{"rewrite":{"id":"r_3211e1a7406296eb13128213","clusterId":"c_bb6d45a83e43124f1cb251ac","slug":"voice-actress-asami-yaguchi-dies-suddenly-at-47","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Voice Actress Asami Yaguchi Dies Suddenly at 47","summary":"Asami Yaguchi, the voice actress who played Kuchipatchi across the Tamagotchi anime franchise and the childhood version of Gintoki Sakata in Gintama, died on Saturday, September 26, 2026. She was 47. Her agency, Kenyu Office, announced the death on Monday, September 28. A private funeral service is being held with only close relatives in attendance, in line with the family's wishes. Oricon News reported that the agency said Yaguchi died suddenly from heart failure, though the agency's own obituary did not state a cause of death. Yaguchi was born on July 31, 1979 in Saitama Prefecture and made her professional debut in 2002. Her credits also include Katina Tarask in Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars and Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector, Tarlant in Fantastic Children, Eleonore Von Wittenburg in Dies irae, Pith in Arknights, and Young Eliwood in Fire Emblem Heroes.","whyItMatters":"For an industry that generally measures a career by lead roles, Yaguchi's longest-running work was a mascot character: she voiced Kuchipatchi through four Tamagotchi anime entries over six years.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eKenyu Office staff wrote in the announcement that Yaguchi had supported the company since its early days, describing her as cheerful, good at looking after other people, and a favorite of the late voice actor Kazuya Tatekabe. On the Tamagotchi side, she first played Kuchipatchi in the 2007 series Let\u0026#39;s Go! Tamagotchi and the tie-in film, then returned for the 2009 Tamagotchi! television anime, its 2012 sequel Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream, and Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends in 2013. In games, she voiced Katina Tarask in Super Robot Wars Original Generations and Eleonore Von Wittenburg in Dies irae ~Interview with Kaziklu Bey~, in addition to her anime performances in those same franchises. The accounts diverge on one point: Oricon News attributed a cause of death, heart failure, to the agency, while the obituary announcement posted by Kenyu Office did not name a cause.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Asami Yaguchi's death was announced by Kenyu Office on September 28, but the cause came from Oricon News: the agency's own obituary omitted it. Two records of the same death now circulate, and they do not match.","twitterPost":"Kenyu Office announced Asami Yaguchi's death. The cause, heart failure, came from Oricon News, not the agency's own obituary.","threadsPost":"Asami Yaguchi's agency and Oricon News tell different versions: Kenyu Office announced the death without a cause, while Oricon reported heart failure. That gap matters for a voice actress whose credits range from Kuchipatchi in Tamagotchi to young Gintoki in Gintama.","newsletterBlurb":"Asami Yaguchi, the voice of Kuchipatchi in the Tamagotchi anime franchise and of young Gintoki Sakata in Gintama, died on September 26 at 47. Her agency, Kenyu Office, announced the death on September 28 and said a private funeral is being held with close relatives only. Oricon News reported a cause of heart failure, though the agency's own announcement did not name one.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-28/voice-actress-asami-yaguchi-dies-at-47/.242269\",\"title\":\"Voice Actress Asami Yaguchi Dies at 47\"},{\"source\":\"OtakuKart Anime\",\"url\":\"https://otakukart.com/gintama-voice-actress-asami-yaguchi-who-voiced-young-gintoki-dies-suddenly-at-47/\",\"title\":\"Gintama Voice Actress Asami Yaguchi, Who Voiced Young Gintoki, Dies Suddenly at 47\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5709,"outputTokens":1132,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791074662,"createdAt":"2026-10-04T00:40:53.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-04T00:43:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T00:43:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_bb6d45a83e43124f1cb251ac","canonicalTitle":"Gintama Voice Actress Asami Yaguchi, Who Voiced Young Gintoki, Dies Suddenly at 47","representativeArticleId":"a_b650173503b7592054d8a4a6","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Gintama\",\"Tamagotchi\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Asami Yaguchi\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-29T12:49:01.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-29T12:49:01.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T00:43:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-09-28/voice-actress-asami-yaguchi-dies-at-47/.242269","title":"News\nVoice Actress Asami Yaguchi Dies at 47"},{"source":"OtakuKart Anime","url":"https://otakukart.com/gintama-voice-actress-asami-yaguchi-who-voiced-young-gintoki-dies-suddenly-at-47/","title":"Gintama Voice Actress Asami Yaguchi, Who Voiced Young Gintoki, Dies Suddenly at 47"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Gintama","Tamagotchi"],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Asami Yaguchi"],"type":"news","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Voice actress Asami Yaguchi died on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the age of 47.","Kenyu Office announced Asami Yaguchi's death on Monday, September 28, 2026, and said a private funeral is being held with only close relatives.","Asami Yaguchi was born on July 31, 1979 in Saitama Prefecture and made her professional debut in 2002."]}