‘Dragon Ball’: New Bulma Actress Opens Up About Replacing Hiromi Tsuru

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is close to hitting theaters, and the feature will see a slew of characters come to the big screen. Son Goku will lead the pack as usual, but he will be joined by others like Bulma. Aya Hisakawa will bring the genius heiress to life, and a new interview with the actress is digging into her gig.

As it turns out, Hisakawa felt some pressure taking over Bulma’s role from Hiromi Tsuru, and those nerves have not faded entirely.

During a recent interview with the Dragon Ball team, Hisakawa said she felt a lot of pressure to play Bulma after Tsuru passed away, but her history with the late actress did help her out.

According to translator Herms98, Hisakawa spoke about the previous series she did with Tsuru.

“Hisakawa worked with Hiromi Tsuru on numerous other series, so for her Bulma is a sacred role. She felt a lot of pressure standing there before the mic, but it all went away the moment the recording session began,” the summary reads.

Continuing, the summary breaks down Hisakawa’s work with director Tatsuya Nagamine, and he let her take Bulma in the direction she felt was most natural.

“She’s also worked with director Nagamine on many other series before and knows how passionate he can be. However, he didn’t have any specific directions for her performance. His approval of her performance helped solidify her take on the character,” Herms98 wrote.

Fans learned some time ago that Hisakawa would be taking over for Bulma, and her resume reassured netizens that the heroine was in good hands. After Tsuru passed away in late 2017, Hisakawa was cast ahead of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, so fans will get to hear her full performance soon enough. Bulma is thought to be on a new Dragon Balls hunt in this upcoming film, putting her at odds with the likes of Freeza once more. Now, Hisakawa will get the chance to face off with the villain, but she better be careful. The Dragon Ball Z baddie isn’t known for his mercy, but then again, the same can be said right back about Bulma.

Are you excited to see this new take on Bulma? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. on January 16, 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. ET. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete and available to stream on Funimation, VRV and Crunchyroll.