Recast As A Regular / Anime & Manga

Naruto

• Sai's actor Satoshi Hino first appeared late in a Part I filler as Akio. Plus Rikiya Koyama appeared in an earlier filler arc as Hotarubi before being cast as Yamato.
• Nobuo Tobita voiced Ebisu in only the second episode of the anime before getting the role of Zetsu.
• Keiko Nemoto was firstly the voice of lady ANBU Yūgao Uzuki before becoming better known as Shizune and Tonton.
• Subverted with Akiko Koike, who first voiced Kin Tsuchi before replacing Ikue Otani as Konohamaru in the opening arc of Shippūden. When Konohamaru returned later on, however, Otani resumed the role for the remainder of the show.
• Long before Hanabi Hyūga became important, her actress Kiyomi Asai voiced Ageha, a poor girl from the Land of Waves whom Sakura gave food to.
• Hisao Egawa previously played Fukusuke Hikyakuya in the Land of Tea filler arc, plus Kongō in the third movie Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, before voicing the one-and-only Killer Bee in Shippūden. Gyūki's actor, Masaki Aizawa, also appeared earlier in the Land of Rice Fields filler as ninja-turned-gangster Hanzaki Fūma.
• Kenyuu Horiuchi briefly appeared as Second Hokage Tobirama Senju during Part I before going on to voice Pain in Shippūden. Things became full circle when Tobirama revived again in a larger role long after Pain's demise.
  • Speaking of Pain, the voice of his main body Nagato, Junpei Morita, was previously Hōki in the final pre-Shippūden filler.
• Long before becoming the voice of Tobi, Wataru Takagi played Iruka's rain ninja disguise for a filler section of the Chūnin Exams. Naoya Uchida, Tobi's "Madara" voice plus the real Madara Uchiha, had also previously voiced Suien in the Waterfall Village OVA.
• Hidan and Deidara's actors, Masaki Terasoma and Katsuhiko Kawamoto, previously voiced Renga and Ruiga of the Janin during a pre-Shippūden filler arc. Jiga's actor, Tadahisa Saizen, had also previously played Kagerō Fūma's male form and Mist ANBU Tsurugi before he was cast as Ao in Shippūden.
• Yutaka Aoyama had already voiced the Elder Moya Brother in the infamous "Kakashi's True Face" filler before being cast as Sasori's Hiruko guise.
• Karin's original actress, Kanako Tojo, was originally Sand kunoichi Maki and several other inconsequential parts. Her successor as Karin, Toa Yukinari, had also previously voiced Nagato's mother Fuso, Leaf ANBU Yūgao Uzuki during Pain's Invasion, and Akane from the Land of Waves.
• Takashi Kondo previously voiced a ninja chef and a samurai bodyguard in some Part I fillers, as well as Sai's later brother Shin, before getting to play Suigetsu Hōzuki. Jūgo's actor, Shuhei Sakaguchi, was first the voice of Kiyoyasu Kagetsu in the infamous "Laughing Shino" episode.
• Toshiyuki Morikawa was previously Kimimaro before he became the voice of the Fourth Hokage himself, Minato Namikaze.
• Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's actor, Tomomichi Nishimura, had previously voiced minor character Hachidai in the Curry of Life filler arc. His bodyguard Akatsuchi's voice, Kenta Miyake, was also previously Jirōbō of the Sound Ninja Four.
• Katsumi Cho was previously the voice of a Hyūga clan elder before he voiced Land of Iron general Mifune.
• Kenjiro Tsuda previously appeared in a late filler episode as all-around Jerkass Shin'emon before becoming the definitive voice of Leaf jōnin Aoba Yamashiro.
• Kunihiro Kawamoto was the original voice for Sound Ninja spy Misumi Tsurugi before returning in Shippūden as Cloud ninja cuckoolander Omoi. Darui's actor, Ryota Takeuchi, had previously voiced a Leaf ANBU in the Three-Tails filler arc.
• Long before playing Shiho, Shiho Hisajima would voice Uroko Kurama in the Kurama Clan filler arc from Part I.
