Daisuke Gouri Passes Away (?)

[DemonRin]

You know, when Kai first came out, around the time the first episodes were airing, we saw them show some Freeza arc footage at a press show.
Considering the whole series is already animated and they're just redoing things, and that Toei as a general rule records things way in advance (Mayumi Tanaka mentioned recording some One Piece stuff VERY shortly after it had appeared in the manga.)

It's entirely possible Gouri recorded some stuff as Mr. Satan. I don't want to be way too optimistic and say they did the whole series already (even if it is technically possible), but we may at least get to hear some Cell Games stuff from him.

I think it'd be nice, albeit bittersweet to hear him perform Mr. Satan one last time...

[Dr. Casey]

I did a run through on seiyuu that died through out Dragon Ball's entire run, games and Kai included into this timeline. So far, we've lost the seiyuu for...

Umigame, Gyuumao, Colonel Yellow, Cymbal, Drum, Enma-Daiou, King Cold, Mr. Satan
Muten Roshi (first seiyuu)
Tenkaichi Budokai Announcer
Namu
Draculaman (the one who gave Kuririn blood hair)
Tenshinhan
Konkichi
Mr. Popo and South Kaio
Farmer with shotgun
Mez and Kui
Dende and Marron
Muri and Son Gohan (Goku's grandfather in the Burdock special)
Jheese
#13 and Dr. Mu
Bibidi
Old Kaioshin

That's...a lot of seiyuu.

I'll cover the ones that are still alive. I'm curious to see if we'll indeed start seeing more of the actors pass away soon.

