Son Goku is voiced by Masako Nozawa in the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball. In the English dub, Goku is voiced by Sean Schemmel.

Japanese Voice Actor: Masako Nozawa

Date of Birth

October 25, 1936

About Masako

Masako Nozawa (野沢 雅子) is one of Japan’s most iconic and influential voice actresses, widely recognized as the definitive voice of Son Goku across the Dragon Ball franchise since the first anime adaptation in 1986. She’s also famously known for voicing multiple members of Goku’s family line (including Gohan and Goten) and has maintained an active career spanning decades, across TV anime, theatrical animation, and games.

Hometown

Nozawa was born in the Nippori area of Arakawa, Tokyo (Tokyo Prefecture), Japan.

Career Highlights

  • Dragon Ball franchise (1986–present): The long-running, signature role—Son Goku—plus related roles such as Son Gohan, Son Goten, and others across the franchise.

  • GeGeGe no Kitarō: Voiced Kitarō (a defining early lead role in her career).

  • Galaxy Express 999: Voiced Tetsurō Hoshino, another cornerstone role in classic anime history.

  • Digimon Tamers: Voiced Guilmon, a standout role for a newer generation of anime fans.

Full Current Filmography

Below is a documented selection of credited roles drawn from the cited references (and may not be exhaustive, given how large her credits are across decades and how different databases catalog them).

Anime television series (selected)

  • Wolf Boy Ken (1963)

  • Astro Boy (1963) — Boy robot

  • Sally, the Witch (1966) — Tonkichi Hanamura, Kanta Hanamura

  • GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968) — Kitarō

  • Tiger Mask (1969) — Kenta

  • Dragon Ball (starting 1986) — Son Goku (and key related roles across the franchise)

  • Galaxy Express 999 (1978) — Tetsurō Hoshino

  • Digimon Tamers — Guilmon

Computer and video games (selected)

  • Battle Stadium D.O.N — Son Goku, Son Gohan

  • Super Robot Wars series — (various roles listed in credits)

  • Digimon Park — Guilmon

  • Digimon Tamers Battle Evolution — Guilmon

  • Digimon Racing — Guilmon

  • Digimon Battle Chronicle — Guilmon

Critical Reception

Nozawa is frequently cited as a pioneer of Japanese voice acting, with her work as Goku treated as era-defining—and formally recognized through major honors.

  • She became the first voice actor selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government (reported in 2025 coverage and referenced in major summaries of her career).

  • Her long-running performance as Goku in games earned Guinness World Records related to the longevity of voicing the same character in video games.

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Social Media

No verified official social media accounts for Masako Nozawa were found in the cited references above.

English Voice Actor: Sean Schemmel

Date of Birth

November 21, 1968

About Sean

Sean Schemmel is the best-known English voice of Son Goku in the Dragon Ball franchise, voicing Goku’s older teen/adult incarnations across multiple series, films, and games since 1999. Beyond acting, he’s also worked as an ADR director and scriptwriter (including work with NYAV Post) and has credits in major anime dubs, Western animation, and games.

Hometown

Waterloo, Iowa, United States

Career Highlights

  • Dragon Ball franchise (1999–present): Adult Goku (and frequent related roles such as King Kai, Goku Black, Vegito, Gogeta, etc., depending on title).

  • Pokémon (various dubs/eras): Notably Lucario (and additional roles listed across the franchise).

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! (dub roles): Multiple characters across 5D’s and Zexal.

  • Video games: Lucario (Super Smash Bros.), plus extensive Dragon Ball game work as Goku and fusion counterparts.

  • Audiobook narration: Winner (Humor) at the Audie Awards for I Suck at Girls (Justin Halpern), narrated by Sean Schemmel.

Full Current Filmography

The credits below reflect documented, citable roles from the listed sources and may not be exhaustive (credits can vary across databases and ongoing projects). Primary compilation source: Schemmel’s filmography tables/entries.

Anime TV / OVA dubbing (selected documented credits)

  • Dragon Ball Z (1999–2003; 2005) — Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito (Funimation dub; Vegito shared in some contexts).

  • Dragon Ball (2001–2003) — Teen Goku (Funimation dub).