• Ikuo Nishikawa first appeared in Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow as Sandayu Asada and later as elderly miner Sukeza before being cast as frog sage Fukasaku. Yoji Ueda was the voice of Rain genin Mubi before he played Gamakichi and Atsushi Ono appeared as Gozu in the Three-Tails arc plus some extras in earlier episodes before voicing Gamaken. Gamamaru's actor, Mitsuo Senda, had previously voiced a villain, Shinayakana, in a standalone filler in Part I.
• Haruhi Terada voiced Tsunade's childhood self in flashbacks and Karenbana in Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, before appearing as Rin Nohara, who'd be pivotal to Tobi's motivation in the series.
• The Second Mizukage's actor, Hideyuki Umezu, had previously voiced Amachi in the Land of the Sea filler arc.
• The Second Tsuchikage's actor Osamu Mukai had previously cut his teeth on the holy man who would become Pain's Jigokudō body in the Jiraiya's Ninja Scrolls special.

• Houko Kuwashima played the Arrancar Cirucci Sanderwicci in Bleach before she took over for the ailing Tomoko Kawakami ^note (who died the year before the anime ended) as Soifon. She also took over for Kawakami as Fuyuki Hinata in Sgt. Frog after playing Meru in the 2007 Sgt. Frog movie The Deep Sea Princess.
• Case Closed:
  • Ryō Horikawa played the Victim of the Week in the 6th episode before later playing Shinichi's fellow detective Heiji Hattori.
  • Rikiya Koyama had several minor roles throughout the franchise, including Tadaki Kai in The Mirapolis Investigation video game, before he succeeded Akira Kamiya as Kogoro Mori.
• Several from Digimon
  • Enzo Fortuny voiced Frigimon and Pumpkinmon in the Mexican Spanish dub of Digimon Adventure before replacing Gerry Mesa as Tai during Digimon Adventure 02.
  • Tamara Guzman voiced Tai's mom and Terriermon from Digimon: The Movie before voicing Kari and Gatomon in 02.
  • On the Japanese side, Reiko Kiuchi voiced a Koromon in episode 12 of Adventure before she was cast as Daisuke/Davis in 02.
• Doraemon:
  • Tomokazu Seki had several roles in a few of the movies, most prominently young Suneo in 2000's A Grandmother's Recollections. Seki took up the role of Suneo full-time when the voice cast changed in 2005.
  • Masako Nozawa voiced Botako, a minor character with seven episodes to her credit, in the 1973 anime, before she took over for Kousei Tomita as the title character in the second half.
• Dragon Ball:
  • Takeshi Aono voiced Ninja Murasaki in the Red Ribbon Army arc and later returned as King Piccolo and Kami.
  • Toshio Furukawa played minor villain General Blue during the Red Ribbon Army arc. He later returned to the franchise two years later as Goku's enemy turned eventual ally Piccolo.
  • Ryō Horikawa appears in one episode reprising his role as Charmy from Doctor Slump. He showed up again one series later in Dragon Ball Z as franchise mainstay Vegeta.
  • Masaharu Sato voiced many one-episode characters throughout the original Dragon Ball series, including the Bear Thief in Episode 3 and a Rabbit Gang member in Episode 9, before he was cast as Staff Officer Black. He also voiced Master Roshi in Wrath of the Dragon following Kouhei Miyauchi's death, but he wouldn't take over for Roshi fulltime until Kai.
  • Ryūsei Nakao played Tamborine in the King Piccolo arc and returned a few years later to play the even-more iconic Big Bad Freeza.
  • Hikaru Midorikawa had a few minor roles throughout Z: a batter in episode 10, one of Freeza's men and Spice of Garlic Jr.'s Spice Boys. He was subsequently cast in the more substantial roles of Android 16 and Pikkon, before he took over for Hirotaka Suzuoki as Tenshinhan beginning with Kai.
  • Takeshi Kusao is in an early filler episode of Dragon Ball Z as Pigero, a one-shot character who helps out Gohan. He returns over a hundred episodes later as Breakout Character Trunks. Aya Hisakawa played Chiko in the same episode, then returned nearly thirty years later to assume the role of Bulma after the death of her longtime actress, Hiromi Tsuru.
