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July 20, 1934"Japan Talent Directory 2012" 『日本タレント名鑑 2012』, VIP Times Co., Ltd., 2012, 231 pages, – June 18, 2015 was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and manager. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office until the time of his death.
He is most known for the roles of Takeshi Gōda known as "Gian" ( Doraemon), Walsa ( Time Bokan), and Tonzura ( Yatterman).
During the war, while Tatekabe was in fourth grade elementary school, he was evacuated to Asama Onsen in the northeast of Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, but was then evacuated again over to Senba in Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture. Around the time, Tatekabe continued to wet his bed every night, a habit that continued on for six months close to the war's end. Once he returned to his parents' home from the evacuation site, he finally stopped wetting his bed.
Every day when he returned home from Daizawa National School (now known as Daizawa Elementary School) in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, he was absorbed in playing baseball. After entering the Tokyo Agricultural Education College Junior High School, he continued to show his passion for baseball.
/a>, Retrieved April 28, 2020. One of his university classmates was Kiyoshi Kobayashi. 【アメリア】みんなで作るインタビュー6・小林清志さん紹介編, Viewed on February 22, 2017.
After Tatekabe had graduated from high school, he wanted to join a professional theater company as soon as possible and become a trainee, but when he saw his parents' faces, he couldn't bring himself to tell them. As an only child, he had previously thought that he would become a businessman someday and take care of his parents. He also didn't like studying very much, and had the impression that he would be able to just have fun in the theater department, so he went to the university. Even after entering university, he didn't study, but participated in many theater productions, including "The Bottom". Around this time, Tatekabe began to become interested in producing, and for a while he focused on studying as a production staff member.
After Tatekabe graduated from the university, he went around applying to various broadcasting companies with hopes of becoming a television producer, but he ended up failing at all of the job interviews he had to do in order to proceed. While he worked as a stagehand at Nippon Television, he teamed up with university classmate Yasuo Tanaka to form the theater company Engeki-za and performed "Poison and Old Lady" in Sapporo, Hokkaido. His university student friend Kobayashi asked Tatekabe to join his Izumiza theater company and Tatekabe agreed to it. The Izumiza theater company performed plays about the People's Republic of China, but most of the plays were ideological and were considered uninteresting. When Tatekabe was asked if he wanted to do it, he accepted before going on-stage.
After TV broadcasting began, Tatekabe officially began his career as a voice actor. His first voice acting roles were in dubbing foreign films. He had no memory of the first dub he partook in, other than being told that it would be "profitable". Tatekabe's television drama debut was in Dial 110. Tatekabe was a member of the theatre company Mitou,"Animation Encyclopedia" (『アニメーション大百科』), Tokyo Sanseisha , 1981, page 206. Tokyo Actors' Cooperative『声優の世界－アニメーションから外国映画まで』(in Japanese), Asahi Sonorama, Fantastic Collection Special Edition, October 30, 1979, page 90. and Ezaki Productions『出演者名簿（1978年版）』(in Japanese), Copyright Materials Association, 1977, page 286. throughout his career.
There was a slight misunderstanding between Tatekabe and his manager at the agency, and at first he thought it was a mismatch, but soon realized that there were other people around him who had similar doubts. Having decided to do it himself, in 1979, Tatekabe officially founded Office Chuo, and served as both its president and as a voice actor. He tried to sell everyone by acting as a manager, but in the end, he was the only popular one, so he had no desire to be both actor and manager at the same time. He had no choice doing it because of Time Bokan and Doraemon, though in reality he wanted to sell everyone. During his time at Office Chuo, he met Kenyu Horiuchi. The people who had been with him despite the opposition of the agency members said, "Let's keep going like this," because they had been working hard for five years. However, as pressure came on the agency, they realized tht things would be hard if they went on as is, so they decided to merge in 1984 and absorbed into Production Baobab." ぷろだくしょんバオバブ 会社概要 (in Japanese_, pro-baobab.jp, Accessed February 22, 2017. After Horiuchi ended up leaving Baobab to establish Kenyu Office, Tatekabe also decided to leave with him in order to work for the same agency, serving as director.
