Voice Actress Megumi Ogata Admits ‘I Feel Like Dying Every Day’ Under Work Pressure — But Adds a Hopeful Note

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The story

On the night of October 20, voice actress Megumi Ogata (61) opened up on X about the pressures of her work, writing, “Honestly, I feel like I could die every day. It’s exhausting, I can’t take it anymore,” while also adding the hopeful note, “Somehow I’ll get through tomorrow too.” The veteran voice actress, known since the ’90s for roles including Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon, and Princess Emeraude in Magic Knight Rayearth, drew a flood of reactions on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board. Opinions were split — some said she should distance herself from social media, others pointed to her recent tendency toward controversial posts, and still others sympathized with the grueling workload.

Megumi Ogata: “Honestly, I feel like I could die every day. It’s exhausting, I can’t take it anymore” — Opens up about pressure, but also writes “Somehow I’ll manage tomorrow too” – Entertainment : Nikkan Sports

October 21, 2026, 7:22 AM

Voice actress Megumi Ogata (61), known for roles such as Shinji Ikari in the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, posted on X on the night of the 20th. Having voiced numerous popular characters and earned the title of a legend, her post offers a glimpse into how she approaches her work.

Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:42
Guess it's because he's got such a big frame.
86AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:46
Re: #2 already wrapped this thread up lol
9AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:44
I think she'd feel more at peace if she stepped away from social media.
18AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:49
Re: #9
Totally agree, it feels like it's making her unhappy.
26AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:54
Re: #9
Seriously.
Social media is basically a modern-day disease in a way.
17AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:49
I only know her from Shinji, honestly.
62AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:20
Re: #17
Rayearth — Princess Emeraude.
19AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:50
I was watching a recording of Let's Go! Kaikigumi yesterday and she showed up again — I'm so sick of it.
20AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:51
I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away. (Shinji's iconic Evangelion catchphrase)
21AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:51
She's been chiming in on politics a lot lately and blowing up threads — was she always like that?
35AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:02
Re: #21
Apparently she's been seen as a handful since way back — there were various clashes during production, and now that she's older, she's probably not surrounded by yes-men anymore.
22AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:51
Something about the way she says she 'takes on' the role bugs me.
If she's got that much pride in it, I don't know about complaining like this.
24AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:52
She dove into the thorns herself and now it's "Hey, I'm getting hurt here!"
31AnonymousOct 21, 2026 11:56
If she hadn't landed the Shinji role, she'd have faded away ages ago. Lucky woman.
34AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:02
Japan's got a lot of idiots slinging slander and abuse too.
37AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:03
If something that pays this well is too exhausting, she can just quit.
38AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:04
Even before social media existed, the tinfoil-hat crowd was picking up the same kind of crazy signals.
It's an illness, really.
39AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:05
Re: #1
41AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:06
But aren't voice actors about to lose their jobs to AI anyway?
42AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:08
If you're going to say you 'take on' a role, don't let your ego run so wild it causes trouble for whoever hired you.
People watching the work don't care about Megumi Ogata herself.
46AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:10
Her Giulio in the White Witch drama CD was exactly how I pictured him.
For that alone, I'll always be grateful to her as a voice actress.
I really wish they'd made an anime with that same cast.
49AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:11
Re: #46
Sounds like there might be a game remake coming, though.
47AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:10
Life's easier if you put your goal front and center and just live like flipping a switch on and off…
50AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:11
From the perspective of voice actors who aren't big names,
this might seem like a trivial problem to have.
53AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:13
Could she say that in front of a kid hospitalized with an incurable disease?
55AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:15
She's the voice behind Shinji, right… her personality's starting to feel like Shinji's too.
58AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:17
I don't get the 'etc.' in 'roles like Shinji Ikari, etc.'
59AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:18
Maybe start by just quitting social media.
63AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:20
Shinji from Evangelion
Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon
Princess Emeraude from Rayearth
Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan
Kurama from YuYu Hakusho

The '90s anime scene was practically her kingdom.
65AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:21
Re: #63
More than Hayashibara? (Megumi Hayashibara, fellow legendary voice actress)
73AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:31
Re: #63
Honestly, I don't think she's played enough lead roles to say she 'ruled' anything.
Among female voice actresses doing boy roles, the ones who actually ruled the era would be

Masako Nozawa
Mayumi Tanaka
Junko Takeuchi

Just those three, really.
76AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:32
Re: #63
Megumi Ogata → Hanako-kun (Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun), right.
83AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:44
She's the type who should quit social media.
But she probably can't.
87AnonymousOct 21, 2026 12:47
Re: #83
She probably just can't help wanting to broadcast her own thoughts and beliefs.
Reach out, voice an opinion, and there's a tool right there packed with followers ready to agree with you.
Far more dangerous than a bag of Kappa Ebisen (a popular snack whose slogan is 'you can't stop eating just one').

Background and Key Points of This Topic

Megumi Ogata has been known since the 1990s for roles like Shinji Ikari in Evangelion, and remains an active veteran voice actress today, appearing in a wide range of works including Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. In recent years her political comments on social media have also drawn attention, which is part of why opinions about her personality are so divided in the thread. While this particular post was about the pressures of her work, the term “タヒ” (tahi) is a stylized way some online communities write “死” (death) to sidestep the word itself — it’s not meant to suggest suicidal intent but is a colloquial exaggeration emphasizing how busy she is, a nuance readers can easily misread. The thread split between harsh views toward a prominent figure airing complaints and views pointing to the stress of social media use itself, while many comments also fondly reminisced about her signature roles, with the discussion ranging from debates about work to career retrospectives.

※This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Voice Actress] Megumi Ogata: “Honestly, I feel like I could die every day. It’s exhausting, I can’t take it anymore” — Opens up about pressure, but also writes “Somehow I’ll manage tomorrow too”.”

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