Dragon Ball Actors You May Not Know Passed Away
In a franchise where being brought back to life is pretty commonplace, it's almost hard to believe that there are some "Dragon Ball" actors no longer with us. While the many cast members who are alive and well continue playing roles in "Dragon Ball," including voicing characters they've played from the very beginning, a few have sadly left the living world. This includes actors who recorded the series in its original Japanese audio, as well as the Canadian and United States actors who have contributed to the two English-language dubs that U.S. audiences are most familiar with.
Thanks to the many home releases of the various "Dragon Ball" series, as well as their availability on a number of streaming platforms, the performances of those dearly departed voice actors can still be heard today, and will be for years to come. Still, it's always worth taking a moment to remember them and the characters they made so beloved through their work.
Brice Armstrong (Captain Ginyu and Lord Slug)
U.S. fans who have watched "Dragon Ball Z" since it first started being dubbed in English in North America are no strangers to cast changes. After all, the first batch of episodes that aired in Canada and the U.S. were originally dubbed by completely different performers, namely the Ocean Group" cast in Canada. Yet fans were still likely shocked when Captain Ginyu had a slightly different voice than they were used to in the "Dragon Ball Z: Budokai" game.
That's because Dale D. Kelly, the first Ginyu of Funimation's "in-house" dub (based in Dallas, Texas rather than Canada), had been replaced by Brice Armstrong. From then on, Armstrong voiced the character in pretty much everything until his retirement in 2009, including when Funimation decided to have the Dallas actors redo the episodes the Canadian cast had previously recorded.
Additionally, Armstrong was the first U.S. actor to play the titular villain of the movie "Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug." Given the similarities between his gravelly Ginyu and Slug performances, some fans may be surprised to hear that Armstrong was also the gentler-sounding narrator of the "Dragon Ball" anime. A mainstay in Funimation dubs and renowned for his radio and announcing career, Armstrong's talents even extended to puppetry, having portrayed "Barney and Friends" character Miss Etta Kette. The 84-year-old Armstrong passed in 2020 from natural causes, but leaves behind a versatile body of work.
Kirby Morrow (Goku)
Speaking of versatile, if you watched cartoons at all in the 2000s, chances are you've heard Kirby Morrow. The prolific actor gave his talents to some major anime leads, including intense Gundam Heavyarms pilot Trowa Barton in "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing," as well as thieving, sweet-talking horndog monk Miroku in the "Inuyasha" series. His iconic roles also extended to Western animation, including a youthful version of X-Men stalwart Cyclops in "X-Men: Evolution," and live-action, where he played such characters as Dave Kleinman in the "Stargate" franchise, King Jerrod in "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," and party dude Michelangelo in "Ninja Turles: The Next Mutation."
As for "Dragon Ball"? Morrow was the third actor to play adult Goku in the Ocean Group "Dragon Ball Z" dub, taking over for Peter Kelamis when other commitments prevented Kelamis from continuing. Morrow portrayed Goku from the middle of the Perfect Cell Saga up until the show's conclusion. Morrow was only 47 years old when his struggles with alcoholism led to his death in 2020, but his performances will always be fondly remembered.
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Chris Ayres (Frieza)
For many years, Linda Young was the U.S. voice of Frieza in not just "Dragon Ball Z," but across various related media. This, however, changed when Funimation decided to dub "Dragon Ball Z Kai," an abridged version of "Dragon Ball Z" that stays truer to the manga that the show was adapted from. To match the show's now more-accurate, verbose Frieza dialogue, Funimation brought in Chris Ayres, who already had an extensive career dubbing anime.
Ayres' Frieza very quickly received praise from the fan community, with many likening it to Japanese voice actor Ryūsei Nakao's take on the character. While many casting changes in "Dragon Ball Z Kai" were undone in later "Dragon Ball" projects, Ayres remained the new, main voice of Frieza even after "Kai" concluded. However, health problems began limiting how often Ayres could play the character, leading fellow voice actor Daman Mills to voice Frieza in certain episodes during the initial broadcast run of "Dragon Ball Super" in the U.S. Ayres was able to redub the episodes he missed for the "Super" home releases, however, and played Frieza from start to finish in "Dragon Ball Super: Broly."