Tatekabe died on June 18, 2015, in Tokyo from acute respiratory failure at 1:49pm. He was 80 years old. 初代ジャイアン役、たてかべ和也さん死去, Nikkan Sports, June 19, 2015. "Doraemon" voice actor Kazuya Tatekabe passes away, Anime News Network, June 19, 2015. He was single all his life, and was said to have been attended by his relatives and staff at his agency during his final moments. After undergoing gastrectomy in 2009, he didn't suffer from a recurrence of cancer, but his health declined until his final years, and he died of senility. His final voice acting role was of Max Tennyson in the Japanese dubbed version of Ben 10. A memorial caption was shown at the beginning of the Doraemon anime series episode that broadcast on June 19, 2015. たてかべさんを「ドラえもん」で追悼 番組冒頭にテロップ, goo News (June 19, 2015) Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
Upon the announcement of Tatekabe's death, his close family, fans, TV Asahi たてかべ和也さん逝去について, Archived on June 23, 2015 at the Wayback Machine, TV Asahi, June 19, 2015. and former partner Horiuchi mourned his death, as well as his Doraemon anime successor Subaru Kimura, 現ジャイアン木村昴「俺さまに任せてください」, Nikkan Sports, June 20, 2015. current Doraemon voice actress Wasabi Mizuta, 水田わさび、たてかべさんに感謝, Asahi Shimbun Digital, June 21, 2015.
神谷明、たてかべ和也さん悼む...「兄弟のように接していただいた」, Sponichi Annex, June 19, 2015. Shigeru Chiba, and
"さようなら、ジャイアン たてかべ和也さん死去に大物声優から悲しみの声続々", J-CAST News, June 19, 2015. with the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum also sharing a memorial comment in condolence. たてかべさんのご冥福を心からお祈りいたします。,Fujiko F. Fujio Museum Official Blog, June 19, 2015.
Tatekabe's wake was held at Aoyama Funeral Hall on June 23, and was attended by around 900 people, including Subaru Kimura, Wasabi Mizuta, Noriko Ohara (who passed in 2024), Michiko Nomura, Kaneta Kimotsuki (who passed in 2016), Keiko Yokozawa, Masako Nozawa, Mika Kanai, Koichi Yamadera, and Keiko Toda. "ジャイアン"通夜に仲間が続々参列, Daily Sports, June 23, 2015 Many voice actors and related parties sent flowers during the event.
At the wake, Horiuchi, as the funeral committee chairman, gave a speech for Tatekabe, and Kimotsuki sent an eulogy. Kimotsuki, a longtime friend of Tatekabe for years, prayed for the Hanshin Tigers' victory for Tatekabe, who was a Hanshin Tigers fan, saying, "Hanshin is in the running to win. I hope they win," and ended by crying out in Doraemon character Suneo's voice, "Gian, why did you go before me, even though you're Gian?". "ジャイアン"通夜に仲間が続々参列 (in Japanese), Daily Sports, June 23, 2015.
Tatekabe's funeral was held on June 24, at the same Aoyama Funeral Hall, and was attended by around 600 people. Following the wake, Kimotsuki read a eulogy, expressing his gratitude by saying, "The 26 years of Doraemon have been really fun. It's all thanks to you, Kabe-san," and concluded by shouting out "Gian!" as Suneo. たてかべさん葬儀 スネ夫が絶叫弔辞 (in Japanese), Daily Sports, June 24, 2015. Horiuchi, who served as the funeral committee chairman, also spoke out, stating on his official website, "I will never forget your teachings and will see you off without shedding a tear until the very end." At first, he tried to hold back his tears, but at the end, he cried out "Kabe-san, Kabe-san" to Tatekabe's portrait, his voice shaking, and tearfully expressed his gratitude, saying, "He was the best teacher in Japan." スネ夫が「ジャイアーン！」たてかべ和也さん葬儀 (in Japanese), Nikkan Sports, June 24, 2015.
