About Guest

Mari Shimizu is a Japanese voice actress. She is known for voicing the titular protagonist of the 1963 Astro Boy television series and its 1980 colour remake, Bero in Humanoid Monster Bem, Jim in Treasure Island, and Jetter Mars.

Mari is the daughter of actor Gen Shimizu, who worked with Akira Kurosawa and Godzilla. He is famous as Earth in The Space Giants. Her brother Mitsuru Shimizu is a director of NHK. Mari was educated at the Haiyuza Theatre Company’s school. The classmates are Kumi Mizuno, a heroine of Godzilla series and Kazue Tagami, another Astro Boy.

When her father’s theatre troupe had no child actors to play the main character of their stage adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio, Mari was selected for the role, inspiring her to become an actor.

In 1962, Osamu Tezuka the manga artist introduced Shimizu to his masterpiece after Kaoru Anami, an assistant of her father and future Mushi Production executive, recommended her to Tezuka due to a conversation in which they noted Pinocchio’s inspiration of Astro Boy.

The author originally wanted Atom’s voice actress to remain unchanged, and Mari reprised her role as Astro Boy in the show’s 1980 colour remake and in the 2000 film The Last Mystery of the 20th Century.

Mari is nicknamed as the “Mother of Voice Actors”. She won a Special Achievement Award at the 5th Tokyo International Anime Fair and a winner of the Synergy Award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards.