Dragon Ball's Biggest Star Has Earned One of Japan's Top Film Awards

By Megan Peters

The anime industry has more voice actors than it cares to count, but there are certain stars who stand out above the rest. While plenty of up-and-coming actors are vying for new roles, the industry is taking time to honor veterans who helped anime become as big as it has globally. This was just done on the stage of the Japan Academy Awards, and it was there Dragon Ball's top star earned a very special award.

The nod came this month when the 45th Japan Academy Film Awards went live. The event saw a number of movies celebrated, and a slew of actors was on-site to represent their works. Masako Nozawa was among them, and the actress left the event having won a special service award from the academy's chairman.

"Masako Nozawa has received the 45th Annual Japan Academy Award for Distinguished Service. We would like to express our deep gratitude to all those who care and the fans who support us," the event shared over on Twitter as you can see above.

Nozawa was not the only actor honored by the group with its distinguished service award. Mitsuko Kusabue, Natsuko Toda, Teruyo Nogami, Hanae Mori, and Tsutomu Yamazaki were all given the award as well. As for Nozawa, she seemed elated over the honor, and her career certainly merits such a win.

After all, the 85-year-old actress has been in the industry since 1962. She is known best for voicing Son Goku in Dragon Ball alongside others like Gohan and Goten. Nozawa has also voiced major characters in Galaxy Express 999, Doraemon, GeGeGe no Kitaro, and more. Her work has spanned decades, and Nozawa is still working as her next gig will come to theaters with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. So of course, there are few actors in Japan who deserve this award as much as Nozawa does. 

Do you have a favorite performance from Nozawa? Are you excited to see her performance in Dragon Ball Super's new movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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