Naruto Voice Actor Shares Emotional Tribute to Emi Shinohara, Touching Minato x Kushina Fans

On September 8, 2024, the beloved Naruto voice actress Emi Shinohara passed away due to medical reasons. Her death had a profound effect on the voice acting community and the fans of anime who cherished her distinctive voice.

Toshiyuki Morikawa, an esteemed voice actor known for his role as Minato Namikaze, was among those affected by this loss. He and Emi Shinohara, who voiced Kushina Uzumaki, created a memorable married couple in the anime series.

Morikawa expressed his heartfelt feelings in a farewell letter, sharing that his portrayal of Minato was one of his fondest memories in his career. His emotional tribute resonated deeply with fans, leaving many in tears.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Naruto: What is the farewell message from Minato’s voice actor to Emi Shinohara?

On September 11, 2024, Toshiyuki Morikawa took to Twitter to share his farewell message for the late Emi Shinohara.

He recounted that his most cherished memory was performing alongside Emi in Naruto as the parents of the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. Their characters, Minato and Kushina, tragically died the day they welcomed their newborn. Morikawa reflected on a scene from Naruto that poignantly captured Minato and Kushina’s final moments as they said goodbye to their child.

Minato and Kushina in their last moments with their son (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Toshiyuki Morikawa expressed his gratitude for Emi’s dedication and conveyed his hope to reunite with her someday.

Reaction from the fandom

Minato and Kushina saving their son (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Fans took to social media to express their grief over Morikawa’s heartfelt farewell to the Naruto voice actress. One fan extended blessings to all voice actors, highlighting the recent losses in the industry.

Another fan confirmed that the scene of Kushina and Minato’s death was the one Morikawa mentioned, calling it the best moment in storytelling across all media.

One fan also referenced Minato’s one-shot, “Naruto: The Whorl within the Spiral,”expressing their desire to never see Kushina portrayed by anyone else.

“Bless every Naruto VA. Honestly, every voice actor because I’m seeing a lot are passing recently”a fan urged

“I’m welling up way more than I thought”another one said

“If he was talking about that scene where both Minato & Kushina are dying, and Kushina is saying all the parenting stuff to baby Naruto, and Minato is all like ‘the same as your nagging mother,’ then yeah, it’s one of the best scenes in all media, not just anime”another fan said

“I HOPE SP doesn’t lay a hand on MINATO one-shot to be animated now, we will never want to see KUSHINA get voiced by someone else and this is the correct tribute for an amazing seiyuu, sometimes it’s better to leave stuff untouched”another one claimed

Final thoughts

Toshiyuki Morikawa is celebrated in the voice acting realm for his captivating ‘dad voice’ roles, including Paul Greyrat from “Jobless Reincarnation”and Kurosaki Isshin from “Bleach.”His choice of Minato as his most cherished role illustrates the impact of Emi Shinohara’s passing on him.