Kana is a voice actress whose career spanned nearly three decades, best known as the voice of Ran Mori in Detective Conan. She died on April 18, 2026, at age 61, and her role has been permanently succeeded by Akemi Okamura.
Voice actress Kana, known professionally as Wakana Yamazaki, died on April 18, 2026, at age 61 following an illness. Her agency Aoni Production announced in February that she would pause activities for medical treatment. She was best known as the voice of Ran Mori in the long-running anime series Detective Conan, a role she held since the series premiered in 1996. The Detective Conan production staff confirmed that Akemi Okamura, who had filled in since March 14, will permanently succeed her as the voice of Ran Mori. Creator Gosho Aoyama released a statement mourning her loss.
Beyond Detective Conan, Yamazaki voiced Meiko Akizuki in Marmalade Boy, Koan in Sailor Moon R, Nene in the Samurai Warriors game series, and Nojiko in One Piece. She received the Kei Tomiyama and Kazue Takahashi Award at the 19th Seiyuu Awards for her contributions to the profession. A funeral was held by close relatives. The cast and staff of Detective Conan, along with figures across the anime and game industries, posted public condolences on social media.
Two other stories in the coverage involve casting announcements for the Kirio Fan Club anime and the Witch on the Holy Night film, but neither story mentions Kana or Wakana Yamazaki. Those stories are unrelated to her career or death.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
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3d ago
Voice actress Wakana Yamazaki, best known as the voice of Ran Mori in the long-running anime series Detective Conan, died on April 18 at age 61 following an illness. Her talent agency Aoni Production announced in February that she would pause activities for medical treatment. Yamazaki voiced the character since the series premiered in 1996, a role she held for nearly three decades. The Detective Conan production staff confirmed that Akemi Okamura, who had filled in since March 14, will permanently succeed her as the voice of Ran Mori. Creator Gosho Aoyama released a statement saying, "To think I'll never hear that gentle, comforting voice that was always there again... it's so sad." Yamazaki also voiced Meiko Akizuki in Marmalade Boy, Koan in Sailor Moon R, Nene in the Samurai Warriors game series, and Nojiko in One Piece. She received the Kei Tomiyama and Kazue Takahashi Award at the 19th Seiyuu Awards for her contributions to the profession. A funeral was held by close relatives. The cast and staff of Detective Conan, along with figures across the anime and game industries, posted public condolences on social media.
4d ago
The Kirio Fan Club anime has added three new cast members: Yoko Hikasa as young Kirio, Yui Kanari as his childhood friend Nozomi, and Yu Serizawa as Yua. The characters debut in the eighth episode on May 21. The rom-com series premiered on April 2 and streams on HIDIVE.
6d ago
Ufotable revealed on Saturday the returning voice cast and character visuals for the anime film adaptation of Type-Moon's visual novel Witch on the Holy Night. Haruka Tomatsu reprises her role as Aoko Aozaki, Kana Hanazawa returns as Alice Kuonji, and Yusuke Kobayashi voices Soujyuro Sizuki. The film is scheduled to open in 2026. The original visual novel, first released in Japan in 2012, is set in the late 1980s and follows Aoko, a high school student reluctantly apprenticed to the witch Alice, alongside the transfer student Soujyuro. A fully voiced HD remaster of the game launched on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in December 2022 and on Steam in December 2023. The PS4 and Switch versions have sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. The film was first announced in December 2021. Ufotable is handling animation production. A key visual was released in March 2026.