Legendary actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has sadly died at the age of 75. He was perhaps most well-known in the gaming community as Shang Tsung, from the first Mortal Kombat film, released in 1995.
For all intents and purposes, the first Mortal Kombat is undoubtedly one of the best video game adaptations of all time, in no small part thanks to Tagawa's portrayal of the iconic villain. First appearing as Shan Tsung in 1995, he reprised his role in a small cameo for the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), the Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2013) web-series, and even in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), where he lent his likeness and voice to Shan Tsung, who was added as DLC.
Ed Boon, co-creator of the franchise, shared a heartfelt message via social media, stating, "Cary was one of a kind. He combined danger, swagger and athleticism to his roles and will always be remembered as the man who first brought Shang Tsung to life on film."
Tagawa's portrayal was so unique that, as mentioned, he went on to reprise his role as Shan Tsung in other media, including the actual Mortal Kombat games. Beyond that, fans have a deep fondness for one particular moment that is now part of MK history: an extreme close-up of his face, citing Shan Tsung's victory phrase, "your soul is mine."
The quote is ripped directly from the games. But unlike Scorpion's "get over here," which is immediately correlated to the in-game version of the ninja, Tagawa's is synonymous with his take on "your soul is mine" to the point that the actual movie shot was recreated in Mortal Kombat 11.
From the entire team at Gfinity, our hearts go out to Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's relatives and close friends. An eternal soul that the FGC shall never forget.