  • Kōzō Shioya provided the voice of Guldo from the Ginyu Force during the Freeza Saga in Dragon Ball Z. He would return over 100 episodes later to portray the anime's final major antagonist, Majin Buu.
  • Kōichi Yamadera portrayed Tenshinhan for a few episodes in Dragon Ball Z when Hirotaka Suzuoki was unavailable. He returned to the franchise over two decades later to play Beerus in the films Battle of Gods and Resurrection 'F' and the TV series Dragon Ball Super.
  • Masakazu Morita played Vegeta's younger brother Tarble in the OVA Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and returned a few years later to voice Whis beginning with Battle of Gods.
  • Houko Kuwashima voiced the blind boy who meets Majin Boo in Dragon Ball Z Kai (substituting for Megumi Hayashibara, who voiced him in Z), and was later cast as Android 21 beginning with Dragon Ball Fighter Z.
  • Hiroshi Kamiya previously voiced two bit characters in Dragon Ball GT, specifically Pan's date Poperu in episode 1 and Ronge in episode 25, yet this was so early in his career ^note  Hiroshi Kamiya's career didn't take off until the late 2000's that you'd be forgiven for thinking his role as Gamma 1 in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was his first time voicing in DB.
  • Mitsuaki Madono, who took over as Tenshinhan in-between Hirotaka Suzuoki's death and the beginning of Kai, returned in The Final Chapters in the slightly more substantial role of Gohan's classmate, Sharpner.
  • Hidekatsu Shibata voiced King Chappa and Darkness (the guardian of the Ultra Divine Water) in Dragon Ball, but he didn't come back to the series until GT, where he voiced the anime's final Big Bad, Syn Shenron.
  • For the English dub, Monica Rial had a minor role as Coco in the film Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming. Five years later she would take over as the new voice actress for Bulma after Tiffany Volmer's retirement beginning with Dragon Ball Z Kai.
  • Also for the English dub, Colleen Clinkenbeard provided the voice of Zangya in Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, before later taking over more substantial roles in the franchise as Mai beginning with the third game in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, Kid Gohan beginning with Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Kid Goku beginning with Curse of the Blood Rubies.
  • Kyle Hebert played several minor characters, in addition to a minor recurring role as the Ox-King, before being cast as the voice of the older Gohan and The Narrator starting in the Majin Buu Saga.
  • In the Latin Spanish dub, Mario Castañeda's first roles were Colonel Silver of the Red Ribbon Army, and Pamput, Goku's first opponent in the finals of the second tournament. He would go on to voice Goku himself as an adult, becoming the character's most iconic voice in the process.
• In Fist of the North Star, Kaneto Shiozawa voiced a side character of the week named Dr. Duran several episodes before the debut of his iconic role as Rei.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • Unshō Ishizuka played Huskisson, a Starter Villain in the film Conqueror of Shamballa that continued from the Fullmetal Alchemist (2003). When Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, the anime that followed the original manga story closer, was made four years later, he portrayed Ed and Al's father, Hohenheim.
  • Nana Mizuki first portrayed Armony in the PS2 video game Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel before getting cast in the 2003 anime as Wrath and in Brotherhood as Lanfan.
  • Fumiko Orikasa voiced one-shot character Lydia in episode 35 of the 2003 anime, then voiced Riza Hawkeye in Brotherhood.
  • In the English dub of Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Kent Williams played Majihal, a one-shot villain in the fourth episode. When Brotherhood was dubbed in English he played the main villain, Father.
• Gundam:
  • Keiko Han appeared early on in Mobile Suit Gundam as the doomed Icelina Eschonbach, and returned in the final stretch as the doomed Lalah Sune.
  • Kazuki Yao had several minor roles in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, including Sorama and Gates Capa, before getting cast as Judau Ashta in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. Beecha and Mondo's voice actors were actually in Zeta too as AEUG crew-members Astonaige Medoz and Saegusa respectively.
