Takeshi Watabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kōchi Prefecture. He usually played villains and performed the voices for many anime characters and tokusatsu villains. He is most famous for voicing Kaminari in Doraemon. He took over the ongoing roles of Shingo Kanemoto after his death. Other major roles included Inspector Takao Arizuka in the You're Under Arrest franchise, Naoyuki Kamikurata in Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution, Colonel John Kowen in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, and Director Yachio Tokugawa in Strawberry Eggs. He also wrote an instructional book about voice acting, Seiyū Naritai. Watabe was being treated for lung cancer when he died of pneumonia at the age of 74.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory is a 13-episode anime OVA series set in the Gundam universe. The first volume containing two 30-minute episodes was released in Japan on May 23, 1991. Subsequent volumes, containing one 30-minute episode each, followed every one or two months; the final volume went on sale on September 24, 1992. The series was directed by Mitsuko Kase and Takashi Imanishi. A movie compilation, also directed by Imanishi was released in Japan on August 29, 1992, a month before the final OVA volume went on sale. The characters were designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto. Mechanical designs were by Shoji Kawamori and Hajime Katoki.