The battle to save the world may be over, but this 81-year-old voice acting veteran still has plenty of fight left in her.
As Goku and his merry band of friends walk away victorious from a climactic final battle, Dragon Ball Super closes its curtains after 131 action-packed episodes to make way for another franchise, GeGeGe no Kitaro.
After almost three years of non-stop high-speed combat, Masako Nozawa, the voice actress of main protagonist Goku, commented before the finale of the long-running series:
“The final episode got me so excited right from when I saw the title, so everyone, please watch it with enthusiasm. I’m quite certain you won’t walk away disappointed after finishing it. There’s proper closure and you’ll be dazzled from start to end. I can already hear fans shouting ‘Yeah!’, ‘I saw it’, ‘Let’s meet again!’”
▼ “It’s over? Nooo…”
Considering that there are no current, concrete plans for a TV continuation of the series, fans will have to wait a while before they get to see their favorite Super Saiyan again. But perhaps the person most affected by the sudden absence of Goku is Nozawa, the voice actress that brought to life one of the most epic anime characters for the past 32 years. She’s a venerable 81-year-old now, old enough to sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor.
▼ We’re going to miss him and her.
But instead of passing on the baton, she said that while the TV series might be done for now, she herself is far from finished.
“I’m overcome with emotion after finishing the recording of the finale. Goku will forever be Goku. The anime television series is taking a break for now, but there’s a movie coming in December. I’m hoping the series will continue before Goku’s escapades fade from everyone’s mind. I think Goku’s training will carry on because the world of Dragon Ball will never end!”
Japanese netizens voiced their approval:
“She’s amazing, working so hard as the protagonist for a shonen anime.”
“Dedicated to a lifetime of duty. Please take care of your health.”
“Please do a continuation.”
“I really love her commitment.”
“She’s become our national treasure.”
Kudos to Masako for keeping up the fight for all these years, and though it’s a little depressing that we won’t get to see Goku for a while, rest assured that he’ll reappear in December this year in an epic simultaneous worldwide movie release.
Source: Toei Animation via Hachima Kikou, Comic Natalie
Featured image: Twitter/@DB_super2015
Insert image: Pakutaso