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Shokotan, Judo Gold Medalist to Voice Dragon Ball Z Film

Kaori Matsumoto (pictured at right), who won a gold medal for Women's Judo (57-kilogram class) in last year's Olympic Games in London, will guest star in the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami) movie.

Matsumoto will be playing a female member of a motorcycle police force. Matsumoto commented on the role, saying she has loved the Dragon Ball Z anime since she was a kid and noting that she will not forget this experience for the rest of her life. Matsumoto's anime character will be modeled after her own image.

Actress and singer Shōko Nakagawa ("Shokotan," pictured far right), a self-admitted "Dragon Ball otaku," will also guest star in the film.

The film will also star two other new characters: Kouichi Yamadera will play Birusu, the God of Destruction, and Masakazu Morita will play Wisu.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is set between the 517th and 518th installments of Akira Toriyama's original manga. Specifically, it is set during the "lost decade" of story time after the end of the battle with Majin Buu:

Birusu, the god of destruction who has maintained the balance of the universe, has awakened from a long slumber. Hearing rumors of a Saiyan (Saiya-jin) who defeated Freeza, Birusu comes looking for Goku.

Excited that a powerful oponent has appeared after so long, Goku ignores King Kai's advce and challenges Birusu in a battle. However, Goku is no match for Birusu's overwhelming power and is defeated. Birusu leaves after uttering an ominous message, “Is there anyone on Earth more worthy to destroy?” Will Goku and the others really be able to stop the God of Destruction?!

Kuririn, Piccolo, Vegeta, Gohan, and other familar characters will appear in the film with an all-star cast. The film is not a spinoff, but a story in the official history of Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama has been deeply involved in the film's story and designs from the early screenwriting stages. Masahiro Hosoda (Dragon Ball Z episode director, Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun) is directing at Toei off a script by Yūsuke Watanabe (live-action 20th Century Boys trilogy, Gantz, Bloody Monday, Future Diary). The J-Pop band Flow will cover Hironobu Kageyama's "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" song, which was used as the original opening theme song for the Dragon Ball Z television anime series, as the film's theme song.

The film will open in Japan on March 30.

Source: Oricon via Tokyograph Buzz

Update: Typo fixed. Thanks, mrsatan.