Sailor Moon Creator Honors Sailor Jupiter's Late Actress With Special Tribute

Naoko Takeuchi has broken her silence on the death of Emi Shinohara, the voice of Sailor Jupiter.

By Megan Peters

In the past month, the voice acting community has lost a number of champions. From James Earl Jones to Peter Renaday, some of the most recognizable voices in entertainment have recently died. Amongst those stars is Emi Shinohara as the beloved voice actress behind Sailor Jupiter died on September 8. Now, the creator of Sailor Moon has taken a moment to honor Shinohara's work, and it comes by way of a special illustration.

The artwork, as you can see below, brings Sailor Jupiter to life in stunning fashion. Naoko Takeuchi drew a simple illustration of Sailor Jupiter in her classic green uniform. With her long hair tied back, the heroine's eyes are shining in this special tribute, and Takeuchi inked a short note to Shinohara as well.

"To Emi Shinohara, you are always in my heart," the Sailor Moon artist wrote. "I believe we will meet again."

Remembering Emi Shinohara's Greatest Works

For those unfamiliar with Emi Shinohara, the actress began working in 1986 after she spent much of her youth in drama clubs and camps. Her first gig acting was as a voice actor in the film Project A-ko; It was there Shinohara voiced B-ko Daitokuji, and the actress went on to expand her acting portfolio from there.

In 1992, Sailor Moon came knocking as Shinohara auditioned for the up-and-coming series. The actress was asked to voice Sailor Jupiter, also known as Makoto Kino. She would continue voicing Sailor Jupiter for years, and along the way, Shinohara picked up other major roles. For instance, she played Ophelia in Claymore and Presea in Magic Knight Rayearth along with Kushina Uzumaki in Naruto Shippuden.

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What's Next for Sailor Moon

It has been ages since the original Sailor Moon anime wrapped yet Shinohara's impact on the franchise is still felt. Takeuchi has a fond spot for Shinohara in her heart, and that love is shared with her family. After all, Takeuchi's husband also paid tribute to the late voice actress. Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter, posted an illustration of Sailor Jupiter shortly after his wife posted hers. It was there Togashi praised Shinohara for her incredible work over the years.

As for Sailor Moon, the franchise lives on to this day even though its main run ended ages ago. Takeuchi wrapped her hit manga in 1997, and since then, a number of anime adaptations have tackled Sailor Moon. Most recently, the franchise came to life with Sailor Moon Cosmos as the two-part feature just hit Netflix stateside. 

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