Unfortunately, the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that had led to his absences from the franchise eventually took the 56-year-old's life in 2021. Yet his legacy as Frieza remains, as Mills' version is based on Ayres' work.
Hiromi Tsuru (Bulma)
Hiromi Tsuru was involved with "Dragon Ball" in Japan from the very beginning of its television adaptation. Her primary character, Bulma, is the brilliant inventor who finds Goku and kicks off the "Dragon Ball" saga in the first place. On top of that, Bulma's scientific expertise has helped the "Dragon Ball" gang time and time again — the Dragon Radar, Trunks' Time Machine and Blutz Wave Generator (if you count "Dragon Ball GT") are just some of her many brilliant inventions. She can even figure out alien tech, as seen when she fixes Raditz's scouter and changes its language setting.
Tsuru voiced pretty much every female descendant of Bulma's, too, including Bulla and the unnamed Bulma look-a-like in the "Dragon Ball GT" finale, as well as Bulma's sister, Tights, Trunks' baby self, and some notable non-Bulma related roles. Tsuru could even boast that she played both a deity, namely the West Supreme Kai who Kid Buu murders, and an alleged demon — Piccolo Jr. — before he reached adulthood, to be precise. An aortic dissection in 2017 cut Tsuru's life short far too soon, ending the 57-year-old's long tenure in the "Dragon Ball" franchise.
Hirotaka Suzuoki (Tien)
The man who narrowly defeated Goku in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Tien Shinhan (aka "Tenshinhan") has the distinction of being the only three-eyed member of the main "Dragon Ball" cast, as well as the wielder of one of the series' most powerful techniques, the Tri-Beam (aka "Kikōhō"). Always training and ever-protective of his best friend Chiaotzu, the ex-assassin has pulled off some pretty impressive feats, such as knocking the wind out of the vastly stronger Imperfect Cell and performingly admirably against base level Trunks in "Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound."
Voicing Tien through all these high points — and his low ones, too — in Japan was Hirotaka Suzuoki. The actor was no stranger to playing some major voices in anime, such as Bronze Saint powerhouse Shiryū in "Saint Seiya," Amuro Ray superior officer Bright Noa in "Mobile Suit Gundam," and Team Rocket's Machiavellian leader, Giovanni — aka Sakaki — in "Pokémon." Suzuoki also had the honor of having played the announcers of both the World Martial Arts and Other World Tournaments in "Dragon Ball Z," although neither as consistently as he played Tien. Sadly, lung cancer took Suzuoki's life at 56 in 2006, and the role of Tien has since gone to Hikaru Midorikawa, also known in the "Dragon Ball" franchise as the voice of Android 16.
Kōhei Miyauchi and Hiroshi Masuoka (Master Roshi)
Master Roshi's the second person to teach Goku martial arts, as well as the one who inadvertently teaches him the Kamehameha wave. Though he kind of retires after fighting Tien and King Piccolo, Roshi appears in most "Dragon Ball" media, becoming active in battles again from "Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'" onward.
The first to portray Roshi in Japan was Kōhei Miyauchi, known also for playing a number of older characters in anime, including Ultra Force mentor figure Walter Freeman in "Ultraman: The Adventure Begins." Miyauchi died in 1995 at 65 from abdominal varices while "Dragon Ball Z" was still in production, leading Hiroshi Masuoka to take over as Roshi for the rest of "Z" and beyond. Masuoka was already known to anime viewers, thanks to voicing high-profile roles like G-Junior in "Cyborg 009" and baker extraordinaire Uncle Jam in the kids' classic "Soreike! Anpanman." Masuoka played Roshi up until the 2008 anime special "Dragon Ball: Hey! Son Goku and Friends Return!!", after which "Dragon Ball Z" vet Masaharu Satō stepped into Roshi's shoes.
Masuoka continued acting elsewhere, eventually scaling things down not long before his passing from rectal cancer in 2020. Interestingly, the 83-year-old participated in other "Journey to the West" retellings, too, namely "Son-goku Is Coming: Chapter of Ko-fu Dai-o" and "Tezuka Osamu Story: I Am Son-Goku." He also portrayed King Gamehameha in "Yatterman," a tongue-in-cheek nod to the Hawaiian King who Roshi's signature technique is named after.