  • Contrary to popular belief, Tomokazu Seki didn't start his Gundam role as Domon Kasshu, but as Tomache Massarik from Mobile Suit Victory Gundam. Similarly, Hikaru Midorikawa actually voiced a minor character named Lee Ron in Victory before going on as Heero Yuy.
  • Lynn went from having a guest role in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans as Masahiro Altland during childhood flashbacks to voicing Deuteragonist Miorine Rembran in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. Also from the anime are Natsuki Hanae, who previously voiced Biscuit Griffon before being cast as Elan Ceres, and Makoto Furukawa who previously voiced Zack Lowe before being cast as Shaddiq Zenneli.
• Inuyasha:
  • Akiko Yajima voiced Yura in episode 4 and later returned to voice Kohaku.
  • Makoto Yasumura voiced Kinka in episode 5 of The Final Act, then returned in the sequel series, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, to succeed the late Kouji Tsujitani as Miroku.
• In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Jun'ichi Suwabe voiced minor antagonist D'Arby Younger from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders was later cast as Leone Abbacchio in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind.
  • Ray Chase previously voiced supporting/villain characters such as Loggins in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency and Rubber Soul in Stardust Crusaders before being casted as Bucciarati.
  • Ditto for a number of cast members from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. Phillip Reich (Yuya Fungami) voices Giorno, Sean Chiplock (Toyohiro Kanedaichi) voices Mista, and Kellen Goff (Nijimura's father) voices Diavolo.
  • Kira Buckland voiced a classmate of Jotaro's in Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders before appearing in Diamond is Unbreakable as Reimi Sugimoto, then a few more bit parts before landing Jolyne Kujo, the main character of Stone Ocean.
• Lupin III:
  • Kōichi Yamadera had some guest spots in several movies, such as Michael Suzuki in Crisis in Tokyo, before succeeding Gorō Naya as Inspector Zenigata in 2011.
  • Akio Ōtsuka also guest-starred in several of the movies, notably Chris in Farewell to Nostradamus, before succeeding Kiyoshi Kobayashi as Jigen in 2021.
• One Piece:
  • Takeshi Aono voiced the character Ganzo in the first movie shortly before getting a more substantial role as Dracule Mihawk. His eventual successor in the latter role, Hirohiko Kakegawa, was Hamburg in the Long Ring Long Land arc.
  • Kazuki Yao played minor recurring villains Django and Mr. 2 Bon Clay before playing Franky, one of the members of the Straw Hat crew.
  • The same goes for fellow Straw Hat Brook, whose voice actor, Cho, previously played minor characters Barbarossa and Henzo.
  • Kazue Ikura stood-in for Ikue Otani as Tony Tony Chopper when the latter went on maternity leave, and later returned as Sentomaru.
  • Fumihiko Tachiki voiced minor antagonist Don Krieg early on before his role as one of the story's biggest antagonists, (Fleet) Admiral Akainu.
  • Akio Ōtsuka voiced Captain Joke in the first Special a few years before he started voicing major recurring antagonist Blackbeard.
  • Tōru Furuya played filler character Daddy Masterson in Episode 50, then returned a few hundred or so episodes later as the adult Sabo.
  • Hiroshi Kamiya had a handful of minor roles, including a mook pirate in the very first episode and Bellamy’s navigator Eddy, long before being cast as Post Time Skip mainstay, Trafalgar Law.
  • Katsuhisa Hoki voiced Thriller Bark villain Gecko Moria before he got cast as eventual Straw Hat Jinbe, who was voiced by Daisuke Gōri in his first three episodes.
• Aoi Yūki voiced minor recurring character Aika Nakamura in Persona 4: The Animation before voicing main party member Futaba Sakura in Persona 5. Ditto for Aika's English voice actor Cassandra Lee Morris, who would later on voice main party member Morgana.
• Pokémon: The Series
  • After playing major characters in the first three movies, Amy Birnbaum was eventually cast as Max in Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire.
