Voice of One Piece's Hannyabal, Votoms: Pailsen Files' Kochak, Dragon Ball Super's Gowasu

The talent management agency Enkikaku announced on Thursday that voice and stage actor Tetsuo Goto passed away on November 6 at 12:23 p.m. due to esophageal cancer. He was 68.

Goto was born in Gifu Prefecture in 1950. He joined the acting training unit En Engeki Kenkyūjo in 1975, and joined the main Engeki Shūdan En group in the following year. He has since appeared in many stage productions including Sakura no Kuni (Country of Cherry Blossoms). He also appeared in the live-action film Taiyō wa Nakanai (The Sun Does Not Cry).

Goto's many anime voice roles include Hannyabal in One Piece, Dare Kochak in Armored Trooper Votoms: Pailsen Files, Gowasu in Dragon Ball Super, Arvind Ravy in Planetes, Derflinger in The Familiar of Zero, Dr. Sonoida in Dinosaur King, and Tetsuto Mifune in KADO - The Right Answer. He also voiced the yōkai Otoroshi in the live-action tokusatsu (special effects) series Shuriken Sentai Ninninger.

Fellow One Piece and Dragon Ball voice actor Shigeru Chiba posted on Twitter on Thursday evening that he just heard about Goto's passing. Chiba added that he cannot forget Goto's earnest, no-nonsense approach to his roles in the studio, and Chiba prayed for Goto's soul at rest.

Sources: Enkikaku, Sports Nippon via My Game News Flash