Gundam Star Masaru Ikeda Dies at 83

Throughout the decades of Mobile Suit Gundam, various realities, adventures, and timelines have been examined. While the animators have been responsible for bringing many of these stories to life, it takes a village to make sure that the anime fandom receives its fix of mech battles. Unfortunately, a major voice actor in Gundam’s roster has passed away, as the news has dropped that Masaru Ikeda has died at the age of 83. Alongside the announcement from the Tokyo Actors Cooperative, now seems like the perfect time to study Ikeda’s long voice acting career and the impact he had on the anime industry.

The Tokyo Actors Cooperative revealed that Masaru Ikeda passed away on January 31st last month. The cause of death was due to heart failure from a myocardial infarction, with the Cooperative releasing the following statement on the voice actor’s passing: “Actor Ikeda Katsuyoshi, who belongs to our association, passed away at 4:15 pm on Saturday, January 31, 2026, due to heart failure caused by a myocardial infarction. He was 83 years old. The funeral was held in accordance with the wishes of the family and was attended only by close relatives. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to us during his lifetime and to inform you of his passing. We ask that you please refrain from interviewing or paying condolences to the bereaved family members.”

Masaru Ikeda’s Impact on The Anime World

In the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, Masaru Ikeda played the part of Dren in the first anime that started the mech anime, along with various other roles. The long-running Mobile Suit franchise is far from the only anime world he had an impact on. Ikeda played a big part in one of the biggest shonen franchises in the world, taking on the role of the beastial Nekomamushi in One Piece. As a refresher, the feline warrior played a major part in both the Whole Cake Island storyline and the Wano Arc. On top of Gundam and One Piece, Ikeada also had roles in anime, including Dragon Ball Super, City Hunter, Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Detective Conan, Rurouni Kenshin, Lupin The 3rd, and many more.

On top of lending his vocal talents to the anime world, Masaru also played significant parts in North American animated projects brought to Japan. On the animation front, Ikeada had parts in Aladdin And The King of Thieves, Oliver & Company, Total Recall, Disney’s Adventures of The Gummi Bears, and Cars. One of Masaru’s most notable roles was in Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, wherein the voice actor brought to life the villainous Mr. Freeze in Japan. When it came to video games, the voice actor played major parts in the likes of Suikoden V, Xenosaga, Crash Bandicoot, and more. Considering the number of mediums that Masaru Ikeada became a part of, the voice actor’s legacy won’t soon be forgotten by the fandom.

Our thoughts are with Masaru Ikeada’s family and friends during this difficult time.

Via Haikyo