Masako Nozawa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Masako Nozawa
野沢 雅子
Nozawa in 1962
Born	(1936-10-25) October 25, 1936 (age 88) Arakawa, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Empire of Japan
Other names	Masako Tsukada (塚田 雅子)
Occupation	Actress voice actress
Years active	1939–present
Agent	Aoni Production
Notable work	Dragon Ball series as Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Turles, Bardock, and Goku Black GeGeGe no Kitarō as Kitarō (1968–1971) Galaxy Express 999 as Tetsurō Hoshino Digimon Tamers as Guilmon
Spouse(s)	Masaaki Tsukada ​ (died 2014)​

Masako Nozawa (Japanese: 野沢 雅子, Hepburn: Nozawa Masako, born October 25, 1936) is a famous Japanese actress. She is especially known for her amazing voice acting. She started acting when she was only three years old! As she grew up, voice acting became her main job.

Masako Nozawa is best known as the voice of Son Goku in the super popular Dragon Ball series. She also voices many of Goku's family members, like his sons Son Gohan and Son Goten. Her other famous roles include Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō, Doraemon in the 1973 anime, and Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999.

Masako Nozawa has won many awards for her voice work. She even holds two Guinness World Records for voicing Goku in Dragon Ball video games for a very long time! Her husband was also a voice actor named Masaaki Tsukada.

Early Life and First Roles

Masako Nozawa was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father was a painter. Her aunt was an actress, and because of her, Masako started acting when she was just three years old.

In 1944, her family moved away from Tokyo to avoid the air raids during World War II. She lived there from elementary school until she finished high school.

Her Amazing Career

When Masako Nozawa was in junior high, she joined a theater group. She acted in Tokyo during her school breaks. After high school, she moved back to Tokyo. She started voice acting in her late teens to help her theater group.

Her first voice role was dubbing an Indian boy in a foreign film. She explained that back then, voice acting was often done live. Adult men's voices had already changed, so women were chosen to play boy roles. Even though she didn't plan to be a voice actress, it became her main job as it grew very popular.

Becoming an Anime Star

Masako Nozawa's first anime role was in Wolf Boy Ken (1963). She also had a small part in Astro Boy (1963). Her first regular role was in Uchuu Patrol Hopper (1965). She then voiced two brothers, Tonkichi and Kanta Hanamura, in Sally, the Witch (1966).

Her first main character role was Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968). The creator of the series, Shigeru Mizuki, chose her himself! For the 1973 Doraemon anime, Nozawa took over the voice of Doraemon. She also voiced Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999 (1978).

Voicing Goku and More

Masako Nozawa couldn't voice Kitarō in the 1985 anime because of a rule that voice actors couldn't play more than one main character at a time. But this turned out to be a good thing! It meant she was free to audition for the role of Son Goku in Dragon Ball (1986).

The creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, chose her to play Goku. He even said that he would hear her voice in his head when he was writing the original manga!

Awards and Recognition

In 2017, Masako Nozawa received two Guinness World Records. These were for her long career voicing Son Goku in Dragon Ball video games. She held records for the "longest video game voice acting career" and "voice actor who voiced the same character in a video game for the longest period."

In 2023, she became the first voice actor to receive the Kikuchi Kan Prize in its 71-year history. This is a very important award in Japan.

In 2024, a company announced they would use her voice data to create AI-replicated voices for things like virtual assistants and robots. They promised not to use her voice for new animation roles.

Her Voice Acting Style

Masako Nozawa loves voice acting because she can "breathe life into things with only your voice." She is very dedicated and is known for never being late. There was only one time she was a little late, and it was because her house had burned down that morning!

She mostly plays young male characters. This started because, in the early days of voice acting, real boys couldn't always be used for live dubbing. Since she had played boy roles before, she was often chosen. She thinks this might be because she was a tomboy as a child, preferring sword fights with boys over playing with dolls.

