The 81-year-old "Doraemon" voice actor Akira Oyama has Almozheimer's disease (Alzheimer's disease) and has forgotten the ding-dong cat he spends his days and nights with.
In 1979, Ōyama made his first voice actor as Doraemon. She wasn't the first actress to voice Doraemon, but because of her superb acting skills, she was in charge of the beloved "Blue Fat Man" role in all subsequent series.
For the next 26 years, Oyama's life revolved around Doraemon. She laughed and said, "My husband often jokingly told me that he always couldn't tell whether he was married to a voice actor wife or Doraemon. When shopping outside, I pay special attention, so it's fine; but when I argue with my husband at home, I often scold halfway through, and he will ask me why I use Doraemon's voice again? During the anime broadcast, she often received calls from the audience, and she would always use Doraemon's voice to chat with the audience and fulfill their wishes.
Due to her flawless performance in Doraemon, she was chosen as the favorite Doraemon voice actress in the minds of Japanese audiences. After the death of author Fujiko F. Fujio, Iyama replaced her at all Doraemon events in Japan. In other words, in Japan, the Doraemon event that Oyama Kendai attended could not be regarded as a real Doraemon event.
In addition, not only animations and CDs, but also BANDAI, etc. in the production of Doraemon-related games and toys, Doraemon's voice was recorded by Oyama Kendai, and it took Oyama Kendai three days to record the sound of voice-activated dolls.
It was not until March 18, 2005, that she was unable to take on heavy dubbing work at an advanced age, and she dubbed the last note for Doraemon's Forehead Rest Day. The following year, she published an autobiography, I Am Doraemon.
In 2015, the news that Ms. Ōyama Yoshiyo was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease was publicly stated by her husband, Keisuke Sagawa: "Ms. Oyama only recently began to have intermittent symptoms, and now it is getting worse and worse. This is manifested in the fact that sometimes you forget what you just said, or when you suddenly don't do it before. This is a typical symptom of Alzheimer's disease, which has a serious impact on short-term memory. ”
Now 81 years old, when she sits in front of the TV and watches the Doraemon cartoon broadcast by TV Asahi, she has no reaction. She had forgotten the "blue fat man" with whom she had been with her for 26 years.