JP Cast Recastings

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

This has been mentioned in the episode 2 forum, but I think it deserves its own discussion. With the exception of Masako Nozawa as Goku, every character has new a new actor assigned to their child (mini as they are officially called) forms. https://en.dragon-ball-official.com/news/01_2961.html as can be seen on the official Dragon Ball site.
How do you feel about this? I understand a lot of the male actors being recast because they just couldn't produce childlike voices. (Mr. Satan, Muten Roshi, and Kibito absolutely couldn't have been doable with their usual actors.) However one casting change that doesn't make sense to me is recasting Maiyumi Tanaka as Kuririn. Just like Nozawa as Goku, Tanaka has always voiced Kuririn at every stage of his life. So why the change there?

[JulieYBM]

Tanaka was probably not asked to voice child Kuririn because screaming as Luffy for 25 years has fucked up her voice a lot.

[Tian]

Mino as Vegeta is my favourite recast.

There are times where he sounds similar to Horikawa at his prime in Episode 2.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Mino as Vegeta is my favourite recast.

There are times where he sounds similar to Horikawa at his prime in Episode 2.

I thought he was a pitch shifted Horikawa while watching. He's that good.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I didn't notice them until I seen the official Dragon Ball JP Twitter account mention it, which is good, as they all sound near identical to the original voices.

The only exception I can think of is Toru Sakurail as Mr Satan and maybe Kanemitsu Nobuaki as Roshi who we've never heard young versions of, so it's understandable.

It may be possible this is being done to test the waters to see how the fans would react to a new cast. Masako Nozawa will be the last to go when all the original characters inevitably have permanent new voices, but it would make for a smoother transition if people were used to new actors for everyone. We've already accepted Aya Hisakawa as Bulma, although suspiciously she was recast too.

[Yuji]

I thought Bulma wasn't recast, the new actress was that good.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Masako Nozawa will be the last to go when all the original characters inevitably have permanent new voices, but it would make for a smoother transition if people were used to new actors for everyone.

Masako Nozawa is definitely going to be the last to go in a potential reboot. Outside of Toriyama himself Nozawa is arguably the name most associated with Dragon Ball, so I can't see her going away anytime soon.
If a reboot does happen I have to wonder if Toei will keep using sound alikes or get these new cast members to attempt new interpretations of the character's voices like the Urusei Yatsura reboot.

[ZombieVito]

It's smart.

Once the OG actor passes, they can just use the new one from the mini version.

[Jord]

I wonder if these new VA will be used for future projects, as the regular voices of the characters.

[Issei189]

I wonder if these new VA will be used for future projects, as the regular voices of the characters.

If the OG voice actors retire or are unable to due to health issues then i believe these new voice actors will replace them for their adult versions.

[dragonballhero]

I have to say... definitely shocked to see that even the FEMALE characters AND Krillin all got new VAs. Heck, I'll even take it a step further and admit that seeing that (Baby) TRUNKS getting a new VA, instead of just having Aya Hisakawa do some cute baby noises was a bit surprising.

All in all, I really do think this whole recasting thing is meant to be a sort-of "audition" for a potential new cast. Let's be real here, it's not like the OG cast is going to be around forever. Heck, we even lost Hiromi Tsuru (The OG Japanese Bulma) a few years at a surprisingly young age.

Not going to lie, there's legit a part of me that bets that even GOTEN *would* have gotten a new VA too, if he wasn't voiced by Masako Nozawa as well.

Speaking of whom, I wonder if all of these recastings are being set to lead to Daima serving as some sort of big send-off to Nozawa as the voice of Goku (and Gohan/Goten/Bardock/Goku Black/Turles)?

I mean, maybe Daima will be to Nozawa, what Sailor Moon Crystal/Eternal/Cosmos was to Kotono Mitsuishi (the voice of Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon herself), where this big animated feature is the actress' final time voicing their character.