Jōji Yanami (King Kai and others)
If you've watched pretty much any "Dragon Ball" series up until 2015, then you've heard Jōji Yanami's voice. For many years, Yanami was the franchise's narrator in Japan, starting with the first episode of "Dragon Ball" and continuing on through "Z," "GT" and even "Kai." Health issues led Yanami to step away from the role during "Dragon Ball Super," as well as that of his biggest on-screen character, the wise, wisecracking King Kai. His fill-in, Oolong actor Naoki Tatsuta, took on both roles for what was only meant to be a short-term period, but ended up lasting the rest of the series.
Those weren't Yanami's only roles in the franchise, however. As if playing the otherworldly king of a miniature planet wasn't cool enough, Yanami was also King Furry, the benevolent, mustached dog-man ruler of Earth. He also had a habit of playing kindly scientists, namely Bulma's dad, Dr. Brief, and Android 8's originally stated creator, Dr. Flappe. Plus he had a "familial connection," of sorts, with Tatsuta, as Yanami originated the voice of the devious wizard Babidi, while Tatsuta plays the character's "dad," Bibidi, in "Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters." Yanami died in 2021 — if there's a next life, one can only hope someone as compassionate as King Kai awaits the 90-year-old there.
Daisuke Gōri (Ox-King, Mr. Satan, and others)
When the Japanese audio for "Dragon Ball" needed a voice with a booming presence, it could count on Daisuke Gōri, particularly if those characters had a heart of gold deep down. Take Ox-King, who starts with a pretty intimidating demeanor in "Dragon Ball," but eventually mellows out and becomes the paternal, glasses-wearing figure seen throughout most of the franchise. Or Gōri's most prominent recurring character, Mr. Satan — a posturing con artist who proves to be a pretty nice guy when he befriends Buu and helps save the universe for real. Even Gōri's great, big King Yemma isn't so bad if you stay on his good side — perhaps surprising to those aware of Yemma's mythological inspiration, Enma Daiō.
Conversely, some of Gōri's characters could be outright cruel, like King Cold or King Piccolo's bloodthirsty kids Cymbal and Drum. Not that he didn't also play all-around nice characters, too — who can forget Master Roshi's beloved talking reptile buddy, Turtle? Gōri also temporarily took over as the behemoth dragon Porunga from Namek for a few "Dragon Ball Z" episodes and one of "Kai." Good or evil, Gōri's many roles were generally beloved, making the 57-year-old's tragic passing in 2010 difficult for "Dragon Ball" fans. Fellow "Dragon Ball" performer Yūko Minaguchi considered leaving the franchise because of it, though she reprised Videl in "Battle of Gods" and Pan in "Resurrection 'F'" after an unrelated absence.
Unshō Ishizuka (Mr. Satan)
Not even 10-ton weights can compete with the heavyweight characters Unshō Ishizuka had on his resume. He played big roles in shows that have been hits in the U.S and Japan. Just as Jōji Yanami once narrated everything "Dragon Ball," Ishizuka was the voice narrating the adventures of Ash Ketchum, Pikachu and their friends in the Japanese audio for "Pokémon." There, he was also Ash's go-to Poké-expert, Professor Oak, the serpentine rock-being Onix, and blue, fanged dragon of the deep, Gyrados, among others. Ishizuka also dispensed words of wisdom in 2071 as "Cowboy Bebop" co-star Jet Black, who traded a life in law enforcement for the pursuit of ever-elusive Woolong as a bounty hunter. As far as more recent anime goes, Ishizuka played none other than Joseph Joestar from "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."
Between that and his other big anime roles, it's no wonder Ishizuka was considered to be the next actor to portray the boisterous Mr. Satan. Ishizuka played every "Dragon Ball" fan's favorite half-hero, half-fraud from "Dragon Ball Z Kai" up until the character's final speaking lines in "Dragon Ball Super." Esophageal cancer claimed Ishizuka's life in 2018, robbing Mr. Satan of his second voice actor. While Masashi Ebara has picked up the role for "Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot," it remains to be seen if he'll continue to be the 68-year-old Ishizuka's successor in "Dragon Ball Daima."
