Ichirō Nagai

Ichirō Nagai (永井 一郎, Nagai Ichirō, May 10, 1931 – January 27, 2014) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Ikeda, Osaka. He was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, and was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of his death.

Ichirō Nagai
永井 一郎
Born	(1931-05-10)May 10, 1931 Ikeda, Osaka, Japan
Died	January 27, 2014(2014-01-27) (aged 82) Hiroshima, Japan
Occupations	Actor voice actor narrator
Years active	1956–2014
Agent	Aoni Production

Career

Nagai played GeGeGe no Kitarō's Konaki Jijii, a comic, absent-minded old yōkai man who attacks enemies by clinging to them and turning himself to stone, increasing his weight and mass immensely and pinning them down between the 60s and 80s alongside Masako Nozawa and Keiko Toda (Kitaro), Isamu Tanonaka (Medama oyaji), Chikao Ohtsuka and Kei Tomiyama (Nezumi-Otoko), Nana Yamaguchi, Yūko Mita (Neko Musume), Yoko Ogushi, Keiko Yamamoto (Sunakake Baba), Yonehiko Kitagawa, Kenji Utsumi and Yusaku Yara (Nurikabe) and Jōji Yanami, Keaton Yamada and Kōsei Tomita (Ittan Momen).

Nagai was cast as Sazae-san's character, Namihei Isono, Sazae's father and patriarch of the family in the longest running Anime in 1969 alongside co-stars Midori Katō (Sazae) and Miyoko Asō (Fune) until Chafurin filled in for him after his death.

He was cast in Urusei Yatsura as the wandering monk Cherry in 1983 alongside co-stars Toshio Furukawa (Ataru Moroboshi), Saeko Shimazu (Shinobu Miyake), Fumi Hirano (Lum) and Akira Kamiya (Shutaro Mendo).

He was cast in 1989 until 2008 in Ranma ½ as Happosai, the founder and grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. He often alternates between his role as a villainous grandmaster to one as a lighthearted pervert, alongside co-stars Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara (Ranma Saotome), Kenichi Ogata (Genma), Masako Ikeda (Nodoka), Noriko Hidaka (Akane Tendo), Aso (Cologne), Hirotaka Suzuoki and Kōji Tsujitani (Tatewaki Kuno), Koichi Yamadera (Ryoga Hibiki) and Hiromi Tsuru (Ukyo Kuonji).

Death

On January 27, 2014, while recording narration for a program in Hiroshima, Nagai suffered a bout of myocardial infarction and was found by a hotel employee. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead; Nagai was 82 years old at the time of his death.^[1]

Filmography

Television animation

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1964	Big X	Dr. Hanamaru
1968	Cyborg 009	Chang Changku/Cyborg 006
	GeGeGe no Kitarō	Konaki Jijii	Played this role in the 70s and 80s series as well
1969	Sazae-san	Namihei Isono, Umihei Isono
1972	Devilman	Alphonne Louis Steinbeck III
1974	Great Mazinger	Spectral General Hadias
	Space Battleship Yamato	Dr. Sakezo Sado
1975	Maya the Bee	Philip
1979	Mobile Suit Gundam	Narrator, Degwin Sodo Zabi
1980	Astro Boy	Detective Tawashi, Ham Egg (eps 2-3)
1981	Queen Millennia	Professor Amamori
	Urusei Yatsura	Cherry
1985	GeGeGe no Kitarō	Konaki Jijii
1986	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz	Cowardly Lion
1987	Dragon Ball	Tsuru-sen'nin, Karin
1988	Gegege no Kitaro: Jigoku Hen	Konakii Jijii
1989	Akuma-kun	Dr. Faust
	Dragon Ball Z	Karin
	Ranma ½	Happosai
	Yawara!	Jigoro Inokuma
1997	Detective Conan	Shuji Tsugawa
1998	Master Keaton	Tahei Hiraga
2000	Soreike! Anpanman	Furudokei-san
2001	Detective Conan	En Kenzou	Episode 252
	Pokémon	Doctor Namba
2002	Lupin III: Episode 0: The First Contact	Detective George McFly
2003	Pokémon Chronicles	Doctor Nanba
2004	Detective Conan	Jirokichi Suzuki
	Monster	Dr. Reichwein
2006	Pokémon: Advanced	Dr. Nanba	Episode 176
2008	Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl	Dr. Nanba	Episode 65
2009	Dragon Ball Kai	Karin
	Inuyasha: The Final Act	Yōreitaisei
	Hajime No Ippo: New Challenger	Ginpachi Nekota
2011	Hunter × Hunter	Isaac Netero	Episodes 6-114
2014	Dragon Ball Kai: The Final Chapters	Karin

