PROFILBARU.COM

Hiromi Tsuru
Hiromi Tsuru
鶴ひろみ
Born	Hiromi Tsuru (靏ひろみ); March 29, 1960; Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan
Died	November 16, 2017 (aged 57); Yokohama, Japan
Occupations	Actress; voice actress; narrator;
Years active	1968–2017
Agent	Aoni Production
Notable work	Ghost Sweeper Mikami as Reiko Mikami; Dragon Ball as Bulma; Trigun as Meryl Stryfe; Soreike! Anpanman as Dokin-chan; Kimagure Orange Road as Madoka Ayukawa; Ranma ½ as Ukyo Kuonji;
Height	160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Spouse	Keiichi Nanba (m. 1986⁠–⁠1990)

Hiromi Tsuru (鶴ひろみ, Tsuru Hiromi, March 29, 1960 – November 16, 2017) was a Japanese actress and narrator. During her life, she was attached to the Himawari Theatre Group as a child and then to Aoni Production at the time of her death.^[1] She was most known for voicing the character of Bulma (Dragon Ball) for over 31 years. She was also known for her roles as Ukyo Kuonji (Ranma ½), Dokin-chan (Soreike! Anpanman), Madoka Ayukawa (Kimagure Orange Road), Miyuki Kashima (Miyuki), Reiko Mikami (Ghost Sweeper Mikami), Meryl Strife (Trigun), Naomi Hunter (Metal Gear series), Oyone-baasan (Chibi Maruko-chan), and Asuna Kujo (Maison Ikkoku).

Biography

Tsuru was born in Chitose, Hokkaido. In the second grade of elementary school, she joined the Himawari Theatre Group with her sister. In 1968, Tsuru auditioned for Princess Comet (TBS) and made her drama debut in episode 63 "Yokai no Mori". In 1969, she also appeared in the fourth episode "Masked Cemetery" of Horror Theater Unbalance (Fuji TV) under the direction of Eizo Yamagiwa and with the same script by Shinichi Ichikawa.

After that, she appeared on the cover of learning magazines, fashion shows for children's clothing, and television dramas such as Aya no Onna (Fuji TV). Tsuru also lent her voice to Jodie Foster in the American film Bugsy Malone aired on Sunday Western Painting Theater (TV Asahi).

Career

After debuting as an actress, Tsuru graduated from Tsurumi High School in Kanagawa Prefecture.^[2] In 1978, when she was a junior in high school, she auditioned for the World Masterpiece Theater series The Story of Perrine and made her voice acting debut in the role of the main character, Perrine Paindavoine.^[3] After the airing of The Story of Perrine, she hadn't been a voice actor for two years, but in 1981 she was in charge of the cat role in Ohayō! Spank.

In 1982, after auditioning for the role of Revi in Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX, she transferred from the Sunaoka office to Aoni Production in order to work on her voice in earnest. Since then, Tsuru was active as a voice actress.

Starting in the 1990s, Tsuru started working mainly as a narrator on variety shows and newscasts, occasionally appearing on stage. She worked as a narrator until shortly before her death.

Personal life

She was married to Keiichi Nanba from 1986 until they divorced in 1990. They had no children.

Death

On November 16, 2017, at around 7:30 PM, Tsuru was found unconscious in her car on the Inner Circular Route near Nihonbashi in Tokyo. The car was stopped, the hazard lights were on, and Tsuru was still wearing her seatbelt. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.^[4]^[5]^[6] She was 57 years old. There were no external wounds and no sign of an accident. Police believed it was highly likely she died from an illness. Her agency later confirmed that she died from aortic dissection.^[7]