She is one of the most recognised voices in Japan, voicing legendary characters like Dragon Ball’s Son Goku, Gohan, and Goten, as well as GeGeGe No Kitaro’s titular character. However, it seems that Masako Nozawa is not impressed at all with the modern seiyuu of today.
The 55-year anime industry legend may have inspired an entire generation of seiyuu, however, in an interview with fellow legendary seiyuu, Fumi Hirano (Urusei Yatsura’s original Lum invader) for an otoCoto feature, she (Nozawa) expressed her opinions on the matter.
“[Modern voice actors] just watch anime and copy what they hear, so what they do sounds like copy of a copy of a copy. As a result, the depth and breadth of anime voice acting is dwindling rapidly.”
Ouch! However, she did have some advice for young seiyuu after she was asked for it by Hirano. She said that:
“Aspiring seiyuu should build a repertoire by studying the world around them rather than mimicking other voice acting.”
The 79-year old seiyuu is still quite active in the industry, and is STILL voicing Goku, Gohan, and Goten in Dragon Ball Super. In her 55 years in the anime industry, she has seen a lot, so young seiyuu should surely heed her advice.
Source: Crunchyroll