Hiromi Tsuru (鶴 ひろみ, Tsuru Hiromi; March 29, 1960 – November 16, 2017) was a Japanese actress and narrator. During her life, she was attached to the Himawari Theatre Group as a child and then to Aoni Production at the time of her death. She was most well known for voicing the character of Bulma in the Dragon Ball franchise for over 31 years.
She was also known for her voice roles as Ukyo Kuonji in Ranma ½, Dokin-chan in Let's Go! Anpanman, Madoka Ayukawa in Kimagure Orange Road, Miyuki Kashima in Miyuki, Reiko Mikami in Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Meryl Strife in Trigun, Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear series, Oyone-baasan in Chibi Maruko-chan, and Asuna Kujo in Maison Ikkoku.
Tsuru was born in Chitose, Hokkaido on March 29, 1960. In the second grade of elementary school, she joined the Himawari Theatre Group with her sister. In 1968, she auditioned for Princess Comet (TBS) and made her drama debut in episode 63 "Yokai no Mori". In 1969, Tsuru also appeared in the fourth episode "Masked Cemetery" of Horror Theater Unbalance (Fuji TV) under the direction of Eizo Yamagiwa and with the same script by Shinichi Ichikawa.
After that, she appeared on the cover of learning magazines, fashion shows for children's clothing, and television dramas such as Aya no Onna (Fuji TV). Tsuru also lent her voice to Jodie Foster in the American film Bugsy Malone aired on Sunday Western Painting Theater (TV Asahi).
After making her debut as an actress, Tsuru graduated from Tsurumi High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. In 1978, when she was a junior in high school, she auditioned for the World Masterpiece Theater series The Story of Perrine and made her voice acting debut in the role of the main character, Perrine Paindavoine. After the airing of The Story of Perrine, she hadn't been a voice actor for two years, but in 1981 she was in charge of the cat role in Ohayō! Spank.
In 1982, after auditioning for the role of Revi in Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX, she transferred from the Sunaoka office to Aoni Production in order to work on her voice in earnest. Since then, Tsuru was active as a voice actress.
Starting in the 1990s, Tsuru started to work mainly as a narrator for variety shows and newscasts, occasionally appearing on stage. She worked as a narrator up until shortly before her death.
On November 16, 2017, at around 7:30 PM, Tsuru was found unconscious in her car on the Inner Circular Route near Nihonbashi in Tokyo. The car was stopped, the hazard lights were on, and Tsuru was still wearing her seatbelt. She was transported to a hospital, where she died in Yokohama aged 57. There were no external wounds and no sign of an accident. Police believed it was highly likely she died from an illness. Her agency later confirmed that she died from aortic dissection.
The news of Tsuru's death created widespread grief amongst the anime industry, with many voice actor colleagues and anime staff members expressing grief and shock at the sudden news of her death online.
Aya Hirano, who had worked with Tsuru on Anpanman as the voice of Dokin-chan's little sister Kokin-chan, paid tribute, "Ten years as sisters. I will never forget" and "I cannot believe that I can no longer meet my beloved big sister Dokin. This year marks 10 years since I first appeared in Anpanman. Dokin-chan was my absolute favorite Anpanman character when I was a child, and at first, I truly couldn't believe that I got to become her little sister."
A memorial service for Tsuru was held on January 13, 2018, at the Aoyama Funeral Hall in Tokyo, with Kōichi Yamadera, Keiko Toda, Hiroshi Masuoka, Ryūsei Nakao, Miina Tominaga, Tarako, Tōru Furuya, Mayumi Tanaka, Ryō Horikawa, and Masako Nozawa being amongst those in attendance. Nozawa, Toda, Nakao, and Naoko Watanabe served as some of the service's organizers. Over 400 mourners attended to the service in order to pay respects, with a picture of Tsuru set amongst over 4,000 flowers, seven Dragon Ball balloons, and the iconic characters she portrayed. The ending song of the original Dragon Ball series, "Romantic Ageru Yo", was played in the background.
Nozawa expressed her feelings and spoke on behalf of those who were in attendance, saying, "If you gather the seven Dragon Balls they're said to be able to grant you any wish, right? But not this time. I'm sorry." She finished with, "I still don't know what happened, and I want to ask what's wrong. But, true to Hiromi, you went off to a mysterious world we cannot reach, without causing trouble for anyone. However, there might be friends waiting for you over there. It's something I truly don't want to say, but Hiromi, please watch over our world. Goodbye."
Nakao also expressed his emotions, "Since we've been partners for about 30 years, it feels like my right arm has been ripped off", continuing with, "Everyone is really upset that she passed away so suddenly", with Yamadera telling reporters at the service, "Even with this farewell gathering, I'm still filled with a feeling that I just can't believe it. I know I have to send them off properly, but right now, I'm just not quite ready to feel that way..."
At the 12th Seiyu Awards, instead of the Special Merit Award, Tsuru, alongside other voice actors who died the previous year, were commemorated.
The Story of Perrine (1978) (Perrine Paindavoine) (debut)
Little Pollon (1982) (Selene, Goddess)
Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX (1982) (Revi)
The Kabocha Wine (1982) (Kanzaki, Yōko)