Inside his coffin, Tatekabe was dressed up in a Gian T-shirt, with a microphone resembling Gian's recital mic and many stuffed plushies of the character by his side. ジャイアン声優・木村昴 先代・たてかべ和也さんの「最初で最後のアドバイス」語る 別れで意味を実感 (in Japanese), Sponichi Annex, October 27, 2024. At the funeral procession, 80 balloons in the shape of white birds were released at the office's request. Afterwards, Tatekabe's body was cremated at Kirigaya Funeral Hall in Shinagawa Ward.
The funeral was organized by Kenyu Office, who Tatekabe was last affiliated with before he passed away. たてかべ和也さん通夜は「楽しく送ってあげたい」と献杯に...日本代表する声優らが供花 (in Japanese), News Lounge, June 23, 2015.
Even after his death, Kenyu Office has kept Tatekabe's profile, treating him as a "permanently affiliated" employee of the company.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> 作品データベース ヤッターマン, Tatsunoko Productions Official Website, Tatsunoko Productions, Archived from the original on February 27, 2024, Retrieved April 28, 2024. Gurokkī from Time Bokan,
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> 作品データベース タイムボカン, Tatsunoko Productions Official Website, Tatsunoko Productions, Archived from the original on February 27, 2024, Retrieved April 28, 2024. and Takeshi "Gian" Gōda from Doraemon. スタッフ&声のしゅつえん, Doraemon, TV Asahi, Archived from the original on January 4, 2003, Retrieved October 27, 2024.
His voice type was baritone"The World of Voice Actors - From Animation to Foreign Films" (『声優の世界－アニメーションから外国映画まで』), Asahi Sonorama, Fantastic Collection Special Edition, October 30, 1979, page 90. and he was known for playing tough, gorilla-like characters.Ogawa Bii, "Encyclopedia of Selected Voice Actors '97" (『こだわり声優事典'97』), Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd, Roman Album, March 10, 1997, page 84. Tatekabe himself stated that he enjoyed playing generally arrogant characters."Goku Seitama/Kazuya Tatekabe" (「極 声魂/たてかべ和也」), Seiyuu Animedia, November 2008 issue, Gakken Holdings, November 2008, pages 102-103.
During his time with Haikyo, in addition to providing voice-over work, Tatekabe also did work as an actor and in radio voice over, but all of them were minor roles without a credited name. His acting jobs for those often required him to stay tied for days despite scenes for him coming few and far between, but voice acting work he did never got cancelled, so Tatekabe felt that if he did minor roles, then voice acting was better off for his career.Daichi, "Special Feature: Gian Speaks! Interview with Kazuya Tatekabe" (「特集 ジャイアン・スピークス! たてかべ和也インタビュー」), Freestyle 27 (『フリースタイル27』), Freestyle Inc., October 6, 2014, pages 49-69.
In the Japanese dub of Ben 10, Tatekabe voiced the role of Max Tennyson. When he originally auditioned, the Japanese dub's production staff were very reluctant to hire Tatekabe for the role. However, when Tatekabe sent his audition over to the United States, the company asked him to be the voice of Max, and therefore he was chosen for the dubbing role.Daichi, "Special Feature: Gian Speaks! Interview with Kazuya Tatekabe" (「特集 ジャイアン・スピークス! たてかべ和也インタビュー」), Freestyle 27 (『フリースタイル27』), Freestyle Inc., October 6, 2014, pages 49-69.
His hobbies were watching baseball and reading, with his motto being "Cheerful, courageous, popular, and sometimes carefree". "Kazuya Tatekabe: Kazuya Tatekabe Kenyu Office Co., Ltd.", Kenyu Office, Retrieved April 28, 2020.