When she auditions for a role, she doesn't plan the voice beforehand. She just improvises when she's in front of the microphone. But after she gets the role, she thinks about the character's background. She doesn't read the original books or comics if it's an adaptation. This way, her reactions feel real because she doesn't know what will happen next.

Voicing the Dragon Ball Family

In Dragon Ball, Masako Nozawa voices Goku, his son Gohan, and his younger son Goten. When these characters are in a scene together, she records all their lines in the same take! She switches between their voices right on the spot. Her fellow voice actor Toshio Furukawa said no one else can do this.

Nozawa also helped create the special way Goku speaks, which is called "Goku language." His famous line, "Ossu! Ora Goku!" (which means "Yo! I'm Goku!"), was something she just made up as a joke during a recording session!

Filmography

Anime television series

1960s

• Wolf Boy Ken (1963)
• Astro Boy (1963) (Boy robot)
• Obake no Q-tarō (1965) (Shin'ichi Ōhara)
• Sally, the Witch (1966) (Tonkichi Hanamura, Kanta Hanamura)
• GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968) (Kitaro)
• Star of the Giants (1968) (Baseball boy)
• Cyborg 009 (1968)
• Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae (1968)
• Attack No.1 (1969) (Tonan high school captain Higaki)
• Tiger Mask (1969) (Kenta)
• Marine Boy (1969)

1970s

• Inakappe Taishō (1970) (Daizaemon Kaze)
• Andersen Stories (1971) (Marco)
• Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro (1971) (Kitaro)
• The Gutsy Frog (1972) (Hiroshi)
• Casshan (1973) (Māru)
• Dororon Enma-kun (1973) (Enma-kun)
• Doraemon (Doraemon, Botako)
• Calimero (1974) (Buta)
• Hoshi no Ko Poron (1974) (All Roles)
• Gamba no Bōken (1975) (Gamba)
• La Seine no Hoshi (1975) (Danton)
• Maya the Honey Bee (1975) (Willy)
• Combattler V (1976) (Ropet, Oreana, Kinta Ichinoki)
• Piccolino no Bōken (1976) (Pinocchio)
• Araiguma Rascal (1977) (Rascal)
• Ore wa Teppei (1977) (Teppei Uesugi)
• Galaxy Express 999 (1978) (Tetsurō Hoshino)

1980s

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980) (Tom Sawyer)
• The Monster Kid (1980) (Tarō Kaibutsu)
• Tsurikichi Sampei (1980) (Sampei)
• Beast King GoLion (1981) (Hiroshi Suzuishi, Honerva)
• Miss Machiko (1981) (Kenta Ikegami)
• Shin The Gutsy Frog (1981) (Hiroshi)
• Urusei Yatsura (1981) (Kintarō)
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982) (Esteban)
• Ginga Hyōryū Vifam series (1983) (Kentsu Norton)
• Igano Kabamaru (1983) (Sū Matsuno, young Kabamaru Igano)
• Bumpety Boo (1986) (Bumbo)
• Dragon Ball (1986) (Son Goku)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986) (Princess Ozma)
• Ai Shōjo Pollyanna Monogatari (1986) (Polly Harrington)
• Kamen no Ninja Akakage (1987) (Aokage)
• Soreike! Anpanman (1988) (Shichū Obasan)
• Aoi Blink (1989) (Kakeru)
• Dash! Yonkuro (1989) (Yonkuro Hinomaru)
• Dragon Ball Z (1989) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Gotenks, Vegetto)

1990s

• Jungle Emperor (1990) (Gibo)
• Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku (1990) (Bardock, Son Goku)
• Honō no Tōkyūji: Dodge Danpei (1991) (Chin'nen Kobotoke)
• Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks (1993) (Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball GT (1996) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gogeta, Son Goku Jr.)
• Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (1999) (Urara Nanjōin)
• Alice SOS (1999)