  • After the controversial cast change of the English dub in Season 8 that only retained Jimmy Zoppi and Kayzie Rogers, Zoppi went on to take over for both Team Rocket's James and Meowth in addition to his original (recurring) character Gary Oak, while Rogers took over for Max in addition to her recurring roles Professor Ivy and Wobbuffet. In fact Rogers was even intended to take over for protagonist Ash Ketchum but the backlash for her performance was so severe that they hired Sarah Natochenny to take over Ash altogether.
  • Etsuko Kozakura voiced the posthumous clone Bulbasaur in Pokémon: The First Movie before being cast as Dawn's Piplup starting Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
  • Both the Japanese and English voices for Clemont from Pokémon the Series: XY were first cast as rescue workers in Pokémon the Series: Black & White. Japanese actor Yūki Kaji voiced Virgil of the Pokémon Rescue Squad, while American actor Mike Liscio voiced Halsey of the Harbor Patrol.
  • Minori Suzuki voiced One-Shot Character Regina from Pokémon Journeys: The Series before being cast as Liko, the main protagonist of Pokémon Horizons: The Series.
  • Yuka Terasaki voiced a number of Pokémon including Ash's Fletchling/Flechinder and Noibat along with Korrina in Pokémon the Series: XY and Journeys, alongside a number of one-shot and Recurring Characters throughout the series starting from Pokémon the Series: Black & White, before being cast as Roy, the deuteragonist of Pokémon Horizons: The Series.
• Although the All Stars-recognized Pretty Cures tend to have one completely different voice actress each, some of them had voiced minor characters before voicing Precures.
  • Junko Takeuchi voiced Kenta Hoshino before voicing Cure Rouge.^note Apparently, this does have its perks because he is one of the few minor characters with a speaking role in Pretty Cure All Stars.
  • Mariya Ise voiced Mari Yamaguchi before voicing Cure Lemonade.
  • Ai Nagano voiced Yoshimi Takenouchi and Seekun before voicing Cure Mint (and also her identical Cool Big Sis).
  • Eri Sendai voiced Shiho Kubota and Harmonin before voicing Milky Rose.
  • Kanae Oki voiced several students and Aki Yamamoto before voicing Cure Peach.
  • Akiko Nakagawa voiced Chiaki Yabe, Kaya Andou, and a woman before voicing Cure Pine.
  • Fumie Mizusawa voiced Miu Kagamiya and Eternalun before voicing Cure Marine.
  • Ami Koshimizu voiced the wannabe Cure, Natsuko Koshino before voicing Cure Melody.
  • Fumiko Orikasa voiced Katsuko Nagasawa and Azusa Takagishi before voicing Cure Rhythm.
  • Misato Fukuen voiced a boy named Tomoya before voicing Cure Happy.
  • Chinami Nishimura voiced Dark Dream before voicing Cure Beauty.^note She is one of two official Cures voiced by Dark Precure 5 seiyuu, the other being Ace.
  • Hitomi Nabatame voiced Yumiko Nakagawa before voicing Cure Heart.
  • Mai Fuchigami voiced a student council executive in HeartCatch Pretty Cure! before voicing Cure Rosetta.
  • Kanako Miyamoto voiced "herself" in Yes! Pretty Cure 5 before voicing Cure Sword. She also returned cameoing in KiraKira★Pretty Cure à la Mode as an idol named Kanako.^note While Sentai has let many rangers portray different characters following their main role (even letting them voice a second ranger), no such privilege is ever given to Pretty Cures. Kanako Miyamoto gets a pass for her unusually close connection to the franchise.
  • Rie Kugimiya voiced Dark Lemonade before voicing Cure Ace.^note She is one of two official Cures voiced by Dark Precure 5 seiyuu, the other being Beauty.
  • Megumi Han voiced a child in Smile Pretty Cure! before voicing Cure Princess.
  • Yu Shimamura voiced a girl in Suite Pretty Cure ♪ before voicing Cure Flora.
  • Miyuki Sawashiro voiced some girl named Arisa before voicing Cure Scarlet.
  • Rie Takahashi voiced a student in Go! Princess Pretty Cure before voicing Cure Miracle.
