Takeshi Aono (青野 武 Aono Takeshi, June 19, 1936 – April 9, 2012) was a Japanese voice actor and actor from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School.
Most remembered for his harsh authoritarian voice, some of Aono's most known notable roles include Piccolo Daimao and Kami-sama in the Dragon Ball franchise, Dracule Mihawk in One Piece, Shiro Sanada in Space Battleship Yamato, Rihaku in Fist of the North Star and Dakuan in Ninja Scroll. He is also known in video games as the voice of the diabolical Dr. Wily in the PlayStation-era Mega Man games, and Colonel Roy Campbell of the Metal Gear games.
In May 2010, Aono checked into a hospital for an aortic dissection and suffered a stroke shortly thereafter, thus putting an end to his career as a voice actor. On the afternoon of April 9, 2012, Aono suffered a bout of post-operative multiple cerebral infarctions and was found dead. Aono was 75 years old at the time of his death.
Bin Shimada would take over most of Aono's ongoing roles, including Kami in Dragon Ball Z Kai, while Hirohiko Kakegawa would take over the role of Mihawk in One Piece. Out of respect for Aono, Hideo Kojima retired the Roy Campbell character from the Metal Gear series.
Select Filmography
| Year | Character | Title | Dub Voice | Dub Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-1975 | Shiro Sanada | Space Battleship Yamato | ¿? | United States |
| 1977 | Space Battleship Yamato | Jerry Harland | ||
| 1978-1979 | Space Battleship Yamato II | ¿? | ||
| 1978 | Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato | Jeff Winkless | ||
| 1980-1981 | Space Battleship Yamato III | ¿? | ||
| 1980-1981 | Lieutenant Ketchup (ep. 16) |
Astro Boy | Dave Miller | |
| Dr. Milky Way (ep. 41) | Greg Zerkle | |||
| 1981 | Bob | Call of the Wild: Howl, Buck | ¿? | |
| Manuel | Bryan Cranston | |||
| 1981 | Flack | The Enchanted Journey | Jim Backus | |
| 1982 | Muriguson | Arcadia of My Youth | Richard Nieskens | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1982-1983 | Sancho | The Mysterious Cities of Gold | Terrence Labrosse | Canada |
| 1982 | Grant Hanson | Thunderbirds 2086 | Earl Hammond | United States |
| 1983 | Eizo Yoshida | Barefoot Gen | Michael McConnohie | |
| 1983 | Pablo | Golgo 13: The Professional | Kerrigan Mahan | |
| 1983 | Father | Rain Boy | Mike Worman | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1984 | LaVerne Thorndyke | Lensman | Steve Kramer | United States |
| Dave Mallow (redub) | ||||
| 1985 | Wireless Operator | Night on the Galactic Railroad | David Moo | |
| 1985 | Sanpei | The Dagger of Kamui | Greg Starr | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1985-1986 | Hazzard Pascha | Ninja Warrior Tobikage | ¿? | United States |
| 1986-1989 | Ninja Murasaki | Dragon Ball | Duncan Brannan | |
| Zane Sampson | Canada | |||
| King Piccolo | Christopher Sabat | United States | ||
| Mike Shepherd | Canada | |||
| Kami | Christopher Sabat | United States | ||
| Mike Shepherd | Canada | |||
| Plague (ep. 79) | Mike McFarland | United States | ||
| Adam Hunter | Canada | |||
| Young Master Shen (ep. 129) | Chuck Huber | United States | ||
| Jonathan Love | Canada | |||
| 1986 | Fox | Fist of the North Star: The Movie | Tom Wyner | United States |
| 1987-1989 | The Devil (ep. 31) | Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics | Milton James | |
| Demon (ep. 40) | ||||
| 1987 | Billy Bones | Treasure Island: The Movie | John Snyder | |
| 1987 | Mr. Shadow | Wicked City | Jeff Winkless | |
| Ray Lonnen | United Kingdom | |||
| 1989-1996 | Kami | Dragon Ball Z | Dale Wilson | Canada |
| Ward Perry (eps. 25-37) | ||||
| Chris Forbis (ep. 76; original version) |
United States | |||
| Christopher Sabat | ||||
| 1989 | Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone | Ward Perry | Canada | |
| Ed Marcus | France | |||
| Christopher Sabat | United States | |||
| 1989-1992 | Kinnii (ep. 48) | Ranma ½ | Paul Dobson | Canada |
