This page contains affiliate links. We may earn commissions when readers interact with or purchase items through these links. For more information, see our affiliate disclosures here.

Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

There is more to Transformers than movies, cartoons, comics and toys. Discuss anything else Transformers here.

Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Va'al » Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:35 pm

Motto: "Till All Are Pun!"
Shogo Hasui, the head designer of MP-10 and the following Masterpiece figures, tweeted this photo of the Reveal the Shield Legends Megatron on top of a sketch depicting a cartoon-accurate Megatron head, dated today, to pay respect to the passing of Seizō Katō, the Japanese voice actor for the character. Katō, who also played Galvatron in the series, died of complications of bladder cancer today at 11.40 am.

Image
User avatar
Va'al
God Of Transformers
Posts: 17010
News Credits: 6188
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:00 am
Location: Italy
Buy from Va'al on eBay

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby hinomars19 » Fri Jan 17, 2014 2:29 pm

Motto: "never forget what you don't know"
Weapon: Blunt Force Battle Clubs
Well that's sad news :-(
He was also the voice of General Jark from my favourite Kamen Rider series Black RX.
Sadly a certain line from the 86 movie of Galvatron's comes to mind...
R.I.P
User avatar
hinomars19
Targetmaster
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 4:03 am
Location: England
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Endurance: 10+
Rank: 1
Courage: Infinity
Firepower: 8
Skill: 10+

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby kirbenvost » Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:03 pm

Motto: "Deal with it."
Weapon: Sniper Rifle
Sad news. :( RIP.
------------------------------
Old collection pics
------------------------------
For Sale/Trade
kirbenvost
Guardian Of Seibertron
Posts: 6696
News Credits: 11
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:57 am
Location: Vancouver BC
Buy from kirbenvost on eBay
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 10+
Endurance: 7
Rank: 7
Courage: 8
Firepower: 9
Skill: 10

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby welcometothedarksyde » Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:36 pm

Motto: "My anaconda don't..."
Did he also do the voice on that cartoon accurate Galvatron reissue?
R.I.P
User avatar
welcometothedarksyde
Combiner
Posts: 438
News Credits: 5
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:49 am
Location: Saskatchewan
Watch welcometothedarksyde on YouTube

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby hinomars19 » Fri Jan 17, 2014 5:03 pm

Motto: "never forget what you don't know"
Weapon: Blunt Force Battle Clubs
welcometothedarksyde wrote:Did he also do the voice on that cartoon accurate Galvatron reissue?
R.I.P

TF Wiki says he did, yes :) Sadly I don't own that re-issue, even though I'd really love to.
User avatar
hinomars19
Targetmaster
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 4:03 am
Location: England
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Endurance: 10+
Rank: 1
Courage: Infinity
Firepower: 8
Skill: 10+

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Sabrblade » Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:22 pm

Motto: "Can't do a job halfway. What's worth doing is worth doing well, I say."
Weapon: Saber Blade
"When there's gold feathers, punch behind you!!"

Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
User avatar
Sabrblade
God Of Transformers
Posts: 38684
News Credits: 434
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:22 pm
Location: Tampa, FL
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 7
Endurance: 8
Rank: 9
Courage: 8
Firepower: 7
Skill: 9

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Rated X » Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:53 am

Motto: ""Assumption is the mother of all screw ups.""
Weapon: Saw-Edged Pincer
I was always under the assumption that Japan didnt get the animated series until the headmasters came out. Did this guy do voiceovers for the sunbow cartoons in Japanese ? I never seen translated versions before. Anyways may he rest in peace.
Rated X
Banned
Posts: 8420
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:25 pm
Location: Miami, Florida
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 2
Endurance: 10
Rank: 7
Courage: 10+
Firepower: 10+
Skill: 8

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Sabrblade » Sat Jan 18, 2014 6:47 am

Motto: "Can't do a job halfway. What's worth doing is worth doing well, I say."
Weapon: Saber Blade
Rated X wrote:I was always under the assumption that Japan didnt get the animated series until the headmasters came out. Did this guy do voiceovers for the sunbow cartoons in Japanese ? I never seen translated versions before. Anyways may he rest in peace.
That doesn't make any sense. Of course Japan got the G1 cartoon. Why would the Japanese start on a series that would be a sequel to a show they didn't get before?

That would be like saying if we didn't get Beast Wars in America until we got Beast Machines. Or like saying that George Lucas didn't make the first Star Wars movie until he made The Empire Strikes Back.

A sequel can't be made if one doesn't even have what its supposed to be a sequel to.

