What English speaking Actress Could Pull Off Playing Adult Goku in an Official Dub?

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Masako Nozawa is a legend in voice acting, partly because of her huge acting resume, and partly from her tenure as Son Goku. That got me wondering, what English speaking actress (if any) could pull off playing adult Goku? I know that Nozawa is loved for her portrayal by fans all over (myself included), but could anyone else pull off what she does? I think that it's possible, especially since English dubs of other Shonen anime like Naruto and One Piece have had their leading men voiced by women even after they grow up. But, you would need a very skilled actress to do it, and an even more skilled director to steer the project and make sure that it's well received. Especially since we're taking into account American ideas of heroes vs Japanese ones, and the common belief that Goku should sound like a traditional "man" to many. As well as every other pre-established idea of Goku's voice that have developed from the many different English dubs from 1996 to today.

I think that Faye Mata ("Fate/Apocrypha" and "Konosuba") could possibly pull it off. Maybe if she did something similar to her portrayal of Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha. I have only seen clips of the show so far, but Astolfo seems to have that naive, outgoing, non-socially aware personality that Goku displays at times.

Here are some examples for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwwTNb_m74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdVCsPNPMVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL4xf3gDjhU

I think she has the chops to pull it off, but even then I am not entirely sure if she could do it as effortlessly as Nozawa does. Or, if she could play both Kid and Adult Goku, which adds an extra layer of difficulty to this idea.
Anyway if you have any ideas on what English speaking actress could voice adult Goku, please sound off. I always enjoy these food for thought discussions.

[KBABZ]

Honestly I think Tara Strong would be a great candidate. While she does do a lot of high-pitched voices like Bubbles and Timmy Turner, she also does a some male roles like Ben Ten and, well, Timmy Turner. She also does lower-pitched voices like Raven, so I think with a range like that she could at least come very close!

[OmegaRockman]

Unironically Colleen Clinkenbeard. Her Luffy is excellent IMO and it wouldn't take much to adjust it to fit Goku.

[MasenkoHA]

Unironically Colleen Clinkenbeard. Her Luffy is excellent IMO and it wouldn't take much to adjust it to fit Goku.

I will defend Colleen Clinkenbeard’s Young Goku and Gohan to the death especially when it comes to nostalgia fanboys thinking she sounds too feminine

Buuuut I don’t think she would fit adult Goku at all. From what little I’ve seen of her Luffy it sounds somewhere between her Goku and Ash from the Pokemon USA era seasons and god I can’t imagine Goku sounding like that

[sunsetshimmer]

Honestly I think Tara Strong would be a great candidate. While she does do a lot of high-pitched voices like Bubbles and Timmy Turner, she also does a some male roles like Ben Ten and, well, Timmy Turner. She also does lower-pitched voices like Raven, so I think with a range like that she could at least come very close!

Tara Strong was my first idea as well. She's a dub goddess.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Unironically Colleen Clinkenbeard. Her Luffy is excellent IMO and it wouldn't take much to adjust it to fit Goku.

I will defend Colleen Clinkenbeard’s Young Goku and Gohan to the death especially when it comes to nostalgia fanboys thinking she sounds too feminine

Buuuut I don’t think she would fit adult Goku at all. From what little I’ve seen of her Luffy it sounds somewhere between her Goku and Ash from the Pokemon USA era seasons and god I can’t imagine Goku sounding like that

I'd be willing to give her a try as adult Goku, but I don't know if she could fit the part. Although to be honest I'm not of Colleen or Stephanie's Kid Goku. I think that Melissa Fahn doing her Edward voice from Cowboy Bebop with a little of her Gaz from Zim, that would be the perfect Kid Goku.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Honestly I think Tara Strong would be a great candidate. While she does do a lot of high-pitched voices like Bubbles and Timmy Turner, she also does a some male roles like Ben Ten and, well, Timmy Turner. She also does lower-pitched voices like Raven, so I think with a range like that she could at least come very close!

It's possible. I don't think I have ever seen her play a role that she's been bad at, aside from Harley Quinn. That voice is waaaay to squeaky.

[Super Sonic]

I think that Faye Mata ("Fate/Apocrypha" and "Konosuba") could possibly pull it off. Maybe if she did something similar to her portrayal of Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha. I have only seen clips of the show so far, but Astolfo seems to have that naive, outgoing, non-socially aware personality that Goku displays at times.

Here are some examples for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwwTNb_m74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdVCsPNPMVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL4xf3gDjhU

While she does a variety of roles and mainly nice folks apparently, do find the idea of one of the most liked anime heroes being voiced by actress who voices one of the most hated recent anime characters kind of interesting. If you're wondering what I mean, she voices the evil princess from Shield Hero.

[WittyUsername]

I remember making a thread just like this a few years ago. Anyway, I can’t think of any English speaking voice actresses who I think could pull off playing Goku as an adult, and frankly, I don’t see the point in doing that anyway. As far as I’m concerned, Masako Nozawa’s performance is a lightning in the bottle situation.

