Who was Hiroshi Tsuchida? All about Attack on Titan and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger actor as he dies at 54

On October 20, 2026, Hiroshi Tsuchida's agency announced his death. The Japanese actor and voice actor passed away from heart failure on October 11. He was 54. As reported by Oricon News, 81 Produce shared the news on its official website that day. The agency noted that a private funeral took place with only family members present. The agency also expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him over the years.

As per the 81 Produce page, Hiroshi Tsuchida was born on February 8, 1972, in Tokyo. He worked in both live-action and voice roles throughout his career. Many knew him first as Saizo, or Ninja Blue, in the 1994 Super Sentai series Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Later, he became recognized for voicing Grisha Jaeger in Attack on Titan.

As listed on the page, his work also included Raidō Namiashi in Naruto and the Japanese voice of Lightning McQueen in the Cars films. According to TokyoHive, he reprised the Saizo role in a 2024 special episode marking the series' 30th anniversary. He also voiced the AI unit HANE2 in Ultraman Decker.

Hiroshi Tsuchida's roles in tokusatsu, anime, and dubbing

As listed on his 81 Produce agency profile page, Hiroshi Tsuchida played Saizo (Ninja Blue) in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. The same page also shows later voice roles in Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger and Mahou Sentai Magiranger. As reported by TokyoHive, he debuted in the 1994 series and later contributed additional Super Sentai voice work, including a role in No.1 Sentai Gozyuger. Anime News Network further noted that he returned for the 2024 special Ninja Sentai Kakuranger: Act Three - Middle-Aged Struggles, which reunited the original cast.

Hiroshi Tsuchida's anime credits span more than two decades. The 81 Produce profile also lists his role as Daikichi Kawachi in Bunny Drop. Oricon News reported additional anime work that included characters in One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and Pokémon XY (Professor Sycamore).

According to Anime News Network, he also voiced Trainer Okita in Uma Musume Pretty Derby projects. The same report stated that his most recent roles included Shippo Marimo in the summer 2026 series Mebius Dust and King Lionel in The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom, which began airing in early October 2026. He also continued appearing in titles such as Mushoku Tensei and Black Clover.

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Tsuchida maintained an active presence in Japanese dubbing. Anime News Network reported that he also dubbed Cade Yeager in the Transformers films and contributed to other foreign productions. Other film credits listed on Hiroshi Tsuchida’s 81 Produce profile include Inception (Arthur), Interstellar (Dr. Mann), The Dark Knight Rises (Blake), Guardians of the Galaxy (Kraglin), The Town (Doug), and Munich (Steve).

A 1995 Kakuranger episode featured a scene in which an assassin surprises Saizo and says, "Today is Friday in California!" before attempting to shoot him. This moment later became a popular internet meme. As Oricon News reported, his overall body of work spanned live-action, anime, and extensive foreign-language dubbing.

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