Kenji Utsumi (内海 賢二, 26th August 1937 - 13th June 2013) was a Japanese voice actor who was affiliated with Ken Production, which he established on 1st June 1984. He provided voices for the Japanese narration of Thomas & Friends from the first to the eighth series..
He was best known for voicing Raoh from the "Fist of the North Star" series, Shenron from the "Dragon Ball" series, Inspector Detector from "Speed Racer", Apocalypse from "X-Men: The Animated Series", Mushibakinman and Kurayamiman from "Soreike! Anpanman", Colonel Volgin from the "Metal Gear" series, Apollo Creed from the "Rocky" series, Punjab from "Annie", the Big Bad Wolf from "Shrek", Alex Louis Armstrong from "Fullmetal Alchemist", Tiger from the "An American Tail" series and Hexxus from “FernGully The Last Rainforest”.
He passed away in June 2013 at the age of 75 after a battle with peritoneal cancer.
Voices
- Gordon (first - eighth series)
- Henry (James and the Trouble with Trees (first half))
Songs
- Thomas Anthem (performed)
- Every Cloud has a Silver Lining (performed)
- Harold the Helicopter (performed)
- Accidents Will Happen (performed)
- Winter Wonderland (performed)
- Never, Never, Never Give Up (performed)
- Five New Engines in the Shed (performed)
- The Red Balloon (performed)
- The Whistle Song (performed)
Major awards and nominations
- Won - Achievement Award at the 3rd annual Seiyuu Awards, 2009
- Won - Special Achievement Award at the 8th annual Seiyuu Awards, 2014