Akkuman: Michihiro Ikemizu (April 11th 1943, 66 years old)
Android 8: Shozo Iizuka (May 23rd, 1933 76 years old)
Android 14: Hisao Egawa (September 13th 1962, 48 years old - hey, we've got a youngin)
Android 16: Hikaru Midorikawa (May 2nd 1968, 41 years old)
Android 17: Shigeru Nakahara (January 22nd 1961, turns 49 in just a few days)
Android 18: Miki Itō (October 21st 1962, 47 years old)
Android 19: Yukitoshi Hori (September 12th 1952, 57 years old)
Appule: Yuji Machi (August 8th 1962, 47 years old. Rejoice, Vegetto! Appule's seiyuu is young)
Arale: Mami Koyama (January 17th 1955, turned 55 yesterday)
Bardock: Masako Nozawa (October 25th 1936, 73 years old)
Bebi: Yūsuke Numata (June 10th 1968, 41 years old)
Blueberry: Ken Yamaguchi (March 24th 1956, 53 years old)
Bojack: Tessho Genda (May 20th 1948, 61 years old)
Bra: Bulma: Hiromi Tsuru (March 29th 1960, 49 years old)
Broly: Bin Shimada (November 20th 1954, 55 years old)
Bulma: Hiromi Tsuru (March 29th 1960, 49 years old)
Burter: Yukimasa Kishino (October 21st 1955, 54 years old)
Captain Ginyu: Hideyuki Hori (March 23rd 1954, 55 years old)
Cell: Norio Wakamoto (October 18th 1945, 64 years old)
Chaozu: Hiroko Emori (January 21st 1961, 48 years old)
Chichi: Mayumi Shō (February 5th 1965, 44 years old) Naoko Watanabe (November 21st 1959, 50 years old)
Commander Red: Kenji Utsumi (August 26th 1937, 72 years old)
Colonel Silver: Banjo Ginga (November 12th 1948, 61 years old)
Colonel Violet: Kazuko Sugiyama (April 9th 1947, 62 years old)
Dabura: Ryuzaburo Otomo (May 18th 1952, 57 years old)
Dodoria: Yukitoshi Hori (September 12th 1952, 57 years old)
Dr. Flappe: Jōji Yanami (August 30th 1931, 78 years old)
Dr. Gero: Koji Yada (April 15th 1933, 76 years old)
Fasha: Yuko Mita (August 14th 1954, 55 years old)
Freeza: Ryūsei Nakao (February 5th 1951, 58 years old)
Garlic Jr.: Akira Kamiya (September 18th 1946, 63 years old)
General Blue: Toshio Furukawa (July 16th 1946, 63 years old)
Gohan: Masako Nozawa (October 25th 1936, 73 years old)
Goku: Masako Nozawa (October 25th 1936, 73 years old)
Goten: Masako Nozawa (October 25th 1936, 73 years old)
Guldo: Kozo Shioya (August 18th 1955, 54 years old)
Grandpa Gohan: Osamu Saka (November 7th 1930, 79 years old)
Guru: Junpei Takiguchi (April 17th 1931, 78 years old), Masaharu Sato (1946, 63-64 years old)
Hildegarn: Shin Aomori (October 20th 1941, 68 years old)
Janemba: Tessho Genda (May 20th 1948, 61 years old)
Kami: Takeshi Aono (June 19th 1936, 73 years old)
King Kai: Jōji Yanami (August 30th 1931, 78 years old)
King Vegeta: Banjo Ginga (November 12th 1948, 61 years old)
Kuririn: Mayumi Tanaka (January 15th 1955, 55 years old)
Korin: Ichirō Nagai (May 10th 1931, 78 years old)
Launch: Mami Koyama (January 17th 1955, turned 55 yesterday)
Lucifer: Nachi Nozawa (January 13th 1938, just turned 72)
Mai: Eiko Hisamura (June 13th 1954, 55 years old)
Maron, Kuririn's Ditzy Girlfriend: Yūko Kobayashi (February 6th 1961, 48 years old)
Majin Buu: Kōzō Shioya (August 18th 1955, 54 years old)
Mummy: Shozo Iizuka (May 23rd, 1933 76 years old)
Nail: Katsuji Mori (July 10th 1945, 64 years old)
Nappa: Shozo Iizuka (May 23rd, 1933 76 years old)
Ninja Murasaki: Takeshi Aono (June 19th 1936, 73 years old)
Obotchaman: Mitsuko Horie (March 8th 1957, 52 years old)
Old Lord Slug: Kenji Utsumi (August 26th 1937, 72 years old)
Oolong: Naoki Tatsuta (September 8th 1950, 59 years old)
Pan: Yūko Minaguchi (June 26th 1966, 43 years old)
Paragus: Iemasa Kayumi (October 31st 1932, 77 years old)
Piano: Masato Hirano (November 16th 1955, 54 years old)
Pilaf: Shigeru Chiba (February 4th 1954, 55 years old)
Piccolo: Toshio Furukawa (July 16th 1946, 63 years old - Piccolo Jr. is even older than Old Piccolo Daimao, ironically enough)
Piccolo Daimao: Ryūsei Nakao (February 5th 1951, 58 years old)
Pui Pui: Tomohisa Asō (May 13th, year unknown. Yes, his year of birth is unknown. Weird...)
Puar: Naoko Watanabe (November 21st 1959, 50 years old... and interesting, Oolong and Puar's seiyuus have very similar first names)
Radditz: Shigeru Chiba (February 4th 1954, 55 years old)
Ranfan: Kawanami Youko (April 22nd 1857, 52 years old)
Recoome: Kenji Utsumi (August 26th 1937, 72 years old)
Shenron: Kenji Utsumi (August 26th 1937, 72 years old)
Shu: Tesshō Genda (May 20th 1948, 61 years old)
Shugesh: Takashi Watade (March 21st 1936, 73 years old)
Suno: Naoko Watanabe (November 21st 1959, 50 years old)
Tambourine: Ryūsei Nakao (February 5th 1951, 58 years old)
Tao Pai Pai: Chikao Ohtsuka (July 5th 1929, 80 years old)
Tarble: Masakazu Morita (October 21st 1972, 37 years old. Pays off to be a Dragon Ball actor that doesn't come around until 2008!)
Tenshinhan: Mitsuaki Madono (July 28th 1964, 45 years old)
The Invisible Man: Hiroshi Ōtake (March 24th 1932, 77 years old)
Trunks: Takeshi Kusao (November 20th 1965, 44 years old)
Turles: Masako Nozawa (October 25th 1936, 73 years old)
Uranai Baba: Kōhei Takiguchi (April 17th 1931, 78 years old) Mayumi Tanaka (January 15th 1955, 55 years old)
Vegeta: Ryō Horikawa (February 1st 1958, 51 years old)
Videl: Yūko Minaguchi (June 26th 1966, 43 years old)
Uub: Megumi Urawa (November 30th 1965, 44 years old... hm, here I thought Uub would stand out as exceptionally young, being a child introduced at the very end)
Yajirobe: Mayumi Tanaka (January 15th 1955, 55 years old)
Yamucha: Tōru Furuya (July 31st 1953, 56 years old)
Young Lord Slug: Yusaku Yara (March 15th 1948, 61 years old)
Zarbon: Shō Hayami (August 2nd 1958, 51 years old)
Zorn: Hikaru Midorikawa (May 2nd 1968, 41 years old)

