Dragon Ball voice actors replaced in new French series

The historical French voice cast of the Dragon Ball franchise has been excluded from the upcoming series ‘Dragon Ball Daima,’ which is scheduled to air on the Gulli channel starting November 4.

Voice actors including Brigitte Lecordier (young Goku), Patrick Borg (adult Goku), Philippe Ariotti (Piccolo), Céline Monsarrat (Bulma), and Mark Lesser (Gohan) expressed their disappointment via a video on X. They stated that after two years of discussions with the Japanese production studio Toei Animation, they realized the goal was to replace them.

The actors clarified that the dispute was not about salary, with Lecordier confirming they were not asking for more money. Instead, the original cast refused to sign a new contract due to what they described as unacceptable conditions, such as restrictions on discussing their work or characters and requiring Toei’s authorization to attend conventions.

Lecordier suggested that the new dubbing may have been conducted in Belgium to reduce costs, though Monsarrat emphasized that the decision felt imposed rather than being purely financial.