(not to mention how 52 out of 98 episodes, the movie, all the commercials, the opening theme songs, and all the commercial bumpers were all animated in Japan by Toei Animation)
"When there's gold feathers, punch behind you!!"

Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
User avatar
Sabrblade
God Of Transformers
Posts: 38684
News Credits: 434
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:22 pm
Location: Tampa, FL
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 7
Endurance: 8
Rank: 9
Courage: 8
Firepower: 7
Skill: 9

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Jelze Bunnycat » Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:48 pm

Motto: "The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance."
Rated X wrote:I was always under the assumption that Japan didnt get the animated series until the headmasters came out. Did this guy do voiceovers for the sunbow cartoons in Japanese ? I never seen translated versions before. Anyways may he rest in peace.


Japan imported the cartoon in 1985, one year after the US debut. The series was dubbed, edited, the episode order was scrambled and the first two seasons were merged into one single series: Tatakae! Chou Robotto Seimeitai Transformer. The third season was standalone and dubbed Tatakae! Chou Robotto Seimeitai Transformer 2010. After that came the Japan-only series.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the openings:

1st opening:


2nd opening:


2010:


Back on topic, he was a prolific voice actor, in both Anime and Tokusatsu. May he rest in peace.
The resident Rewind... well, half of one :lol:

- Jelze Bunnycat =:3

Looking for:
- TR Furos (Hardhead's head) and Crashbash (lost him :()
- PotP Punch head
- TR Galvatron right arm (the gun one)
- CW Brake-Neck/UW Wildrider, CW Offroad
- TR Twinferno & Grotusque
- Greenlight, Lancer and PotP Elita-1 (plus repro Victorion hands and feet?)
User avatar
Jelze Bunnycat
God Of Transformers
Posts: 19366
News Credits: 241
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:45 am
Location: McKinney, Texas, USA; Delft, the Netherlands
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 9
Speed: 8
Endurance: 7
Rank: 1
Courage: 8
Skill: 5

Re: Japanese Megatron/Galvatron Voice Actor Seizō Katō Dies at 86

Postby Sabrblade » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:05 pm

Motto: "Can't do a job halfway. What's worth doing is worth doing well, I say."
Weapon: Saber Blade
Additional information on the Japanese dub of the G1 cartoon (courtesy of TFWiki, excellently written by user DrSpengler):
In Japan, The Transformers was broken apart into 2 separately branded shows:


Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

Image

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers
(戦え! 超ロボット生命体 トランスフォーマー, Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Transformers) began airing in 1985, consisting of the North American season 1 and 2 episodes. Although 2 episodes out of the original 65 were cut ("Attack of the Autobots" and "Day of the Machines"), an additional 9 clip shows were created, composed entirely of re-used footage taken from various episodes, bringing the total number of Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers episodes to 72. The 2 missing episodes were later dubbed in 1990 and released straight-to-video, then retroactively added to the series episode list, boosting its official count to 74 episodes.

The additional clip shows are as follows:
    14. "Birth of the Transformers!"
    55. "War Without End"
    56. "Desperate Battle on Dinobot Island"
    57. "Devastator, the Giant Warrior"
    58. "Neverending Struggle"
    69. "Earth's Greatest Crisis"
    70. "Seek the Cybertonium"
    71. "Stunticons vs Aerialbots"
    72. "Mutiny of the Combaticons"
The broadcast order of the series was significantly reworked, with most of the episodes featuring Skyfire being pushed to the end of the run (presumably owing the character's shaky status as a Bandai toy in Japan). Contrary to what would be sensible, this did not involve correcting any of the chronological errors present in the original order; in fact, it even created some new ones. The pack-in booklet included with the laserdisk and DVD sets from Pioneer feature a "narrative viewing order" list.

Perhaps most notoriously, the episodes were edited before their broadcast in Japan. These edits were made not for content, but for length so that the show could accommodate longer opening and ending sequences. The combined length of the U.S. opening and ending sequences was about 1 minute and 10 seconds. The combined length of the Japanese opening and ending sequences, however, was about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This resulted in roughly 1 minute and 10 seconds of content being cut from every single episode.

The translation in terms of script and story was faithful in regards to the original English version (the same cannot be said of the translations of Beast Wars and onward). However, the dub was at times rushed and had its own unique errors, primarily in terms of matching the right voices and names to the characters on screen. Some examples of character identification mistakes include "More than Meets the Eye, Part 3", in which it is Thundercracker who requests permission to teleport and attack Ironhide, and "Divide and Conquer", where Starscream voices the teleporting Seeker rather than Skywarp (as a result, to Japanese viewers, it appears as though teleportation is a trait inherent in all Seekers and not just Skywarp). One of the worse examples would come in "The Master Builders", as Megatron orders Blitzwing into battle, though the jet is clearly Ramjet (Ramjet is even dubbed with Blitzwing's voice).

