Original ‘Astro Boy’ Mari Shimizu Rockets Into Sydney and Melbourne(November 15 and 16, 2025)
Anime fans won’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet one of the most influential performers in the history of animation. Mari Shimizu, the original voice of Astro Boy, will make her first-ever appearance in Australia this November, rocketing into Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane!
Presented by First Contact Conventions, Ms. Shimizu is the special celebrity guest at this year’s Astro Con, which last year hosted Patricia Whitley, the English language star of the 1980s series. The ticketed event dubbed ‘Astro Con II’ will be hosted at Customs House, Alfred St, Sydney on Saturday, 15 November and Oaks on Market, 60 Market St, Melbourne on Sunday, 16 November, and will feature a live Q&A, purchasable autographs and photo opportunities, as well as exclusive fan experiences for a strictly limited number of VIP ticket holders.
Across decades of performances, Ms. Shimizu has helped shape the world of anime as we currently know it. The first actor to ever portray the now iconic symbol of Japanese animation, “The Mother of Voice Actors” starred as The Mighty Atom a.k.a. Astro Boy from his onscreen inception in 1963, later returning for the series’ immensely popular colour remake, which took Australian audiences by storm throughout the 1980s and beyond.
Created by the legendary mangaka Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy was a revelation of animation, pioneering an art form that would eventually become a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Mari’s breakthrough role was the flagship icon that first launched anime across the world, quite literally setting the tone for the emerging medium and the generations of shounen protagonists to come.
Ms. Shimizu would go on to feature in other Tezuka projects such as Black Jack and Jetter Mars, but the voice actress’s impact on anime extends beyond her collaborations with the “Godfather of Manga”. The acclaimed voice actress notably starred as Belo in the original Humanoid Monster Bem, which, like Astro Boy, has inspired several animated and live-action adaptations since its 1968 release, including BEM (2019) and BEM: Become Human (2020).
The star is also no stranger to dubbing, having lent her voice to another titular hero, Peter Pan (1953), for the Japanese release of the Walt Disney classic, and has otherwise been heard in The Jetsons (1963), The Lucy Show (1963-1966), Treasure Island (1978), and more.
In recognition of her contributions to the industry, Mari received a Special Achievement Award at the fifth Tokyo International Anime Fair and was the winner of the prestigious Synergy Award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards.
First Contact’s Astro Con II is a rare chance to come face-to-face with one of the most notable performers in the history of anime, with general admission and strictly limited VIP tickets on sale now through Humanitix. Autographs and Photo-Ops will be purchasable on the day, accessible only to Astro Con II ticket holders.
Fans in Queensland and South Australia will also be able to meet Mari when she joins the fun at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming in Adelaide (31 Oct – 2 Nov) and Brisbane (7-9 November).
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