Come to think of it... for some time now, I've actually been of the mind that, between Naohiro Shintani and Chikashi Kubota's work on the various DB flashback montages we've been getting recently in modern-day DB material, I'm truly starting to wonder if TOEI is trying to tell us something...

Basically, what if TOEI is "testing the waters" for a modern-day DB remake? Like, this would essentially be 'Dragon Ball's answer to Sailor Moon Crystal', only the ENTIRE cast (including Nozawa's characters) gets new VAs.

(I mentioned the latter thing, because ironically enough, Mitsuishi wasn't automatically signed up to return as Usagi/S.M. herself for the remake and had to re-audition for the character. Even THEN, the only reason she even bothered to do just that was because she'd always wanted to work on a more 'manga-accurate' take on S.M.'s original story. All of which makes me assume that Usagi was set to get a new VA to begin with.)

[sangofe]

I didn't notice them until I seen the official Dragon Ball JP Twitter account mention it, which is good, as they all sound near identical to the original voices.

The only exception I can think of is Toru Sakurail as Mr Satan and maybe Kanemitsu Nobuaki as Roshi who we've never heard young versions of, so it's understandable.

It may be possible this is being done to test the waters to see how the fans would react to a new cast. Masako Nozawa will be the last to go when all the original characters inevitably have permanent new voices, but it would make for a smoother transition if people were used to new actors for everyone. We've already accepted Aya Hisakawa as Bulma, although suspiciously she was recast too.

Go watch OG Dragon Ball again. That Kuririn recast sounded nothing alike Kuririn in DB.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

I have to say... definitely shocked to see that even the FEMALE characters AND Krillin all got new VAs. Heck, I'll even take it a step further and admit that seeing that (Baby) TRUNKS getting a new VA, instead of just having Aya Hisakawa do some cute baby noises was a bit surprising.

All in all, I really do think this whole recasting thing is meant to be a sort-of "audition" for a potential new cast. Let's be real here, it's not like the OG cast is going to be around forever. Heck, we even lost Hiromi Tsuru (The OG Japanese Bulma) a few years at a surprisingly young age.

Not going to lie, there's legit a part of me that bets that even GOTEN *would* have gotten a new VA too, if he wasn't voiced by Masako Nozawa as well.

Speaking of whom, I wonder if all of these recastings are being set to lead to Daima serving as some sort of big send-off to Nozawa as the voice of Goku (and Gohan/Goten/Bardock/Goku Black/Turles)?

I mean, maybe Daima will be to Nozawa, what Sailor Moon Crystal/Eternal/Cosmos was to Kotono Mitsuishi (the voice of Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon herself), where this big animated feature is the actress' final time voicing their character.

Come to think of it... for some time now, I've actually been of the mind that, between Naohiro Shintani and Chikashi Kubota's work on the various DB flashback montages we've been getting recently in modern-day DB material, I'm truly starting to wonder if TOEI is trying to tell us something...

Basically, what if TOEI is "testing the waters" for a modern-day DB remake? Like, this would essentially be 'Dragon Ball's answer to Sailor Moon Crystal', only the ENTIRE cast (including Nozawa's characters) gets new VAs.

(I mentioned the latter thing, because ironically enough, Mitsuishi wasn't automatically signed up to return as Usagi/S.M. herself for the remake and had to re-audition for the character. Even THEN, the only reason she even bothered to do just that was because she'd always wanted to work on a more 'manga-accurate' take on S.M.'s original story. All of which makes me assume that Usagi was set to get a new VA to begin with.)

This seems plausible but I have to wonder if recasting Nozawa will be more difficult than it seems. After Toriyama's passing Nozawa mentioned that every time they met he would ask her to: "take good care of Goku." And, she said that's she plans to do so to honor his memory and the trust that he put in her. So that makes me wonder if there's any sort of internal or external pressures not to recast her right away.

