Dragon Ball is one of the most legendary franchises ever created. The amount of success the anime genre has acclaimed over the years can be directly attributed to the late Akira Toriyama sensei. Without him, the genre would have never been as successful as it is today as he penned one of the greatest fictional stories ever. Due to his love for the story, he was involved with the anime and made sure to be present for the audio selections for the characters as well.
He wanted his work to reach its full potential, which translated into getting involved in the anime production. Although he was present, he didn’t use his authority to select voice actors, and simply used to pass remarks. However, there was one voice actor who was blessed, as Akira Toriyama sensei chose her himself.
If your guesses are either Goku or Vegeta, then you are mistaken, as the character for whom he decided the VA himself was Krillin and the voice actor in question was Mayumi Tanaka.
Akira Toriyama himself picked the voice actor for Krillin in Dragon Ball
The popularity and influence of Akira Toriyama’s magnum opus extend beyond the anime world, with even those not familiar with the genre recognizing characters such as Goku and Vegeta. The story acted as a bridge between the global audience and the anime genre.
The Dragon Ball franchise began in 1984 and went on to achieve an unprecedented amount of success, amassing over $23 billion. A few years later, TOEI adapted the manga into an anime, which significantly boosted the series’ popularity.
One of the most original characters ever introduced is Krillin, who is also the best friend of Goku and has been by his side since they were children trained by Master Roshi. Thanks to Krillin: we witnessed the greatest transformation in anime history.
Akira Toriyama sensei cared deeply about his story, so he was involved in the anime production. During the voice actor selection process, Toriyama-sensei was present and gave his input about the individuals.
It might be surprising to hear that the only character who had the luxury of having their voice actor selected personally by Toriyama-sensei was none other than Krillin. When Akira Toriyama sensei heard Mayumi Tanaka’s voice, he was impressed.
In a Daizenshuu interview held at his residence in 1995, he said:
I was there for the selection of the major roles. Also, Kuririn’s was the only voice where I specified the actress, Mayumi Tanaka-san, by name. When I saw Night on the Galactic Railroad1, I mentioned, “this voice is really good” in reference to the main character, and a friend knowledgeable about voice actors told me, “that’s Mayumi Tanaka-san“.
This decision ended up proving beneficial, as fans loved the voice actor. No matter his age, his love for his work never decreased.
More on Dragon Ball
The last ever project our beloved Toriyama-sensei worked on was Dragon Ball Daima, which is scheduled to be released this year. Ever since his demise, fans can barely wait to see his final work before he left this world due to an acute subdural hematoma.
Despite his constant struggle with health, he still worked to the best of his abilities to give fans a good product. He proved that age is just a number and got more involved in the project than he himself expected to.
The plot of the upcoming sequel is going to revolve around Goku and Z fighters who have been converted into children and have to fight an evil force to regain their natural bodies. Before the demise of Toriyama-sensei, the sequel was a joyful event as the series returned after many years.
However, now, it would be a constant reminder of how great Akira Toriyama sensei was and how lucky we were to be able to witness this amazing story.
Watch the journey of Son Goku as he makes his way from a mere mortal to an individual who stands on equal footing with the gods on Crunchyroll.