He arranged for Uechi to star in Idol Densetsu Eriko from her debut, and also had arranged her to audition for the role of Shinnosuke in Crayon Shin-chan and also had highly recommended Mizutani despite the fact that they were in different agencies at the time. 吹替の帝王 -日本語吹替版専門映画サイト- 20世紀フォックス ホーム エンターテイメント『ホーム・アローン』矢島晶子インタビュー , 20th Century Home Entertainment Japan, Accessed on February 22, 2017.
When a sound director had criticized actress Yūko Gotō, claiming she had an "evil voice", Tatekabe advised her, "The flaw of having a bad voice can be used as a weapon in anime. Poison can also become medicine." "「モブに入らないで」新人の中で自分だけ参加させてもらえず...「声が悪目立ちする」と使われなかった声優を一転させた"ひと言", Accessed October 15, 2023.
When interviewed upon his departure from the franchise, Tatekabe said that playing the role of Gian, a selfish character with strong emotions, required a lot of energy, so in order to prepare for recording, he smoked 20 cigarettes a day and drank alcohol six days a week. In late 2004, with his final recording scheduled to occur in about three months, Tatekabe reflected on his time saying, "I wonder how I'll feel on the last recording day, looking back on 26 years. I might even cry." He also expressed hope that the next voice actor to voice Gian would be "someone with a kind heart". "ジャイアンを担当して四半世紀、たてかべ和也に聞く。" (in Japanese), Narinari.com, Accessed February 26, 2017.
Tatekabe wanted to have a drink with the person who would take over the role of voicing Gian in the 2005 series, but was greatly disappointed when he found out that the selected successor for the role of Gian, Subaru Kimura, was only a junior high school student at the time of his casting, only being 14 years old. He hoped to live for another five years and then be able drink with him. Kimura's high school happened to be close to the house Tatekabe lived at, so Tatekabe would often go to see Kimura whenever there was a school festival or an event going on during the five and a half year wait. Tatekabe's wish came true eventually, as Kimura officially turned 20 years old in 2010, so after a bit of planning in motion, they were finally able to go out for drinking together, which became a trending topic online in Japan in 2014 when Kimura shared two photos from the time on his Twitter. 「ジャイアン」の声優・木村昴とたてかべ和也「涙を流しながら、何度も何度も乾杯した」 (in Japanese), J-CAST TV Watch, August 11, 2014. "ジャイアン役を引き継いだ2004年。まだ14歳だった当時からずっと、一緒に飲むお酒を心待ちにしていて下さったたてかべさん。僕が二十歳になってからしばらくして、念願だった二人で酌み交わすお酒が実現した。" (in Japanese), GiantSUBAru on Twitter (in Japanese), August 10, 2014. "これが本当の心の友！新旧ジャイアン声優の世代を超えた男の友情が話題" (in Japanese), otakuma.net, August 11, 2014.
According to Tsutomu Shibayama, director and chief director of the Doraemon anime and Doraemon series, "The voice actors have a deep understanding of the characters, so I don't have to say anything." Shibayama gave an example through Tatekabe with the character of Gian, as he was extremely conscious of using foul language. Whenever lines like "You idiot!" or "Damn it" were written in the scripts, he ended up receiving complaints from Tatekabe, who complained about how "Gian wouldn't say such things." INTRO | 芝山努監督インタビュー：「ドラえもん映画祭」開催によせて (in Japanese), Doraemon Film Festival, Retrieved February 26, 2017. Tatekabe also wrote the lyrics for Gian's staple character song in the 1979 anime, "Ore wa Jaian-sama". "おれはジャイアンさまだ!" (in Japanese), Uta-Net.com, Retrieved June 20, 2025. "Ore wa Jaian-sama!" (おれはジャイアンさまだ!) (in Japanese), RemyWiki.
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