[FortuneSSJ]

I liked all of them. If there's anything i trust Toei is voice acting. I'm sure they will find a good Nozawa replacement when the times comes.

[dragonballhero]

I have to say... definitely shocked to see that even the FEMALE characters AND Krillin all got new VAs. Heck, I'll even take it a step further and admit that seeing that (Baby) TRUNKS getting a new VA, instead of just having Aya Hisakawa do some cute baby noises was a bit surprising.

All in all, I really do think this whole recasting thing is meant to be a sort-of "audition" for a potential new cast. Let's be real here, it's not like the OG cast is going to be around forever. Heck, we even lost Hiromi Tsuru (The OG Japanese Bulma) a few years at a surprisingly young age.

Not going to lie, there's legit a part of me that bets that even GOTEN *would* have gotten a new VA too, if he wasn't voiced by Masako Nozawa as well.

Speaking of whom, I wonder if all of these recastings are being set to lead to Daima serving as some sort of big send-off to Nozawa as the voice of Goku (and Gohan/Goten/Bardock/Goku Black/Turles)?

I mean, maybe Daima will be to Nozawa, what Sailor Moon Crystal/Eternal/Cosmos was to Kotono Mitsuishi (the voice of Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon herself), where this big animated feature is the actress' final time voicing their character.

Come to think of it... for some time now, I've actually been of the mind that, between Naohiro Shintani and Chikashi Kubota's work on the various DB flashback montages we've been getting recently in modern-day DB material, I'm truly starting to wonder if TOEI is trying to tell us something...

Basically, what if TOEI is "testing the waters" for a modern-day DB remake? Like, this would essentially be 'Dragon Ball's answer to Sailor Moon Crystal', only the ENTIRE cast (including Nozawa's characters) gets new VAs.

(I mentioned the latter thing, because ironically enough, Mitsuishi wasn't automatically signed up to return as Usagi/S.M. herself for the remake and had to re-audition for the character. Even THEN, the only reason she even bothered to do just that was because she'd always wanted to work on a more 'manga-accurate' take on S.M.'s original story. All of which makes me assume that Usagi was set to get a new VA to begin with.)

This seems plausible but I have to wonder if recasting Nozawa will be more difficult than it seems. After Toriyama's passing Nozawa mentioned that every time they met he would ask her to: "take good care of Goku." And, she said that's she plans to do so to honor his memory and the trust that he put in her. So that makes me wonder if there's any sort of internal or external pressures not to recast her right away.

Oh, yeah. I totally agree that there's just something about Goku that makes it feel as though finding Nozawa's replacement isn't going to be THAT simple. Dare I say it, there's honestly something genuinely sweet about this (and the reason why I sincerely pray we don't lose Nozawa-san anytime soon).

No shade whatsoever to Kotono Mitsuishi and her stellar work as Sailor Moon, but I can't help but think that finding a new VA for Usagi Tsukino herself won't be as hard. Although, I suppose it definitely helps that S.M. ISN'T dealing with D.B.'s "problem" of being an ongoing story.

I'm sure everyone's of the same mind that 'Hey, if Nozawa-san is willing AND able to continue being Goku (and her other DB characters)? Well, we certainly won't stop her.'

I liked all of them. If there's anything i trust Toei is voice acting. I'm sure they will find a good Nozawa replacement when the times comes.

I'll admit that I have Sailor Moon on the brain lately (I recently rewatched the Sailor Moon Cosmos movie not too long ago), but in the event that Nozawa-san is replaced and TOEI goes the extra mile of having Goku, Gohan, and Goten (at least) be voiced by different people rather than one person, I could see the JP VAs of the Sailor Starlights (from that movie) handling the Son boys, if it came down to it.

Spoiler:

For anyone curious, it would be:

Marina Inoue - Goku
Saori Hayami - Gohan
Ayane Sakura - Goten

[FortuneSSJ]

From all the japanese recasts, I'm loving Mini Vegeta voice the most.