Also, Tara Strong? The male voices that she’s done hardly scream Goku to me.

[KBABZ]

Also, Tara Strong? The male voices that she’s done hardly scream Goku to me.

I agree, but considering her sheer vocal range I would peg her as one of the few actresses out there who'd be able to nut out a good Adult Goku voice.

[Thanos]

Here are some examples for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwwTNb_m74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdVCsPNPMVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL4xf3gDjhU

You know, I wasn't really hearing it, but I think in that third clip, her delivery is good. I'm not really a fan of dubs, but I hear where you're coming from.

I think it's really hard to say, because for the lion's share of my fandom Masako Nozawa has been my Goku et al., and at this point I genuinely don't hear a female when I hear the voice. I'm not sure how much of that is pure talent and my bias and just being so used to it, but it's hard to say what might have happened had FUNimation (and other regional dubs that use a male voice currently) started and finished Dragon Ball with a particular voice actor for Goku, and kept her throughout adulthood. Odds are they still would have recast him as an adult as is typical in Western productions, but it's interesting to think about how the fandom would regard such a voice at the franchise's height of popularity in the West and elsewhere.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

I think that Faye Mata ("Fate/Apocrypha" and "Konosuba") could possibly pull it off. Maybe if she did something similar to her portrayal of Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha. I have only seen clips of the show so far, but Astolfo seems to have that naive, outgoing, non-socially aware personality that Goku displays at times.

Here are some examples for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwwTNb_m74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdVCsPNPMVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL4xf3gDjhU

While she does a variety of roles and mainly nice folks apparently, do find the idea of one of the most liked anime heroes being voiced by actress who voices one of the most hated recent anime characters kind of interesting. If you're wondering what I mean, she voices the evil princess from Shield Hero.

I actually did not know that. But I have also never seen Shield Hero.

[NitroEX]

Barbara Goodson could have probably done a decent job, but it would have still sounded a little young and more like a teenage boy even at her deepest but it might have worked with Goku's goofier personality if the dub was faithful. Of course, nowadays it would take some getting used to but if it was what we got from the start I could see people accepting it. Aside from acting, she could also scream pretty well too and her Kid Goku was great in my opinion so I see her being a more natural fit for it than anyone else.

I would have personally enjoyed it for the novelty alone, it certainly would have been better than whoever they cast as Naruto.

Also, Tara Strong? The male voices that she’s done hardly scream Goku to me.

I agree, but considering her sheer vocal range I would peg her as one of the few actresses out there who'd be able to nut out a good Adult Goku voice.

While she has a wide range the archetypes she's cast for usually fall between very feminine sounding characters or very young sounding boys, neither would be workable for Goku even with some workshopping. Nothing I've seen from her other roles suggests she could maintain a believable voice outside of that range. Screams are another issue altogether and I haven't seen much to suggest she'd manage it without it (obviously) sounding like a woman or a young kid.

Tara Strong was my first idea as well. She's a dub goddess.

She doesn't do dubs.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

This is a tough question, because i've been so used to Goku as an adult being voiced by male VA's for dubs over here be it Ian Corlett, Peter Kelamis, and primarily Sean Schemmel. I'm not really sure if i can really think off the top of my head as far as a voice actress who could give off a convincing enough performance to work as Goku when he's grown along the lines of Masako Nozawa who has voiced the character consistently for so many years that it just doesn't sound like an 80+ years old lady when she speaks. I think it would be really difficult to find a female voice actress who could pull off a similar thing.

That said, it would be cool for sure to see that if they could find one out there. Some of the above suggestions are interesting but i don't know.

[Aim]

Masako Nozawa is a legend in voice acting, partly because of her huge acting resume, and partly from her tenure as Son Goku. That got me wondering, what English speaking actress (if any) could pull off playing adult Goku? I know that Nozawa is loved for her portrayal by fans all over (myself included), but could anyone else pull off what she does? I think that it's possible, especially since English dubs of other Shonen anime like Naruto and One Piece have had their leading men voiced by women even after they grow up. But, you would need a very skilled actress to do it, and an even more skilled director to steer the project and make sure that it's well received. Especially since we're taking into account American ideas of heroes vs Japanese ones, and the common belief that Goku should sound like a traditional "man" to many. As well as every other pre-established idea of Goku's voice that have developed from the many different English dubs from 1996 to today.

I think that Faye Mata ("Fate/Apocrypha" and "Konosuba") could possibly pull it off. Maybe if she did something similar to her portrayal of Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha. I have only seen clips of the show so far, but Astolfo seems to have that naive, outgoing, non-socially aware personality that Goku displays at times.

Here are some examples for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwwTNb_m74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdVCsPNPMVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL4xf3gDjhU

I think she has the chops to pull it off, but even then I am not entirely sure if she could do it as effortlessly as Nozawa does. Or, if she could play both Kid and Adult Goku, which adds an extra layer of difficulty to this idea.
Anyway if you have any ideas on what English speaking actress could voice adult Goku, please sound off. I always enjoy these food for thought discussions.

Videos are now private