OVA

Year	Title	Role
1985	Vampire Hunter D	D's Left Hand
1988	Dominion Tank Police	Chief
1991	Yūkan Club	Maotai
1993	The Cockpit	Soldier Godal
2000	Grandeek	Grandeek
2010	Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn	Syam Vist

Theatrical animation

Year	Title	Role
1979	Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro	Jodo
1984	Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind	Mito
1985	GeGeGe no Kitarō	Konaki Jijii
1986	Gegege no Kitarō: Yōkai Daisensō [jp]	Konaki Jijii
	Gegege no Kitarō: Saikyō Yōkai Gundan! Nihon Jōriku!! [jp]	Konaki Jijii
	Castle in the Sky	General Muoro
	Gegege no Kitarō: Gekitotsu!! ljigen Yōkai no Daihanran [jp]	Konaki Jijii
1988	Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure	Tsuru-sen'nin, Karin
1991	Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge	Karin
1995	2112: The Birth of Doraemon	Principal Teraodai
2001	Case Closed: Countdown to Heaven	Hohsui Kisaragi
2010	Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky	Jirokichi Suzuki
2009	Summer Wars	Mansuke Jinnouchi
2013	Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission	Isaac Netero

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2002	Kingdom Hearts	Philoctetes (Phil)		[2]
2007	Final Fantasy IV Nintendo DS	Cid Pollendina		[2]
2008	Soulcalibur IV	Yoda		[2]
2010	Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep	Philoctetes, Grumpy		[2]
2013	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	Adaro		[2]
2015	Tales of Zestiria	Gramps		[2]

• Dragon Ball: Origins (Karin)
• Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo (Karin)
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (Karin)
• Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (Korin)
• Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Neo (Korin)
• Hunter × Hunter: Wonder Adventure (Isaac Netero)
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Samos the Sage)
• Jak II (Samos the Sage)
• Kingdom Hearts II (Philoctetes)
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (Philoctetes, Grumpy)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (Philoctetes (Phil))
• Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Yoda)
• Phantasy Star Portable (Lucaim Nav)
• Phantasy Star Universe (Lucaim Nav)
• Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return (Kainen)

Tokusatsu

• Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (Baseball Mask)
• J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai (Devil Batter)
• Juken Sentai Gekiranger (Master Xia Fu)
• Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (Master Xia Fu)
  • Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger the Movie: The Flying Ghost Ship (Baseball Mask)
• Kamen Rider G (Narrator)

Dubbing

Live action

• Michael Gambon
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – Albus Dumbledore^[3]
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Albus Dumbledore^[4]
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Albus Dumbledore^[5]
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Albus Dumbledore^[6]
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Albus Dumbledore^[7]
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 – Albus Dumbledore^[8]
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Albus Dumbledore^[9]
• Frank Oz
  • The Empire Strikes Back (1980 Movie theater edition) – Yoda
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol – Fozzie Bear
  • Muppet Treasure Island – Fozzie Bear
  • Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace – Yoda
  • Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones – Yoda
  • Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith – Yoda
• Walter Matthau
  • Dennis the Menace – George Wilson
  • Charade (1994 NTV edition) – Carson Dyle
  • Grumpy Old Men – Max Goldman
  • The Odd Couple II – Oscar Madison
• Arthur and the Invisibles – Archibald (Ron Crawford)
• Batteries Not Included – Frank Riley (Hume Cronyn)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2010 theatrical version) – Grandpa George (David Morris)^[10]
• Doctor Who – Charles Dickens (Simon Callow)
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor – Noa (Wilford Brimley)
• The Fifth Element (2002 TV Asahi edition) – Father Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm)^[11]
• Freaky Friday – Alan Coleman (Harold Gould)^[12]
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris)
• The Holiday – Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach)^[13]
• Independence Day – Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch)^[14]
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – Alexander Anderson (Michael Caine)^[15]
• Jurassic Park – John Hammond (Richard Attenborough)^[16]
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park – John Hammond (Richard Attenborough)^[17]
• L.A. Confidential – Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito)^[18]
• Lassie – The Duke of Rudling (Peter O'Toole)^[19]
• Lawrence of Arabia (2000 TV Tokyo edition) – Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains)
• Little Nicky – Mr. Beefy (Robert Smigel)^[20]
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1988 Fuji TV edition) – Master (Angelo Rossitto)^[21]
• The Muppet Movie – Rowlf the Dog
• Night at the Museum – Gus (Mickey Rooney)^[22]
• Rawhide – George Washington Wishbone (Paul Brinegar)
• Scanners (1987 NTV edition) – Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan)^[23]
• The Sound of Music – Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn)^[24]
• The Sting – J.J. Singleton (Ray Walston)^[25]