2000s

• Hamtaro (2000) (Ohamuba-san [Auntie Viv], Roko-chan's ["Laura"'s] Grandma)
• Love Hina (2000) (Hina Urashima)
• Kindaichi Case Files (2000) (Tomoyo Konta)
• One Piece (2001) (Doctor Kureha)
• Digimon Tamers (2001) (Guilmon, Dukemon, Narrator)
• A Little Snow Fairy Sugar (2001) (Regina Bergman)
• Case Closed (2001) (Furuyo Senma)
• Rockman EXE Beast+ (2002) (Electel Mama)
• Mirmo! (2003) (Kinta)
• Astro Boy (2004) (Anga)
• Digital Monster X-Evolution (2005) (Dukemon)
• Pokémon: Advanced (2005) (Masamune)
• Tsubasa Chronicle (2005) (Kaigyo)
• Kirarin Revolution (2006) (Grandmother)
• Love Get Chu (2006) (Takemiya-sensei)
• Naruto (2006) (Old Woman) episode 187–188
• Digimon Data Squad (2007) (Dukemon)
• Hatara Kizzu Maihamu Gumi (2007) (Gaudi)
• Hakaba Kitaro (2008) (Kitaro)
• Cross Game (2009) (Nomo)
• Dragon Ball Kai (2009) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Gotenks, Vegetto)
• Marie & Gali (2009) (Marie Curie)
• Shugo Chara! Shugo Chara!! Doki- Episode 75 (2009) (Maruyama Haruki)

2010s

• Yumeiro Patissiere (2010) (French Chairwoman)
• Keroro Gunso (2011) (Orara)
• Nichijou (2011) (Frill-necked lizard in episode 10)
• Tanken Driland (2012) (Bonny)
• One Piece (2013) (Goku, Gohan, Goten)
• Toriko (2013) (Goku, Gohan, Goten)
• Ping Pong (2014) (Obaba)
• Dragon Ball Super (2015) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks, Goku Black, Vegetto)
• Seiyu's Life! (2015) (Herself)
• Rage of Bahamut (TV series) (2017) (Ryuuzoku Zokuchou)
• Overlord (2018) Rigrit - Episode 01 - Season 2
• GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018) (Medama-oyaji)
• Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues (2018) Zawa Voice (001) - Episode 24
• Shinya! Tensai Bakabon (2018) Herself - Episode 01

2020s

• Digimon Adventure (2020) (Narrator, YukimiBotamon)
• The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil (2024) (Joe)
• Mysterious Disappearances (2024) (Station Attendant)
• Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (2024) (Draggie-kun)
• Dragon Ball Daima (2024) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten)

Original video animation (OVA)

• The Hakkenden (1990) (Kamezasa)
• Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1990) (Goku, Gohan, Turles)
• Iczer Girl Iczelion (1995) (Iczel)
• Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (2008) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (2010) (Goku, Gohan, Turles)
• Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011) (Bardock)

Original net animation (ONA)

• Super Dragon Ball Heroes (2018) (Son Goku, Son Goku (Xeno))
• Star Wars: Visions (2021) (T0-B1)

Theatrical animation

• Flying Phantom Ship (1969) (Hayato)
• 30,000 Miles Under the Sea (1970) (Isamu)
• Galaxy Express 999 (1979) (Tetsurō Hoshino)
• Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) (Son Goku)
• Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987) (Son Goku)
• Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988) (Son Goku)
• Hare Tokidoki Buta (1988) (Yamada-san)
• Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) (Tombo's friend with pink shirt and red jacket)
• Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Tullece)
• Kim's Cross (1990) (Kim Sae-Fan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (1991) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock)
• Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten)
• Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994) (Son Goku, Son Goten)
• Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gogeta, Gotenks)
• Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (1996) (Son Goku)
• Doraemon: Nobita Drifts in the Universe (1999) (Rogu)
• Ojarumaru (2000) (Semira)
• Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers (2001) (Guilmon)
• Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon (2002) (Guilmon)
• Doraemon: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom (2002) (Kururimpa)
• Oshare Majo Love and Berry: Shiawase no Mahou (2007) (Headmistress Izabera)
• Asura (2012) (Asura)
• Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles—Animal Adventure (2012) (Nobisuke)
• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• GAMBA (2015) (Tsuburi)
• Kaze no Yō ni (2016) (Sanpei)
• Kimi no Koe wo Todoketai (2017) (Nagisa's grandmother)
• Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu (2017) (Kitaro)
• Pokémon the Movie: Everyone's Story (2018) (Hisui)
• Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) (Son Goku, Son Goten, Gogeta, Bardock)
• Weathering with You (2019) (Fortune-teller)
• Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe (2023) (Medama-oyaji)

