Toshikazu Shiozawa, professionally known as Kaneto Shiozawa, was a renowned Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator hailing from Tokyo. At the time of his passing, he was affiliated with Aoni Production. Noted for his distinctive calm, aristocratic-sounding voice, Shiozawa often found himself typecast as villainous or anti-heroic strategists and intellectuals. His stage name was inspired by the Japanese film director Kaneto Shindô.
Shiozawa's impressive repertoire of performances includes iconic roles such as Rei in Fist of the North Star (1984),M'Quve in Mobile Suit Gundam (1979),Paul von Oberstein in Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988),Buriburizaemon in Crayon Shin-chan, D in Vampire Hunter D (1985),Gray Fox in Metal Gear Solid (1998),Iason Mink in Ai no kusabi (1992),Devimon in Digimon Adventure (1999),Prince Demande in Sailor Moon (1992),Vega in Street Fighter, R. Ichiro Tanaka in The Ultimate Esper R (1991),Inspector Ninzaburo Shiratori in Detective Conan (1996),Zato-1 in Guilty Gear, Hyo Imawano in Rival Schools (1998),and Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands (1990).
On May 9, 2000, Shiozawa suffered an unexpected fall down the stairs of his home in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Despite initial claims of no injuries, he collapsed six hours later and was rushed to Tokyo Medical University Hospital. Unfortunately, he succumbed to a cerebral contusion at the age of 46, passing away at 12am on May 10. Fellow voice actor Hidekatsu Shibata was among the attendees at his funeral. Shiozawa's ongoing roles were subsequently replaced by other voice actors.
Hikaru Midorikawa, a fellow voice actor, has spoken highly of Shiozawa, referring to him as his hero. As a result of his untimely passing, two of the characters he portrayed (Zato-1 from Guilty Gear and Hyo from Rival Schools) met their demise in-universe. Zato-1's character was replaced by the shadow parasite Eddie, voiced by Takehito Koyasu, who took over Zato's body until Guilty Gear Xrd.
