Masako Nozawa:"Dragon Ball" Piccolo is "an indispensable person to Gohan" Reveals "bitter melon" episode with Toshio Furukawa

On July Getsuku, a pre-screening stage greeting for the theatrical version of the popular anime Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (to be released in 2022), based on the manga by the late Akira Toriyama, was held at Marunouchi TOEI (Chuo-ku, Tokyo), where voice actors for Son Goku, Gohan, and Goten, Masako Nozawa, appeared. The film features Gohan and Piccolo as main characters, and Nozawa said of Piccolo, "At first, I wondered what kind of person he was. But he gradually gets better. He's gotten so good that I can't live without him. He's an indispensable person for Gohan."

When asked about Toshio Furukawa, the voice actor who plays Piccolo, Nozawa began by saying, "I grow bitter melon and cucumbers in my vegetable garden," and continued, "I brought lots of bitter melon to the studio and asked everyone, 'Do you want to eat what I've grown?' and they said, 'No, you can buy it.' I wondered what that meant, and then Furukawa said, 'Can I have some?' After that, he was so skillful that he showed me pictures of him cooking it." He then drew laughter as he continued, "Everyone in our agency is nice, but Furukawa stands out from the crowd. He eats the bitter melon," he said.

"Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes" will be screened as part of the "Goodbye Marunouchi TOEI" project to mark the finale of Marunouchi TOEI, which will close on July 27. Before the screening, Nozawa performed his "last" Kamehameha at Marunouchi TOEI, and the venue was filled with thunderous applause.

"Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" is the first theatrical release since the 20th film "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" released in December 2018. Toriyama, the original author, was in charge of the script and character design. Tetsuro Kodama, who worked on the 3D parts of the previous film "Dragon Ball Super: Broly," served as director. Those who inherited the will of the Red Ribbon Army, an evil organization that was once destroyed by Son Goku, create new, strongest artificial humans, Gamma No. 1 and No. 2, who attack Piccolo, Son Gohan, and others.

It also garnered attention as its worldwide box office revenue exceeded 13.5 billion yen, making it the biggest hit in the history of "Dragon Ball."