Although primary characters such as Megatron, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, etc., had consistent actors, the dub was extremely loose in terms of casting its secondary characters. Bluestreak, for example, had no less than seven different actors portray him over the course of the series (though Kōki Kataoka is typically credited as his "standard" voice actor). By the looks of things, if a secondary character only received one or two lines in a given episode, then whatever actor was on hand in the studio would be called in to play them, consistency be damned.

Additionally, the Japanese dub of Transformers was geared toward a younger audience than the original English version. While the dialogue and stories remained faithful in localization, the episodes received extensive narration from Issei Masamune. The additional narration was relentless to the point of becoming play-by-play commentary. The narrator would constantly describe what was happening on screen, summarize scenes and dialogue immediately after they were seen or spoken, and generally just provide needless asides such as "And then!" "Suddenly!" and "Meanwhile!" This was done to help the younger Japanese viewers follow along with the story, though later domestically produced Japanese Transformers animation would not include such excessive narration.

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers aired on various local Nihon TV affiliates and as a result, some episodes were preempted in some areas ("The Golden Lagoon", for example, only aired in the Kansai region, while "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide" aired in every region but the Kansai region). The opening theme was "TRANSFORMER" by Satoko Shimonari and the ending theme was "Peace Again" also by Shimonari.


Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010

Image

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (戦え! 超ロボット生命体 トランスフォーマー 2010, Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Transformers 2010) began airing in 1986, consisting of the North American season 3 episodes. All 30 episodes were dubbed for Transformers 2010 and 2 additional clip episodes were produced, bringing the total to 32 episodes.

The additional clip shows are as follows:
    29. "Daniel's Adventure"
    30. "The Desperate Struggle of Justice"
As with Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers, Transformers 2010 considerably reordered the sequence of episodes. However, rather than restore the narrative order (as the North American broadcast had jumbled up the story arcs), the Japanese broadcast actually made things worse. And as with Super Robot Lifeform Transformers, Pioneer's laserdisk and DVD sets for Transformers 2010 include a "narrative viewing order" list in the pack-in booklet.

Transformers 2010 received the same editing treatment as its predecessor, losing scenes to make room for the longer title and credits sequences. Likewise, it received all the excessive narration and was prone to the same rotating cast members and character identification hiccups. In regards to the latter, it could become especially problematic when the narrator was the one misidentifying the characters (in "The Burden Hardest to Bear", the narrator mistakenly identifies Wildrider and Dead End as Runabout and Runamuck).

In addition to the extensive narration to hold the viewer's hand, Transformers 2010 also received brand new text captions which had not been often utilized in Super Robot Lifeform Transformers. These captions would appear on screen to designate locations (be they planets, countries or cities) and to identify new characters whenever they first appeared (including both names and functions). The Secret Files of Teletraan II segments were also reworked; some were dubbed, some were dropped and some brand new ones exclusive to Transformers 2010 were created.

The release of The Transformers: The Movie was delayed in Japan and was not available between Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers and Transformers 2010. To help viewers acclimate to the new status quo, explanatory material was published in the pages of TV Magazine, describing the events of The Movie as the "Unicron War" and summarizing vital events from the film (such as Optimus Prime's death, Rodimus Prime's ascension and Megatron's upgrade into Galvatron). The Movie would eventually be released straight-to-video in 1989.

Like Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers, Transformers 2010 was broadcast on various local Nihon TV affiliates, resulting in preemptions in certain areas ("The Face of the Nijika" for example). The opening theme was "TRANSFORMER 2010" by Shō Hirose and the ending theme was "WHAT'S YOU" also by Hirose.


Transformers: The Rebirth

The season 4 episodes of The Transformers were not originally broadcast in Japan, with Takara instead electing to produce a brand new series to continue the story of their animated continuity: The Headmasters. However, all 3 episodes were eventually released straight-to-video in 1996 as Transformers: The Rebirth (トランスフォーマー ザ・リバース). The episodes received their much-belated Japanese television broadcast in 2007 on Cartoon Network Japan.

To differentiate "The Rebirth" from the Japanese continuity of Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers, the episodes were released under the American The Transformers branding. To further this distinction, the dub used standard English-language names and terminology for the most part ("Hot Rod" was not changed to "Hot Rodimus" and "Kup" was not changed to "Chear", for example) while maintaining the Japanese-exclusive names for the more high profile characters ("Convoy" was not changed to "Optimus Prime", for example).

