hiring.
Kobayashi’s family held a private funeral, and talent management company Haikyo added that it will announce more details on a public service at a later date.
Tributes have been flooding in for the beloved actor, and various comments from friends and collegues of Kobayashi are currently being compiled by the official Twitter account for Lupin III here.