Computer and video games

• Battle Stadium D.O.N (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Super Robot Wars series (Oreana, Ropet, Cyclaminos)
• Digimon Park (Guilmon)
• Digimon Tamers Battle Evolution (Guilmon)
• Digimon Racing (Guilmon)
• Digimon Battle Chronicle (Guilmon)
• Dragon Ball series (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Turles, Vegetto, Gotenks, Gogeta, Goku Black)
• Egg Monster Hero 4 (Four-Dimensional Empress)
• Final Fantasy Type-0 (Commissar, Eumgyeong)
• Kingdom Hearts series (Merryweather)
• League of Legends (Wukong)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Old Woman)
• PoPoRoGue (Gilda)
• J-Stars Victory VS (Son Goku)
• Jump Force (Son Goku)

Puppet shows

• Nobi Nobi Non-chan (1990–1996) (Tame-kun, Ana-chan's mother, Kitsune's granny)
• Zawa Zawa Mori no Ganko-chan (1996–) (Kero-chan)

Dubbing roles

Live-action

• Babe (2002 NTV edition) (Esmé Hoggett (Magda Szubanski))
• Babe: Pig in the City (2004 NTV edition) (Esmé Hoggett (Magda Szubanski))
• End of Days (2001 TV Asahi edition) (Mabel (Miriam Margolyes))
• The Goonies (1988 TBS edition) (Clark, a.k.a., "Mouth" (Corey Feldman))
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Short Round (Ke Huy Quan))
• Last Action Hero (1996 Fuji TV edition) (Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien))
• Little Fockers (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner))
• Meet the Fockers (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner))
• Meet the Parents (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner))
• Ordinary People (Beth Jarrett (Mary Tyler Moore))
• The Poseidon Adventure (Robin Shelby (Eric Shea))
• Richie Rich (Richie (Macaulay Culkin))
• Switch (Maggie Philbin (Sharon Gless))
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1972 NET edition) (Jem Finch (Phillip Alford))
• Vanishing on 7th Street (James Leary (Jacob Latimore))

Animation

• Sleeping Beauty (1995 Buena Vista edition) (Merryweather)
• Maya the Bee (Willy) (2014 movie)
• Maya the Bee: The Honey Games (Willy)
• The Croods (Gran Crood)
• The Croods: A New Age (Gran Crood)
• Migration (Erin)

Live-action

• Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (2007, TV) (Kitarō's voice)
• Super Voice World: Yume to Jiyū to Happening (????, DVD)
• Sono Koe no Anata e (2022, Film) (Herself)
• Let's Talk About the Old Times (2022, Film) (Herself)

Tokusatsu

• Ambassador Magma (1967) (Gam's voice in episodes 41 and 42)
• Robot 110-Ban (1977) (Gan-chan's voice)
• Ultraman Story (1984) (young Ultraman Taro's voice)

Audio

• Seishun Adventure: Fūshin Engi (NHK-FM) (Nataku)
• CD Theater: Dragon Quest (Merusera)
• Doraemon Ondō (King Records cover)

Other Works

• Law of Ueki commercial for Shōnen Sunday (Kousuke Ueki)
• Naruhodo! The World (narration)
• NHK Kyōiku: Kagaku Daisukishi you Jaku (narration)
• Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!! (Goku, Gohan and Goten)
• Wakasa Seikatsu commercial (narration)
• The Wide Friday Ranking (narration)

Awards and Honors

See also

In Spanish: Masako Nozawa para niños