For over 23 years, anime voice actress Masako Nozawa has voiced Son Goku from Akira Toriyama's beloved shonen series, Dragon Ball. Recently, Japanese audiences showed their appreciation for Nozawa's iconic role by crowning her as “Japan's Top Voice Actress.”
NetLab, a popular entertainment website in Japan, teamed up with “Voice Note” to hold a survey asking viewers to name “the best female voice actress in Japan.” The survey, aimed at viewers in their 50s and 60s, allowed participants to choose from not only anime but also video games, TV commercials, and VAs for foreign-made films. In an overwhelming vote, about 24.4% of voters chose Nozawa. The runner-up, with 11.3% of the votes, was Nobuyo Oyama, who voices the robotic cat in Shin-Ei Animation’s Doraemon. The top 13 winners are listed below.
Japanese Generation X and Boomer Audiences Rank Their Favorite Voice Actors of All Time
Masako Nozawa — 24.4% Nobuyo Oyama — 11.3% Inori Minase — 7.5% Kana Hanazawa — 7.0% Keiko Toda — 5.2% TARAKO — 3.8% Saori Hayami — 3.8% Midori Kato — 2.8% Noriko Hidaka – – 2.3% Kotono Mitsuishi — 1.4% Mami Koyama — 1.4% Eiko Masuyama — 1.4% Mayumi Tanaka — 1.4%
Notably, Nozawa has actually voiced several characters in the Dragon Ball franchise. In addition to Goku, she has also played the Saiyan sons Gohan and Goten. She also played Goku's father, Bardock, in the character's origin special, Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011). Aside from Dragon Ball, she is also known for her role as Tetsuo Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999, Toei Animation's classic adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto's sci-fi manga of the same name. Now in her late 80s, she continues to seek out new roles in the industry. In the past few years, she has played characters in Digimon Adventure: 2020, the Power Rangers-inspired Go! Go! Loser Ranger (2024), and Mysterious Disappearances (2024).
Some of the top-voted actors come from franchises with large followings outside of Japan. Third-place winner Inori Minase is best known for her role as Rem in the light novel-turned-anime, Re:Zero: Starting Life in Another World. Created by author Tappei Nagatsuki, Re:Zero follows the adventures of Subaru Natsuki, an anime-obsessed high school student who dies and is reincarnated in a strange fantasy universe. Minase's character Rem harbors romantic feelings for Subaru and often accompanies him on his travels along with his rival love interest, Emilia. More recently, Minase voiced Sophia Ascart in the fan-favorite slice-of-life isekai series My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom (2023).
Fourth-place winner Kana Hanazawa is perhaps best known for her role as Mitsuri Kanroji, a popular supporting character in Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. The series follows protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy who sets out to help his younger sister Nezuko after she is transformed into a demon. As one of the Demon Corps’ highest-ranking warriors, Mitsuri fights alongside Tanjiro as “Love Hashira.” Originally released in April 2019, the popular shonen series has now had four seasons and a hugely successful film. Ufotable plans to conclude the anime series with a trilogy of films covering the events of the “Infinity Castle” arc from Koyoharu Gotouge’s original Demon Slayer manga.
Nozawa is currently preparing for the premiere of Dragon Ball Daima — an upcoming anime created to celebrate the series' 40th anniversary. Nozawa will reprise his role as Goku, who mysteriously transforms into a child, along with Vegeta, Bulma, and several other characters. Toei Animation has now released a new official trailer for Daima, giving fans a sneak peek at what to expect when the show debuts next month. In addition to introducing some never-before-seen characters — including potential villains — the trailer also reveals a brand new area called The Demon Realm. The anime is set to debut on TV on October 11.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the story of a young warrior named Son Goku, a strange boy with a tail, who begins his journey to become stronger and learns about the Dragon Balls, which, when he collects all 7, can grant any wish.
Created by Akira Toriyama
First movie Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Ruby
Latest movies Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes
First TV show Dragon Ball
Upcoming TV Shows Dragon Ball DAIMA
First episode air date April 26, 1989
Cast Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
Summary
Dragon Ball is a manga series created by author/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball in 1984. The series originally began as a serialized manga in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade before expanding into the most popular anime series today. Dragon Ball has since been adapted into two anime series, one of which is Dragon Ball Z, the most popular series in the entire Dragon Ball series. The series has continued to expand the lore through films, video games, and sequel television series, such as Dragon Ball Super and the more recent Dragon Ball Super Heroes. Dragon Ball primarily revolves around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face intergalactic threats and search for the Dragon Balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant wishes to anyone who collects them. The Dragon Ball series continues to be one of the most popular and beloved anime series of all time, with over forty different countries broadcasting it and having had a huge impact on Western culture as a whole.
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Source: NetLab: Survey Results of “Top 13 Voice Actors in Japan”
