Toru Furuya
| Toru Furuya | |
|---|---|
 Toru Furuya posing for his site | |
| Born | July 31, 1953 (age 72)[1] |
- “I have acted Super Mario from 1986 to 1998. Last projects I work on were BS Super Mario Bros for Satellaview.”
- —Toru Furuya
Toru Furuya (Japanese: 古谷 徹, Furuya Tōru) is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator best known for his roles in anime, including voicing Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam, Yamcha in Dragon Ball and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon. He voiced Mario in various Super Mario commercials, OVA's, games, and movies in Japan, most notably in the 1986 film Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!. Furuya consistently voiced Mario in Japanese media until 1991, and last voiced him in 1998.
Furuya was 33 years old when he was approached by Masami Hata to star as the voice of Mario in the 1986 anime film. He was then followed by Yū Mizushima as Luigi, Akiko Wada as Bowser, and famous Japanese pop singer Mami Yamase as Princess Peach. Almost three years later, Furuya was asked to reprise his role as Mario for the upcoming Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. alongside two educational Super Mario-related videos. In an interview, he had explained that there would not be any re-releases of any Japanese Super Mario anime films.[citation needed]
Much later, Furuya reprised his role as Mario in spoken Japanese in three Satellaview Super Mario games. While his voice does not appear in the actual games, he could be heard during the satellite broadcasts through the Satellaview's Soundlink feature.
Works credited[edit]
- Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! (1986)
- Nagatanien commercials (1986-1987)
- Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. (1989)
- Super Mario no Kōtsū Anzen (1989)
- Super Mario no Shōbōtai (1989)
- Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land (1991)
- BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge (1996, Soundlink)
- Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle (1997, Soundlink)
- BS Super Mario Collection (1997-98, Soundlink)
Gallery[edit]
Furuya's profile from a Super Mario-related magazine
Furuya standing in front of manga books
An old photograph of a young Furuya
