Jōji Yanami

Jōji Yanami (八奈見 乗児 , Yanami Jōji , born Shigemitsu Shirato (白土 繁満 , Shirato Shigemitsu ) , August 30, 1931 – December 3, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the Dragon Ball anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama (a.k.a. King Kai or North Kaio), and Bobbidi. Other major roles included Dr. Isaac Gilmore in Cyborg 009; Gennai in Digimon; Ittan Momen in GeGeGe no Kitarō; Dr. Yumi in Mazinger Z; and numerous characters in the Time Bokan series.

On September 25, 2015, Toei Animation announced that Yanami would be taking medical leave from Dragon Ball Super for an indefinite amount of time. His roles as the narrator and Kaiō-sama were passed to Naoki Tatsuta.

He died of natural causes/old age on December 3, 2021, at the age of 90.