  • Yui Horie voiced Tsumugi Orihara before voicing Cure Magical.
  • Tomo Muranaka voiced Kin before voicing Cure Gelato.
  • Saki Fujita voiced the Past Cure Flora, Chieri before voicing Cure Macaron.
  • Rie Hikisaka voiced Junko Mitsuoka before voicing Cure Yell.
  • Kiyono Yasuno voiced Cure Lumière before voicing Cure Soleil.^note This is the closest call due to Lumière being more important to the season-wide plot.
  • Aoi Yūki voiced Cook before voicing Cure Grace.
  • Natsu Yorita voiced the Gemini Star Princess, Takuto and Ikuto Amamiya before voicing Cure Fontaine.
  • Yumiri Hanamori voiced Kotoe before voicing Cure Coral.
  • Ai Kakuma voiced Rabirin before voicing Cure Prism.
  • Ayaka Nanase voiced Shuichi before voicing Cure Butterfly.
• In the 1997 Record of Lodoss War anime, Junko Noda voiced a character named Arteen in the first episode. She later took over as Deedlit in the last six episodes when Shiho Niiyama took ill.
• Sailor Moon:
  • Emi Shinohara voiced Youmas Cyrene and Jumeau before she took on the role of Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter.
  • Kae Araki stood in for Kotono Mitsuishi as Sailor Moon for the last few episodes of season one, and the first few of R when Mitsuishi went on medical leave. She returned shortly after that stint as Chibi-Usa.
  • Daisuke Sakaguchi had a few minor roles in season one and S before he was cast in SuperS as newly-promoted supporting character Kyuusuke Sarashima, who was previously voiced by Kazumi Okushima in his sole appearance in R.
  • Two of the Sailor Starlights of Sailor Stars previously had guest spots in SuperS. Shiho Niiyama (Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter) was Fuyumi in Episode 139, while Chika Sakamoto (Yaten/Sailor Star Maker) was Perle in The Movie.
  • Megumi Hayashibara voiced Himeko Nayotake in Sailor Moon S: The Movie and would return to the franchise 29 years later, this time voicing Sailor Galaxia in Sailor Moon Cosmos
• Yu-Gi-Oh!:
  • Masami Suzuki voiced minor villain Bonz and Yugi's mother in the original Duel Monsters anime before protagonist Judai's best friend Sho Marifuji in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
  • Takehito Koyasu had a brief role as Pandora, one of Malik's minions, before voicing the Big Bad of GX's Season 2, Saiou.
  • Kanako Irie voiced the vampire Camula of the Seven Stars in GX Season 1, then voiced Johan, the deuteragonist of Season 3.
  • Takanori Hoshino voiced the Duel Monster spirit Honest in GX Season 4 before voicing The Rival Jack Atlas in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
  • Yoshimasa Hosoya first voiced a minor antagonist Dick Pitt in 5Ds, then a more important antagonist Quattro in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, and then The Rival Reiji Akaba in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.
  • Mie Sonozaki voiced minor character Umimi in ZEXAL before voicing Sora, the main Fusion Duelist in ARC-V.
  • Taku Yashiro voiced the minor antagonist Battle Beast in ARC-V, then deuteragonist Soulburner's Ignis partner Flame in Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, then major protagonist Luke in Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS.
• YuYu Hakusho:
  • Megumi Ogata made her debut as a voice actress voicing several minor characters, including the mother of the boy Yusuke saved and Keiko's mother, before her main role Kurama finally debuted.
  • Meanwhile, Nobuyuki Hiyama had a few minor roles in Episode 1, namely the student Yusuke confronts at school and the reckless driver who kills Yusuke, before his main role Hiei finally debuted.
  • Norio Wakamoto voiced Gouki, the third member of Kurama and Hiei's trio before he came back as Yusuke's Dark Tournament foe turned ally, Chu.
  • Kazuyuki Sogabe voiced Gama, Kurama's Dark Tournament opponent, before he voiced another Tournament opponent turned ally, Suzuki. Similarly, Toshiyuki Morikawa (Shishiwakamaru) voiced several minor roles, including Roto.