Only three actors from Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers and Transformers 2010 returned to voice their respective characters: Tesshō Genda (Optimus Prime), Seizō Katō (Galvatron) and Issei Masamune (narrator). Every other cast member was replaced with a soundalike, to varying degrees of success. The voice direction for these episodes was conducted by Shōzō Tajima.
"When there's gold feathers, punch behind you!!"

Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
User avatar
Sabrblade
God Of Transformers
Posts: 38684
News Credits: 434
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:22 pm
Location: Tampa, FL
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 7
Endurance: 8
Rank: 9
Courage: 8
Firepower: 7
Skill: 9


Return to Transformers General Discussion

Transformers and More @ The Seibertron Store

Visit our store on eBay
These are affiliate links. We may earn commissions when you purchase items or services through these links.
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES DARK AGES #2 Cvr G 1:10 Dynamite Comics 2023 JUN230666 2G (CA) Moss"
GARGOYLES DARK AGE ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "Star Trek Deep Space Nine DOG WAR #1 Cvr D 1:10 IDW Comics 2023 JAN231627 1D"
Star Trek Deep Spa ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "Star Wars HALCYON LEGACY #5 connecting Marvel Comics 2022 APR221022 (CA) Sliney"
Star Wars HALCYON ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "STAR TREK YEAR FIVE #14 IDW Comics 2020 MAR200764 (CA) Thompson"
STAR TREK YEAR FIV ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES #2 Cvr D Dynamite Comics 2023 Disney NOV220586 2D (CA) Leirix"
GARGOYLES #2 Cvr D ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES #3 Cvr ZD 1:15 FOC Dynamite Comics DEC228480 3ZD (CA) Lee"
GARGOYLES #3 Cvr Z ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES DARK AGES #2 Cvr I 1:15 Dynamite Comics 2023 JUN230668 2I (CA) Quah"
GARGOYLES DARK AGE ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "Star Wars CRIMSON REIGN #4 var Syndicate Marvel Comics 2022 FEB221037 (CA) Pham"
Star Wars CRIMSON ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES #12 Cvr E Dynamite Comics 2024 SEP230261 12E (CA) Fleecs + Forstner"
NEW!
GARGOYLES #12 Cvr ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "STAR WARS ADVENTURES #12 RI 1:10 IDW Comics 2021 SEP210466 12RI (CA) Francavilla"
STAR WARS ADVENTUR ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "STAR TREK #10 Cvr C IDW Comics 2023 MAY231374 10C (CA) Mason (W) Kelly + Lanzing"
STAR TREK #10 Cvr ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "Star Trek STRANGE NEW WORLDS Illyrian Enigma #1 Cvr D 1:10 IDW Comics 1D"
Star Trek STRANGE ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GARGOYLES #12 Cvr Q FOC 1:7 line art Dynamite Comics DEC237792 12Q (CA) Haeser"
NEW!
GARGOYLES #12 Cvr ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "STAR WARS #25 var 1:50 Marvel Comics 2022 APR221028 (CA) Maleev (W)Soule 220726A"
STAR WARS #25 var ...
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
Find the items above and thousands more at the Seibertron Store on eBay
Transformers Podcast: Twincast / Podcast #346 - Gas Station Jamboree
Twincast / Podcast #346:
"Gas Station Jamboree"
MP3 · iTunes · RSS · View · Discuss · Ask
Posted: Saturday, March 23rd, 2024

Featured Products on Amazon.com

These are affiliate links. We may earn commissions when you purchase items or services through these links.
Buy "Transformers Authentics Bumblebee" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Generations Power of The Primes Legends Class Autobot Tailgate" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Power of The Primes Deluxe Terrorcon Rippersnapper" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Studio Series 10 Deluxe Class Movie 1 Autobot Jazz" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Generations Power of The Primes Voyager Class Grimlock" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Power of The Primes Evolution Nemesis Prime (Amazon Exclusive)" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Combiner Wars Blast Off Megatronus Prime Master" on AMAZON
Buy "Cyberverse Warrior Class Megatron" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Robots in Disguise Combiner Force 1-Step Changer Soundwave" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Platinum RID Grimlock and Bumblebee - Exclusive" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Masterpiece MP-21 Bumble Figure" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Robots in Disguise Combiner Force Team Combiner Menasor, 8.5-inch" on AMAZON