The guinea pig voice actor Tsumugi, featured in the stop-motion anime series , passed away last month due to pneumonia. Series director Tomoki Misato confirmed the news on X (formerly Twitter) on September 15. Misato wrote that Tsumugi fought the disease until the end with the support of his sister and Tsumugi’s owner, Mizuho Misato.
“Molcar would never have been born without Tsumugi. I’m sure he will continue to live on through his work. Thank you to everyone who supported Tsumugi,” Misato wrote.
先月、つむぎが亡くなりました。肺炎が原因でした。
未だに実感がありませんが、姉に支えられ、最後まで闘病していました。
つむぎはTVアニメ「PUI PUI モルカー」でモルカーの声を演じました。【1/2】 pic.twitter.com/moWaMntePs— 見里朝希 / Tomoki Misato (@Mitotoki) September 16, 2023
つむぎがいなかったら、モルカーが生まれることはありませんでした。
きっとこれからも作品の中で生き続けてくれると思います。つむぎを応援してくださった皆様、ありがとうございました。【2/2】 pic.twitter.com/iNPvAW15Eb— 見里朝希 / Tomoki Misato (@Mitotoki) September 16, 2023
Tsumugi provided the voice for all of the Molcars within the series and also appeared in episode 11 of the first season, “Time Molcar.” Likewise, Mizuho Misato is a recurring character, appearing in live-action scenes as a driver in several episodes.
Misato and the staff in Japan Green Hearts designed the automobile-meets-guinea pig characters. Shin-Ei Animation animated the series in cooperation with Bandai Namco Entertainment for TV Tokyo‘s children’s programming block. The stop-motion series premiered in January 2021, and Netflix began streaming the series worldwide outside some Asian territories in March 2021. The second season, , premiered in October 2022.
Source: Tomoki Misato‘s Twitter account.
