Naruto Voice Actor Ken Shiroyama Dies at 92

In the world of anime voice acting, the medium needs a cacophony of voice actors to portray characters young and old. For the latter, Ken Shiroyama helped to bring to life a major example in the Naruto franchise. After a long life of bringing to life some major characters across the board, the prolific actor has passed at the age of 92. In looking at Shiroyama’s resume, the elderly actor was a major part of some big franchises, not only in the anime realm but in Western animation that found its way to the East.

Shiroyama’s talent agency, Production Baobab, shared the sad news in an official statement, reading as such, “Actor Ken Shiroyama (92 years old) passed away on April 15, 2025 due to old age. We would like to express his deep gratitude for the kindness you showed him during his lifetime and to inform you of this. The wake and funeral were held only for close relatives, and we would like to ask that you please refrain from visiting the funeral home or offering gifts. We apologize for the late notice due to the wishes of the deceased and his family.”

Honoring Ken Shiroyama

Arguably, Shiroyama’s biggest role in the Naruto franchise was that of “Honoured Grandfather Ebizo,” brother to Chiyo who played an early role in the sequel series, Naruto Shippuden. The Hidden Leaf Village was far from the only anime universe that Ken had a big part to play. Since beginning his voice acting career all the way back in 1969 with Atakku No. 1, Shiroyama would go on to have big parts in franchises including, but not limited to, Gatchaman, Astro Boy, Berserk, Trigun, Spriggan, and Strike Witches.

Shiroyama didn’t just dip his toes into the anime world however, as the voice actor worked on many popular series and movies that first originated in North America. This includes playing the Japanese version of Courage The Cowardly Dog’s Eustace, along with Frenzy, Perceptor, and Trailbreaker from the Transformers series. When it came to North American movies, Ken was a part of past films including Rambo and From Dusk Till Dawn. It had been years since Shiroyama had lent his vocal talents to any project, anime or otherwise, but his legacy in the entertainment world isn’t soon to be forgotten.

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Ken Shiroyama during this difficult time.