Keiji Fujiwara, the Japanese voice actor for Master Yi, died on April 12 at the age of 55, Riot Games Japan tweeted earlier today. He had been battling cancer for an undisclosed time, according to Air Agency, the talent agency Fujiwara founded in 2006.
In addition to Fujiwara’s work for Riot, he lent his voice for Ardyn in Final Fantasy XV, Reno in Final Fantasy VII Remake, as well as animes Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka 7, and Crayon Shin-chan. He also provided the Japanese dub for Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr.’s character in The Avengers.
マスター・イーの声優を務めて頂いた藤原啓治さんが、4月12日に享年55歳で亡くなられたと公式サイトで発表されました。藤原さんにはコミカルに、そして格好良くキメて頂きました。
その渋いお声には海外からも反響が大きかったです。https://t.co/K9LXY7ChKj
心よりご冥福をお祈りいたします。
— Riot Games Japan (@RiotGamesJapan) April 16, 2020Fujiwara took a medical leave of absence in August 2016 to undergo treatment for an unspecified illness. During this time, he was replaced on many of the shows he was working on, including Crayon Shin-chan and Attack on Titan. He slowly returned to work nearly a year later.
In 2015, when Riot was preparing to launch its Japanese League servers, Fujiwara and several anime voice acting stars were recruited to voice some League champions.
His family held a private wake and funeral.
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