Anime World Offers Condolences After Voice Actor Emi Shinohara’s Passing, Part II – Interest

I heard the news of the death of voice actress Emi Shinohara-san.
She was a senior in the theater group I belonged to when I was 19 or 20 years old. At the time, Shinohara-san hadn’t made her debut yet, and following people like Nobuo Tobita-san, Miki Narahashi-san, and Shigeru Nakahara-san who were active as newcomers… She was a wonderful person.
It’s sad to see a friend pass away, as it was with Yūko Mizutani-san, who entered the same year…
I was in the theater group for about two years and we performed together on stage…
I didn’t have many lines, but I played a role of a boyfriend or the like.

Looking at the group photo taken at the after-party for the play, Shinohara-san and Mizutani-san are both there, and I miss their smiles from back then.
May she rest in peace.

The director of the play at that time was Yasunori Honda-san, who was the sound director for The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Megazone 23.

Being a member of this theater group led to a wide circle of friends and I got to know many voice actors.
I ended up going into the music industry, and through that connection I eventually met Takayama-san.

In an era without the internet or smartphones, we were nobody, just wanting to become somebody tomorrow…

It seems like just the other day, but also like a distant memory, when us young people gathered together and struggled desperately.
Some things have changed, and some things haven’t.

When I look back on the days we lived through repeated meetings and partings, it’s a memory that still warms my heart.
Thank you.