Who should succeed Masako Nozawa?

[Jord]

First of all, I'm still very much of the opinion that Nozawa is iconic and still has "it". That being said, she is getting up there in age and with Goku being literally the main character of the franchise it can't hurt to look towards a successor. (I would be surprised if Toei doesn't already have understudies)
DB has had some cast changes already with some being ok (Satan) to some being great (the current Japanese Bulma VA is spot on) but with all due respect to those actors, their roles aren't as important to the franchise.

Who do you think should succeed Nozawa?

Also, does Japan go along with the current trend of race- and gender appropriate casting or not? Could come into play with the choice who succeeds her.

[Soppa Saia People]

i've mentioned before but while i don't think she would be great as goku, i think megumi ogata would've been an amazing boo arc gohan, and i'm sure she still would be fantastic.

[Jord]

i've mentioned before but while i don't think she would be great as goku, i think megumi ogata would've been an amazing boo arc gohan, and i'm sure she still would be fantastic.

Interesting thought. Should we have separate actors for the Son roles?

[mute_proxy]

I think the series should hurry up with a definitive ending before there comes a need for a replacement.

[JulieYBM]

They should hire a trans actress, I think that would be a nice curve ball.

That or just Park Romi.

[Matches Malone]

I think the series should hurry up with a definitive ending before there comes a need for a replacement.

I don't think the franchise will ever get a definitive ending, as it seems like it's headed towards the Pokemon/Simpsons road. I do however think both Toei and Nozawa already know who will take over as Goku in the future. He's too important of a character to the franchise for them to not have a plan B if Nozawa is unable to continue.In terms of who it should be, I think someone talented enough to live up to her legacy, as well as someone who's able to sound similar.

[Alruneia]

I would be surprised if Toei doesn't already have understudies

I think this pretty much sums up how I see it. I can't imagine that there's not already at least one voice actress (or actor) who's been trained to be able to take over for Nozawa should something happen. There's probably several. And if that's the case, then I think there's a good chance it'll be a pretty unknown name.
By the way, Nozawa has voiced tons of characters in tons of franchises, and I imagine they'd like to find someone who could take over as many of those roles as possible. So I'd say it's unlikely that we'd see multiple people take over for her in Dragon Ball alone.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I know that there will eventually come a time where Nozawa can't play Goku or her many other roles anymore for one reason or another, though it's going to be strange because she has been with the franchise for so long (35 years and still going) and it'll be very difficult to accept another seiyuu assuming all the various characters.

[Adamant]

I'm fairly sure it's been mentioned that Nozawa and Toei have already trained someone in how to play Goku in preparation for such an eventuality, which means it's presumably not going to be any established VA, but a handpicked successor trained for this specific role.

DB has had some cast changes already with some being ok (Satan) to some being great (the current Japanese Bulma VA is spot on) but with all due respect to those actors, their roles aren't as important to the franchise.

Also Naoki Tatsuta as Kaio, who did an INCREDIBLE job living up to Yanami's portrayal.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I'm fairly sure it's been mentioned that Nozawa and Toei have already trained someone in how to play Goku in preparation for such an eventuality, which means it's presumably not going to be any established VA, but a handpicked successor trained for this specific role.

DB has had some cast changes already with some being ok (Satan) to some being great (the current Japanese Bulma VA is spot on) but with all due respect to those actors, their roles aren't as important to the franchise.

Also Naoki Tatsuta as Kaio, who did an INCREDIBLE job living up to Yanami's portrayal.

Whoever it is it'll be interesting to see what they do with the role once it passes from Nozawa to them, though something where it's similar in tone but not a total carbon copy impression. I mean Aya Hisakawa who they've had as Bulma's voice since just after Hiromi Tsuru's passing who also has been the voice of Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon franchise (aside from the newer series and films) and done a really good job of filling her shoes but at the same time also making the role her own.

