Tomoko Kawakami, who provided the voices of numerous anime characters including Soifon in Bleach and most famously, Utena in Revolutionary Girl Utena, has passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 40 years old, and had continued to perform while she was ill. Kawakami had found a niche voicing tomboyish characters, including Utena, the teenage girl who decided to become a prince.
In addition to her most famous role, Kawakami has starring roles in Air, Chrono Crusade, Hikaru no Go, and Sgt. Frog. Her first role came, in which she played a young boy in Metal Fighter Miku, in 1994 and was quickly followed by her first regular gig, Fushigi Yuugi. She became well-known in the shōjo-ai genre during her career and played a number of characters in paranormal films and series. In her star-making role as Utena, Kawakami gave voice to a teenage character who crossed the lines of gender to protect a fellow student from abuse who might also be the key to an upcoming revolution.
Kawakami had been hospitalized since 2008. Anime News Network reports that as a result of her illness, she had to give up the role of Kaoru in the adaptation of Yamane Ayano‘s Ikoku Irokoi Romantan.