Sorry if that's ugly and a pain to read. I couldn't find the voice actors for everyone because the Dragon Ball Wiki is dumb, but there's a few of them. Anyway, the average age for Dragon Ball seiyus seems to be the 50s. Perfectly middle-aged. Things could always go wrong and the Dragon Ball people could start dropping like flies, of course, but going by age alone, the coming decade doesn't look like a dark time for Dragon Ball actors. The oldest is Tao Pai Pai's actor Chikao Ohtsuka, whose days very well might be numbered considering that he turns 81 this year, and the youngest is Tarbles' Masakazu Morita, who was a child himself whenever the Dragon Ball anime began (February 1986, so he'd recently turned 13 years old).

[MCDaveG]

Yeah, imagine all those hot-chicks voiced by nearly grandmas....

[Tsukento]

Piccolo Daimao: Ryūsei Nakao (February 5th 1951, 58 years old)

Completely incorrect. Nakao voiced Tambourine. Not Daimao.

Takeshi Aono voiced both Piccolo Daimao and Kami-sama.

[Kunzait_83]

Oh man. So I’m just finding out about this now.

*Runs down some of Gori’s credits that I remember/recognize*

Gatchaman
Mobile Suit Gundam
Kinnikuman
Crusher Joe
Armored Trooper Votoms
Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross
Hokuto no Ken
Megazone 23
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Project A-Ko
Saint Seiya
Dragon Ball/Z/GT
Patlabor
Crying Freeman
Guyver
Urotsukidoji
Bubblegum Crisis
Goku: Midnight Eye
Sol Bianca
City Hunter
Sakigake!! Otoko Juku
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Ninja Gaiden
A Wind Named Amnesia
Ushio & Tora
Ninja Scroll
Crayon Shin-chan
Slayers
Street Fighter: The Animated Movie
Gunsmith Cats
Trigun

Not even going into all the video game roles.

Gah. And I just watched Urotsukidoji for the first time in ages a few weeks ago, and totally picked him out as the Beast Realm elder.

He was Uighul, Yamazaki, and Mr. Satan of course... and Jigon from Freeman (who I semi-recently almost made an icon out of from a particularly well drawn manga panel). Crap, and I almost totally forgot he was Mari in Project A-Ko. That performance never fails to leave me absolutely in stitches every time.

And Genma! The man was Himura Genma! God, the shitty irony there…

Between Uighul, Mari, Mr. Satan, Genma, Roki, Yamazaki, Kadoma, Derzerb, Jigon… dear lord, the guy’s voice has been with me since I can remember. He was really one of the all time great seiyu, with an insanely iconic, distinctive-as-a-fingerprint voice that just stays with you.

R.I.P. and best wishes to his family and loved ones.

[Maphisto86]

I cannot believe it . . . I only just found out. First Isamu Tanonaka and now Daisuke Gouri. What a blow to the Japanese voice acting industry, a real shame. You will both be missed.

[Herms]

So I’ve been looking at Gouri’s Japanese and English Wikipedia pages, and here’s some interesting stuff I found about the different characters he’s voiced.

In addition to Robin Mask, he also voiced the Kinnikuman characters Ashuraman and Black Hole, as well as Satan (!).

Besides voicing the deity Enma Daio in DragonBall, he also voiced him GeGeGe no Kitaro and in a radio production of the fairy tale “The Man who Returned from Hell”.

He voiced countless different demons in the Bikkuri Man series. Characters who are demonic by name and/or nature really seem to be a theme throughout his career.

He voiced “Thunder” in both Tsuide ni Tonchinkan and GeGeGe no Kitaro. I don’t know for either case if this is supposed to be actual personified thunder or just a character named that.

He voiced a character named “King Kamekameka” in NG Knight Lamune & 40, probably a reference to the Hawaiian king, but still amusing considering all the work he did in DragonBall.

He played the historical and legendary figure Benkei in both Yaiba and the game Namco x Capcom.

He voiced Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy XII.

Fans of bad movies might be interested in knowing that he provided the Japanese dub voice of Tor Johnson for the movie Ed Wood.

In Dr. Slump, he voiced the Penguin Village police chief Gaos (named for the Gamera series monster) in the second Slump anime. As fate would have it, Isamu Tanonaka, who also just passed away, voiced the Penguin Village policeman Gala in the first Slump anime (as well as the Tori bot!).

