Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara (藤原 啓治, Fujiwara Keiji, October 5, 1964 – April 12, 2020) was a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Air Agency which he himself founded. He was often called FujiKei by fans.

Born in Tokyo, he lived out his formative years in Iwate. Having been the vocalist of a band in high school, his desire to join the entertainment industry took root, convincing him to attend the Bungakuza acting school in Tokyo instead of settling for local university life.

The 1980s saw him balance stage performances with multiple theater troupes while doing odd jobs to sustain himself. Convinced by fellow troupe member Mika Kanai to take up voice acting, Fujiwara decided to join Ken Production and landed his most pivotal role as Hiroshi Nohara from Crayon Shin-chan. He later left the agency in November 2006 to establish his own agency. He also worked as a lecturer at Japan Newart College in 2008 and made his debut as a sound director 2 years later.

From August 2016 to June 2017, an unspecified illness forced Fujiwara to go on hiatus to recover. Although he resumed work after seemingly recovering, his health deteriorated over time and he died from cancer on April 12, 2020. Other voice actors fondly remember him as a shy individual who was attentive and warm to others, though Takahiro Sakurai saw him more as a strong-willed person due to being closer to him when he was still alive. His interests were drinking and scuba diving.

Fujiwara's voice had a distinct deepness that allowed him to play masculine and fatherly characters with relative ease. He became more known for his antagonistic roles during the later years of his career. A few of his roles included Isaak Fernand von Kämpfer in Trinity Blood, Matsunaga Hisahide in the Sengoku BASARA series, and Eugen in Granblue Fantasy. He was also the official dub voice for Robert Downey Jr. in many of the latter's films.

Works

 * Nada - Kanata Kara drama CDs
 * Ardyn Izunia - Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia
 * Hannes - Attack on Titan
 * Reno - Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia
 * Sakon Shima - Nioh
 * Toma E. Fiore - Fairy Tail; reprise of his role in the anime