A Man to Remember: Keiji Fujiwara

By Miriam Herrera

 on April 17, 2020

During these last few months, we have found our peace with anime, to find the way to smile and the way to turn away from the reality that has been dealt to us. However, we see that sometimes the struggle of finding things out can bring us back into that reality. Today, an announcement was made that one of the most famous voice actors that we have ever known has passed away from his battle with cancer. The anime community will be mourning a great man that we have come to know from his large string of voice acting, Keiji Fujiwara, was a man of talent and humor.

For so long, he has voice characters that we have come to love and admired from Zhang Fei Yide from Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi, to Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. He started from the beginning and went on to move forward with his own company, Air Agency. The length of this legendary man’s career has brought us all together. Seeing the road that he has paved for many others. The laughter he brought forward, and the characters he had us crying for in the end, we are able to smile and remember these moments that Fujiwara brought for us. We thank him for everything that he has done for us, the anime that pulled us through so many hard times. Favorite characters that we have enjoyed watching throughout the years.

Keiji Fujiwara stepped down in 2016 to fight his cancer, and he kept fighting and getting the treatment that he needed. However, in 2017 he came back into his voice acting role and his role in Air Agency. The lectures he gave in Japan Newart College since 2008, and those lectures will forever be immortalized along with his longer voice acting career with anime and video games. We see him as he reprised his role as Reno in the Final Fantasy VII remake, one that I will be sure to enjoy even more now. We may have lost such a wonderful voice actor, but we will always keep smiling and keep watching the characters that he has brought to life.

We will miss Keiji Fujiwara dearly, and we hope that his family will be able to heal from his passing. We will remember him for his love for anime, voice acting and his humor. Everyone from Comic Watch would like to tell Fujiwara family, that we are deeply sorry for their loss. As we move forward, we hope to remember the many animes that he voiced in, remember him for the laughter and tears he brought. The strength he was able to give us during our own times, we will remember such a wonderful voice that pushed us forward. So, we thank Keiji Fujiwara for the memories.