Tetsuo Gotō (Gowasu)
Tetsuo Gotō may have been a relative newcomer to "Dragon Ball" in Japan compared to some of the franchise's other actors, but the two characters he's known for became pretty quickly beloved. "Dragon Ball" fans first heard Gotō's voice not in an anime, but in the video game "Dragon Ball Xenoverse" as Tokitoki, Chronoa's special bird in the "Dragon Ball Xenoverse" series whose eggs hatch into timelines. Tokitoki isn't exactly the most verbose of characters, however, meaning fans who watch "Dragon Ball Super" in Japanese are more aware of Gotō's role as Gowasu, the kind-hearted Supreme Kai of Universe 10 stuck with the traitorous Zamasu for a pupil. Of course, Gotō also played Gowasu's alternate future counterpart, who is one of Goku Black's early casualties until certain events in his timeline are changed.
It says a lot about Gotō's talents that his characters managed to make an impression on the fandom in such a short time. Also known for his performances outside "Dragon Ball," including Ivica Tanović in "Eureka Seven: Ao," 2018 would see Gotō's life also taken by esophageal cancer. As of this writing, Gowasu has not been recast.
Shōzō Iizuka (Android 8 and Nappa)
Of his major roles, Shōzō Iizuka played two of the brawnier characters in the Japanese language version of "Dragon Ball," albeit with vastly different temperaments. There's the gentle Android 8, who Goku befriends while taking down the Red Ribbon Army, even though the robot himself is an RRA creation. Then in "Dragon Ball Z," Iizuka portrayed the fearsome Nappa, who either kills or is responsible for the death of half the Dragon Team, aka "Z-Warriors," before Goku intervenes. Iizuka reprised both characters on a number of occasions, including in "Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – the Father of Goku," in which Nappa briefly cameos, and in "Dragon Ball: The Path to Power," where Android 8 (aka "Eighter") plays a major role. Interestingly, Eighter would be the role Iizuka most consistently returned to, as the late Kiyoyuki Yanada (General Rilldo) portrayed Nappa in "Dragon Ball GT," while Tetsu Inada has portrayed him just about everywhere else.
In addition to a few minor "Dragon Ball" parts, Iizuka also played a notable character in another Akira Toriyama work, namely Caramel Man 001, the robot the fiendish Dr. Mashirito pilots when he debuts in "Doctor Slump." Fans of the Gundam franchise may also warmly remember him as Ryu Jose, the good-humored, but ill-fated original pilot of the Guntank in "Mobile Suit Gundam." Acute heart failure ended the 89-year-old Iizuka's life, but his famed roles remain engrained in anime fans' minds forever.
Grant James (X.S. Cash)
Grant James' roles in "Dragon Ball Z" were few and not especially prominent, but at least one will leave a smile on most fans' faces. After all, who can forget X.S. Cash, the man who proves he's lived up to his name by hosting a lavish, alien-themed tournament in "Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound"? Perhaps less remembered is James' turn in "Dragon Ball Z: Broly — Second Coming" as Zalador, aka the man who let the heroes know that a hungry, horned dinosaur's been pillaging his village, leaving it in a pretty beleaguered state. He also expresses gratitude when Videl and those Saiya-scamps, Trunks and Goten, put an end to the dino's mischief.
Though not so prolific on "Dragon Ball," James portrayed plenty of characters in animation, as well as live-action. As far as the former goes, "One Piece" fans have probably heard James' voice plenty, particularly in the roles of arguably the toughest chef to grace the seven seas, Zeff (aka "The Red Leg"), and the much gentler character Pagaya. Also an acting teacher, as his wife Juli Erickson and granddaughter Nicolette Ocheltree noted while announcing his passing, James was rather well-known by his fellow actors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Though he died at 87 in 2022, "Dragon Ball" fans will always be able to hear his voice when they pop in the U.S. dub of "Dragon Ball Z" movies 9 and 10.