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Makio Inoue
Makio Inoue
井上真樹夫
Born	井上孝夫(Takao Inoue); November 30, 1938; Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Died	November 29, 2019 (aged 80); Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Occupations	Actor; voice actor;
Years active	1954–2019
Agent	Aoni Production
Height	165 cm (5 ft 5 in)

Makio Inoue (井上真樹夫, Inoue Makio, November 30, 1938 – November 29, 2019) was a Japanese actor and voice actor.^[1]

He is most noted for his two longstanding roles, as the title character in Captain Harlock from 1978 through the 1980s and 1990s, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII of Lupin III from 1977 to 2011.

Career

Inoue's childhood of watching mobile theater troupes gave him a longing to be an actor, and by the time he was in high school, he was appearing in TV movies. At the time, he also admired poets, and his stage name “Makio (Inoue himself uses the English name “Maqio”).” was derived from his pen name at that time.^[2]

Around 1960, he and a friend founded a theater company influenced by Underground culture and began working as stage actors. However, the money to maintain the stage soon disappeared and his life became difficult, so he decided that he had to earn money. It was then that he was invited by an acquaintance to audition for the Japanese dubbed version of the TV series “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” and was chosen for the lead role. This was the beginning of his career as a voice actor.^[3]

In 1968, he appeared in the animated television series Star of the Giants. His role in the anime was well-received, and he was given more opportunities to play cool, beautiful young men and the main character's rivals.

By the 1970s, he had established an idol-like popularity that led to the establishment of a fan club, and he was considered one of the “top three most popular voice actors in Japan.^[4]

Starting in 1977, he played Goemon Ishikawa XIII in the Lupin III series, which became one of his best-known works. Inoue was hired to replace Chikao Ohtsuka, but was told by the director at the time that the character of Goemon had changed from Chikao's “hard-killing man” to a “young, beautiful-faced swordsman,” and that the voice actor had changed to you.^[5] Inoue thus gave his own personality to the character, without being conscious of Chikao's. Inoue later said affectionately of Goemon, “He is an important character who has influenced me in many ways in my life".^[6] He also said that the best part of acting is “giving a presence from a few lines".

He played the title character in Captain Harlock from 1978 through the 1990s.

In the 1980s, as his popularity began to wane, he scaled back his voice acting activities and began to focus more on his stage career.

He later became a buddhist monk and built his own temple in Chiba Prefecture.^[7] In addition to his work as an actor and voice actor, including providing the voice of Master Eraqus in the “Kingdom Hearts” series, he began to go on regular training trips, including retreats deep into the mountains to sit in zazen meditation in order to attain enlightenment.^[8] Since then, he has been wearing samue and geta (Japanese clogs) to recordings and visiting studios on a moped motorcycle.

In 2011, Inoue dropped the role of Goemon at the request of the production company, he was succeeded in the role of Goemon by Daisuke Namikawa.

In the 2000s, he hit it off with dancer Sui-sei, whom he met through stage work; with Sui-sei as his partner, in 2017 he opened an Twitter account and resumed his interactions with his former fans; in 2019, he launched a “lifetime project” and a YouTube channel was also launched.

But on November 29, 2019, he died at his home in Chiba Prefecture due to worsening angina pectoris, a chronic illness; he died at age 80.^[7]