Now that we're eighteen episodes into DragonBall Kai, I decided it was time to update the "Cast Guide" with all of the recent casting changes. In addition, you'll find I've added many returning cast members that we never got around to adding earlier. I also updated all of the cast biographies and the complete cast listing to reflect the DragonBall Kai credits. I think this should give everyone a pretty good overview of the cast for non-returning, returning/reassigned, and new cast members. Here's a "quick" breakdown:

Non-Returning Cast

• Hayami Shou (Zarbon)
  For reasons unknown, he will not be returning to reprise his role as Zarbon in DragonBall Kai. However, this may be due to his involvement in the current anime series 07-Ghost where he is voicing the main protagonist, Ayanami. The series premiered on April 6, 2009, the day after the premiere of DragonBall Kai. Though I'd have to say that if this is the case, it's a pretty lame one considering Tanaka Mayumi returned to reprise her roles as Krillin, Yajirobe, and Uranai Baba while also voicing the main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, in the current hit anime series One Piece. Nevertheless, it's interesting to speculate.
• Hori Hideyuki (Ginyu)
  I'll be honest, I only added Hori Hideyuki because he's Hori Yukitoshi's brother and I wanted to be able to reference them in each other's biographies. You should note that there has been absolutely no confirmation whether Hori Hideyuki will, or will not, be returning to provide the voice of Ginyu in DragonBall Kai. Please do not spread this as fact.
• Hori Yukitoshi (Dodoria / Artificial Human No. 19)
  For reasons unknown, he will not be returning to reprise his role as Dodoria in DragonBall Kai. However, there has been no official announcement as to whether he will return to reprise the role of Artificial Human No. 19.
• Nishio Toku (Mister Popo / South Kaio)
  He provided the original voices for both Mister Popo and South Kaio. Though sadly, he passed away on 19 July 2005.
• Suzuoki Hirotaka (Tenshinhan)
  The original voice of Tenshinhan. Sadly, he passed away on 6 August 2006 as a result of lung cancer.

The following cast members have either returned to reprise their main roles in DragonBall Kai or were once involved in the original series, but have returned and reassigned to voice other characters.    

• Emori Hiroko (Chaozu)
  Reprising her original role as Chaozu.
• Horikawa Ryou (Vegeta)
  Reprising his original role as Vegeta.
• Inada Tetsu (Nappa)
  He originally voiced numerous minor roles throughout DragonBall GT and has returned to replace Iizuka Shouzou as Nappa.
• Kawadzu Yasuhiko (Mister Popo)
  After providing the voices for many minor roles throughout DragonBall Z and DragonBall GT, he returned to voice the role of Mister Popo in DragonBall Kai, replacing Nishio Toku.
• Midorikawa Hikaru (Tenshinhan)
  The original voice of Artificial Human No. 16 and Paikuhan, he returned to take over the role of Tenshinhan, replacing Suzuoki Hirotaka who passed away in August 2006.
• Numata Yuusuke (Gregory)
  The original voice of the brothers Ikose and Idasa, and eventually the voice of the Tsufuru-jin Baby in DragonBall GT. He returned to take over the role Kaio's cricket assistant Gregory, replacing Mitsuya Yuuji.

New Cast

• Fujimoto Takahiro (Umigame / Bubbles)
  His first DragonBall related role was that of a reporter covering the opening of Mr. Satan's hotel in the Jump Super Anime Tour special, "Heya! Son Goku and Friends Return!!". He later returned to take over the roles of Umigame and Bubbles in DragonBall Kai.
• Hirano Aya (Dende)
  She is a young, and very famous, seiyuu and J-Pop artist in Japan and will be replacing the belated Suzuki Tomiko as the young Dende. She has performed the theme songs to some of the anime series she has worked on in the past, which makes you wonder if that will be the case with DragonBall Kai.
• Miura Hiroaki (Zarbon)
  Replacing Hayami Shou as Zarbon.
• Nagasako Takashi (Dodoria)
  Replacing Hori Yukitoshi as Dodoria.
• Satou Satomi (Cargo)
  Replacing the belated Suzuki Tomiko as Dende's brother Cargo.
• Takemoto Eiji (Kui)
  Replacing Totani Kouji as Kui.

Wow, that's 17 new biographies! It's funny, because I had originally only planned on doing 4 of them. Oh well, hopefully there's enough there to keep everyone busy for a while, and of course up-to-date on the latest casting changes. If there's anyone I left out that you think deserves a dedicated biography, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

As a special bonus, I've included some photos I came across on Horikawa Ryou's blog while writing up his biography. They're actually a little old; he posted them after the first DragonBall Kai recording session. The first picture is a photo of Horikawa Ryou holding the script book for the first episode of DragonBall Kai, while the second is a group photo of the main cast. Enjoy!


Links: Cast Guide, Complete Cast Listing