Oh, and despite what his English Wikipedia pages said, he did not play Muten Roshi in DBZ movie 13 (I fixed it though).

[SHINOBI-03]

Now, in your opinion, who do you think would be the best replacement for him?

Watching DBZ now, I think Takeshi Aono ((Kami)) would be a good choice.

I also think Hidekatsu Shibata ((The Third Hokage & Yi Shenlong)) is a good choice.

And, who knows, maybe they will ask Masaharo Sato to do his role.

[Tsukento]

The problem there is that neither of them have that gruff, deep and booming tone that Mr. Gouri had. Those two are more suiting for old men than an arrogant show-off that has a side of comic relief.

[saiyanprincess]

It's such a shame, but he did live a nice long life. I'm sure he is at peace now.

But he was only 57 years old, i don't consider that a long life

Oh darn, I'm sorry my mistake I mis-read I thought it said he was 77; Poor guy

[Daimo-Rukiri]

Sad that a great Voice actor dies because of suicide, at least he left a note..

You truly will be missed champ!

[Onikage725]

This is a shame, and very sad news. I don't know if I'm getting the right impression, but it seems he gave up on life on account of his diabetes. That's very sad indeed, and my condolences are with his family.

On another note, I am surprised to learn that he dubbed the voice for Lord Zedd...

[El Diabeetus]

This is a shame, and very sad news. I don't know if I'm getting the right impression, but it seems he gave up on life on account of his diabetes. That's very sad indeed, and my condolences are with his family.

On another note, I am surprised to learn that he dubbed the voice for Lord Zedd...

He... he had Diabetes too? Woah... I never knew that. Wow, that just hit me harder since I know what can happen if you leave it unchecked. I may joke about Diabetes since I've had it. But, if Diabetes had something to do with his death... God, that just makes me fear that I'll have a similar fate to him. Well, once again, I give my condolences to his family. But, wow, damn...

Was it Type 1 like mine? I'd assume since the picture of him on ANN he looks pretty fit.
Wow, this is starting to remind me of Wayne Allwine's death in 2009.

[Big Boss]

I don't usually get to the point of blubbering, but I got damn close after reading this:

From Wiki
"According to fellow voice actors, Gōri was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus a few years prior to his death and his vision was affected by retinal detachment as a result of the disease. He complained to coworkers, "I can't read the scripts. I can't do my job like I'd like to." During an Anpanman recording session in late 2009, a depressed-sounding Gōri told his close friend voice actor Kazuhiko Inoue, "I've grown old." [3]
On January 17, 2010 at approximately 3:00 P.M., Gōri was found lying on his stomach with blood dripping from his wrists in the middle of a Nakano, Tokyo street by a passerby, who then notified the police. Authorities from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Nakano station discovered a utility knife under his body as well as a suicide note (with the words "I'm sorry" (ごめんね Gomenne?) and "Thank you" (ありがとう Arigatō?) scrawled on it) addressed to his family in his pants pocket."

Poor guy.

RIP.

[JulieYBM]

This is beyond terrible. To be driven off the edge by the loss of his beloved work?

[fps_anth]

Oh my God. I got goosebumps reading this news.

I feel fucking terrible.

This guy's voice pretty much defined Dragon Ball for me. So many different roles and such a powerful voice.

I think one of the reasons it's hitting me so hard is because only one character in the history of Dragon Ball never died... Mr. Satan.

R.I.P Daisuke Gouri

[Maphisto86]

Well it helps a bit to know why . . . it gives some closure but I cannot imagine anyone those close to him like his family, being all that comforted by this. I was unaware he was suffering from diabetes. Almost being blind will definitely destroy your career as a voice actor and judging from this news Daisuke Gori did not wish to retire anytime soon. Very sad, tragic really. It is still terrible that he made this horrific choice despite his career hampering illness.

[Tsukento]

http://ameblo.jp/minaguchi/entry-10438434613.html

If I'm reading this right, it seems Videl's seiyuu may not want to reprise her role for Dragon Ball Kai due to the passing of Mr. Gouri. She seems to have been hit rather hard by it.

[JulieYBM]

Terrible news indeed. I have to wonder how this will affect video games as Minaguchi's characters have also been appearing in them.

[Kid Buu]

H-Heihachi's voice actor is gone...?

I always felt that Mr. Satan and Heihachi had similar voices, thanks for confirming it.

R.I.P