In the world of anime, there are legends and then there is Masako Nozawa. The actress is one of Japan’s treasures given her lengthy career. Overseas, many will know her for voicing Goku in the original dub, and her dedication to Dragon Ball is unrivaled. And thanks to a recent story, fans are falling in love with the voice actress all over again.
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Taking to Twitter, fan-translator Herms98 shared a post written by a script writer on Dragon Ball Super. It was there he shared what Makoto Koyama had to say about working on the anime after their father wrote on a different Dragon Ball series.
“Makoto Koyama (son of DBZ scriptwriter Takao Koyama): “After the DBS recording session, when Masako Nozawa heard that my father and I have both written Dragon Ball scripts, she gave a big Goku smile and said ‘wow, just like Goku and Gohan!’ That’s the best memory of my career,’” the writer shared.
Continuing, Koyama said another voice actor made note of his family’s history with Dragon Ball. Toshio Furukawa, the voice actor of Piccolo, told the writer they look just like their father. However, instead of paying the compliment as the Namekian, Furukawa did the voice of Ataru from Urusei Yatsura.
Clearly, Dragon Ball is a family matter for some people, and that reputation expands beyond its crew. Koyama and his father share a bond forged by Goku, but there are families around the globe who have come to love the anime as a group. In the past, the voice actors of Dragon Ball have said their oldest fans have since had kids who now share the same Saiyan Pride as Vegeta. So if all goes well, maybe Koyama’s children will find themselves writing on a new Dragon Ball anime years down the line.
So, does this story make you love Nozawa even more…? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block on Saturday evenings, and is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese-language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super’s big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