  • Dragon Ball GT (2003–2005) — Adult Goku, King Kai, SS4 Gogeta (Funimation dub; some shared credits).

  • Dragon Ball Z Kai (2010–2013; 2017–2018) — Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito.

  • Dragon Ball Super (2017–2019) — Goku, King Kai, Goku Black, Vegito (Funimation dub).

  • Dragon Ball Daima (2025) — Goku (episodes credited in the filmography table).

  • Shaman King (2003–2005) — Amidamaru, Rio, Nichrom.

  • Pokémon (2003–2015; 2020–present) — Lucario (Sir Aaron’s), plus multiple additional roles listed (various dub companies/eras).

  • Berserk (2002) — Gaston, Conrad, others (dub).

  • Blue Gender (2001) — Rick.

  • Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2010 OVA; 2016 TV) — Flaste Schole.

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (2008–2011) — multiple roles (incl. Greiger listed).

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (2011–2015) — Bronk Stone, Orbital 7, Kazuma Tsukumo.

  • Mars Red (2021) — Yoshinobu Maeda.

Anime feature films (documented credits)

  • Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2014) — Goku, King Kai (English dub).

  • Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ (2015) — Goku.

  • Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019) — Goku, Gogeta (English dub; some shared credit contexts noted).

  • Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) — Goku.

  • Time of Eve (2014) — Katoran (English dub credit listed).

Dragon Ball Z movies (dub credits listed)

  • Lord Slug (2001) — Goku (adult), King Kai.

  • Cooler’s Revenge (2002) — Goku.

  • The Return of Cooler (2002) — Goku.

  • Super Android 13! (2003) — Goku, King Kai.

  • Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (2003) — Goku, King Kai.

  • Bojack Unbound (2004) — Goku, King Kai.

  • Broly – Second Coming (2005) — Goku.

  • Bio-Broly (2005) — Goku.

  • Dead Zone (redub) (2005) — Goku.

Western animation (documented credits)

  • Winx Club (2006–2007) — Valtor (4Kids version).

  • Kappa Mikey (2006–2008) — Gonard.

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003–2009) — various characters.

  • Chaotic (2006–2010) — Maxxor, Ulmar.

  • Speed Racer: The Next Generation (2008–2009) — Racer X / Rex Racer, narrator, and more.

Video games (documented credits)

  • Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (2009) — Goku, Vegito, Gogeta.

  • Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (2010) — Goku, Nail, Vegito, Gogeta.

  • Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi (2011) — Goku, King Kai, Vegito, Gogeta.

  • Dragon Ball Xenoverse (2015) — Goku, Tokitoki, Vegito, Gogeta.

  • Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (2016) — Goku (+ multiple related roles incl. Goku Black, fusions).

  • Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018) — Goku, Goku Black, Vegito, Gogeta.

  • Dragon Ball Legends (2018) — Goku, Vegito, Gogeta, Goku Black, Nail (mobile).

  • Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (2020) — Goku, King Kai, Nail, Vegito.

  • Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (2024) — Goku (+ multiple related roles listed).

  • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (2014) — Lucario.

  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) — Lucario (archive audio).

  • Fallout 4 (2015) — Strong, Marc Wilson, additional roles listed.

  • Smite (2014) — Sun Wukong (and other listed voice work).

Critical Reception

Schemmel’s performance as Goku is broadly treated as the definitive modern English portrayal of the character, largely because he’s remained the most consistent adult English Goku across the franchise’s major series, films, and games since 1999.

He’s also earned industry recognition in audiobook narration, including:

  • Audie Award (Humor) winner — I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern, narrated by Sean Schemmel (HarperAudio).

  • AudioFile Earphones Award — The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo, read by Sean Schemmel (AudioFile review notes it as an Earphones Award winner).

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Social Media

Verified/official links that are publicly presented as his:

Published by Limarc Ambalina

Limarc Ambalina is the founder of Japan Bound, a website covering all things Japan — from travel and culture to anime, manga, and pop culture. He is also the Director of Content at ISNation and the former VP of Editorial at HackerNoon. Based in Japan, he has been writing about Japanese life and entertainment since 2019, growing the site to over 2.4 million views.

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