[Thanos]

They should archive all of the thousands upon hours of dialogue she has already recorded and recycle them outside of new story material. Like, if there's new episodes and you need new lines spoken, sure, use understudies, but for video games and such they should just reuse her recordings. With the sheer volume no one would notice. Especially with legacy characters like Bardock or Goku Black; you could have Nozawa do their voices for a hundred years.

Or, they could do what they did with Majel Barrett, who voiced the computer in most Star Trek media until she died; record her speaking phonetically and archive it for when synthized speech is perfected. I'm sure with the aforementioned thousands of hours of her voice and variations of tone and sound you could get it to be as advanced as anyone's voice, like a deep fake for voices.

[8000 Saiyan]

Rika Matsumoto. The only other actress I'd could see is Romi Park.

[Neo-Makaiōshin]

Would be interested in seeing Junko Takeuchi take on Goku.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I agree there's no way TOEI don't have an understudy. There's a reason why a continuation of the Super anime will never be ruled out, and that's because Dragon Ball prints money, and Goku's voice is essential to it's continued success. TOEI will do their best to replicate that sound in a younger actor to ensure this franchise remains as profitable for them as it's always been. Hisakawa was likely trained to prepare for Tsuru's eventual passing too.

[Jord]

It would have been interesting to test the waters wikth the understudy voicing an alternate Goku like Black or Xeno. Just to see the reaction.

[Matches Malone]

It would have been interesting to test the waters wikth the understudy voicing an alternate Goku like Black or Xeno. Just to see the reaction.

I can see something like that happening with Gohan and Goten. In terms of the reaction, I think it depends on how it's handled. If they pass the torch by having Nozawa get on a stage with this new voice actor/actress and do it herself, then I think fans will generally accept it. If however she god forbid passes away in the middle of a hypothetical Super sequel and the show continues after a week or 2 break with a new voice, then that will be met negatively.

[Jord]

It would have been interesting to test the waters wikth the understudy voicing an alternate Goku like Black or Xeno. Just to see the reaction.

I can see something like that happening with Gohan and Goten. In terms of the reaction, I think it depends on how it's handled. If they pass the torch by having Nozawa get on a stage with this new voice actor/actress and do it herself, then I think fans will generally accept it. If however she god forbid passes away in the middle of a hypothetical Super sequel and the show continues after a week or 2 break with a new voice, then that will be met negatively.

I think that would be the best way to handle it. Give Masako one last goodbye (say in the form of a movie) and then pass over the role publicly. That being said, it's hard to determine when that moment should be. She's clearly still loving the role.

[Matches Malone]

Give Masako one last goodbye (say in the form of a movie) and then pass over the role publicly. That being said, it's hard to determine when that moment should be. She's clearly still loving the role.

I think it's possible that if Toriyama has decided when he plans to walk away, she could go with him as well. If the next arc or 2 in the manga will be his last, followed by a fourth movie that leads directly into EOZ, I can see her sticking around for the anime's adaption of those then stepping down for someone else. She'll be turning 85 this year, there's no way she doesn't know when and how she'll step away from such an iconic role.

[kemuri07]

I agree there's no way TOEI don't have an understudy. There's a reason why a continuation of the Super anime will never be ruled out, and that's because Dragon Ball prints money, and Goku's voice is essential to it's continued success. TOEI will do their best to replicate that sound in a younger actor to ensure this franchise remains as profitable for them as it's always been. Hisakawa was likely trained to prepare for Tsuru's eventual passing too.

So has Masako voiced Goku in every other media representation of DB? Considering her age, I have to imagine that they've used an understudy in like a game or something, right?

[Matches Malone]

So has Masako voiced Goku in every other media representation of DB? Considering her age, I have to imagine that they've used an understudy in like a game or something, right?

I assume the games have a lot of reused dialogue, especially sequels like Budokai and Tenkaichi which reuse assets, but there's still new dialogue she and the others have to record despite that.