Animation

• The Black Cauldron – King Eidilleg^[26]
• Galaxy High School – Professor Icenstein
• The Great Mouse Detective – Dr. Dawson
• Hercules – Philoctetes^[27]
• Home on the Range – Rusty
• The Jetsons – Cosmo Spacely (first voice)
• Lady and the Tramp – Toughy
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole – Ezylryb
• Looney Tunes series – Yosemite Sam (first voice)
• Magic Adventures of Mumfie – Napoleon Jones
• Star Wars: Clone Wars – Yoda
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film) – Yoda
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV) – Yoda
• Tintin and the Lake of Sharks – Thomson and Thompson
• Tintin and the Temple of the Sun – Thomson and Thompson
• Toy Story – Slinky Dog
• Toy Story 2 – Slinky Dog
• Toy Story 3 – Slinky Dog
• Watership Down – Black Rabbit

References

1. Loo, Egan (January 27, 2014). "Ranma 1/2's Happōsai Voice Actor Ichirô Nagai Passes Away". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
2. "Ichiro Nagai (visual voices guide) - Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
3. "ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石". Wowow. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
4. "ハリー・ポッターとアズカバンの囚人". Nippon Television. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
5. "ハリー・ポッターと炎のゴブレット". NTV. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
6. "ハリー・ポッターと不死鳥の騎士団". Nippon Television. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
7. "ハリー・ポッターと謎のプリンス". Star Channel. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
8. "ハリー・ポッターと死の秘宝 PART1". Fukikaeru. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
9. "ハリー・ポッターと死の秘宝 PART2". Fukikaeru. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
10. ばばんばばんない (10 November 2015). "チャーリーとチョコレート工場が金曜ロードショーで声優が違うのはなぜ？". TIMESHARE-ちょっと笑えてためにもなる時間をシェア (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
11. "フィフス・エレメント 4K UHD+Blu-ray(2枚組)". TC Entertainment. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
12. "フォーチュン・クッキー". Disney. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
13. "ホリデイ". The Cinema. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
14. "インデペンデンス・デイ［特別版］". Star Channel. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
15. "センター・オブ・ジ・アース２ 神秘の島". Star Channel. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
16. "ジュラシック・パーク". Star Channel. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
17. "ロスト・ワールド／ジュラシック・パーク". Star Channel. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
18. "L.A.コンフィデンシャル 製作20周年記念版". HMV. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
19. "名犬ラッシー（２００５）". Star Channel. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
20. "リトル★ニッキー". Warner Bros. Japan. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
21. "DCプロジェクト スペシャルパッケージ". Warner Bros. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
22. "ナイト ミュージアム". Star Channel. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
23. "スキャナーズ 2Kレストア特別版 Blu-ray". TC Entertainment. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
24. "サウンド・オブ・ミュージック". The Cinema. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
25. "スティング". The Cinema. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
26. "コルドロン". The Cinema. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
27. "ヘラクレス". The Cinema. Retrieved February 1, 2023.

External links

• Official agency profile (in Japanese)
• Ichirō Nagai at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Ichirō Nagai at IMDb