| Gambling King (ep. 85) |
David Kaye | |||
| 1989 | Deathsaurus | Transformers: Victory | Rik Thomas | Hong Kong |
| 1990-1991 | Dave Kurokawa (ep. 1) | Cyber City Oedo 808 | Marc Smith | United Kingdom |
| 1990-1991 | Captain Rumpot (ep. 12) | Moomin | Jeff Harding | |
| 1990-1991 | Wagnard | Record of Lodoss War | Bruce Winant | United States |
| 1991-1992 | Chou (ep. 1) | 3x3 Eyes | Michael McConnohie | |
| Yuji Okumoto | ||||
| 1992-1998 | Dojin Issei | Giant Robo: The Animation | Kevin Seymour | |
| Mike Pollock (redub) | ||||
| 1992-1993 | Kiba | Green Legend Ran | Gerard Plunkett | Canada |
| 1992-1993 | Katsuhito Masaki | Tenchi Muyo! | Jay Hopper | United States |
| Nobuyuki Masaki | ||||
| 1993 | Dakuan | Ninja Scroll | Stephen Apostolina | |
| 1993-1996 | Gambling King (ep. 2) | Ranma ½ (OVAs) | David Kaye | Canada |
| Shinnosuke's Grandfather | French Tickner | |||
| 1993 | 3rd Ache | Roujin Z | Nigel Anthony | United Kingdom |
| 1993 | Katsuhito Masaki | Tenchi Muyo! The Night Before the Carnival | Jay Hopper | United States |
| 1993 | Garuga / Yasha | Yu Yu Hakusho: The Golden Seal | Kevin Seymour | |
| Christopher Ayres | ||||
| 1993-2002 | Vanilla Ice | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Andrew Chaikin | |
| 1994 | Hattori Hanzō | Samurai Shodown: The Motion Picture | Rob Mungle | |
| 1994 | Katsuhito Masaki | Tenchi Muyo! II | Jay Hopper | |
| Nobuyuki Masaki | ||||
| 1994-1997 | Daimaru Nakajima | You're Under Arrest | Marc Matney | |
| 1995-2010 | Tomozo Sakura (eps. 38-768) | Chibi Maruko-chan | Simon Broad | Hong Kong |
| 1995 | Katsuhito Masaki | Tenchi Universe | Jay Hopper | United States |
| Nobuyuki Masaki | ||||
| 1996 | Captain Yamazaki | Birdy the Mighty | Doug Markley | |
| 1996 | Dr. Wily | Mega Man 8 | Douglas Kendall | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1997-1998 | Jushin Sekiguchi | Ninja Resurrection | David R. Jarrott | United States |
| 1997 | Katsuhito Masaki | Tenchi Muyo! | Bob Papenbrook | |
| Nobuyuki Masaki | ||||
| 1997 | Dr.Wily | Mega Man X4 | John O'Connor | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1998-1999 | Dohan | Cowboy Bebop | Simon Prescott | United States |
| 1998 | Colonel Roy Campbell | Metal Gear Solid | Paul Eiding | |
| 1998 | Swanzo | Outlaw Star | Doug Stone | |
| Professor Nguyen Khan | Milton James | |||
| 1999-2003 | Mr. Wise (ep. 9) | The Big O | Doug Stone | |
| 1999 | Attalos | Reign: The Conqueror | Dwight Schultz | |
| 1999-2010 | Dracule Mihawk (eps. 23-460) |
One Piece | Chuck Powers | Singapore |
| Christopher Collet | United States | |||
| John Gremillion | ||||
| Mayor Woop Slap (ep. 45) | Joseph Murray | Singapore | ||
| ¿? | United States | |||
| Barry Yandell | ||||
| 2000 | Attalos | Alexander: The Movie | Dwight Schultz | |
| 2000-2004 | Kaijinbo (eps. 44-45) | InuYasha | Robert O. Smith | Canada |
| 2000 | Lanacuras | Shinzo | Tom Wyner | United States |
| 2001 | Dr. Ponkotsu | Metropolis | Doug Stone | |
| 2001-2002 | Yōmei Asakura | Shaman King | Sam Riegel | |
| 2002 | Kami | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai | Christopher Sabat | |
| 2002-2007 | Tazuna | Naruto | Kirk Thornton | |
| 2002 | Katsuhito Masaki (ep. 17) | Tenchi Muyo! GXP | Bob Papenbrook | |
| 2003 | Daiki Niwa | D.N.Angel | John Swasey | |
| 2003 | Dr. Wolfgang Pierce | Zoids: Fuzors | Brian Dobson | Canada |
| 2004-2008 | Dr. Allbert Zweinstein | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX | Sean Schemmel | United States |
| 2005 | Colonel Roy Campbell | Ape Escape 3 | Michael McColl | |
| 2005 | Azuki Rousai | Basilisk | R. Bruce Elliott | |
| 2005-2010 | Gengai Hiraga | Gintama | ¿? | |
| 2005-2006 | Ichi | IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix | William Frederick Knight | |
| 2005 | Master Mew | Musashi: Samurai Legend | Barry Gjerde | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2005 | Dracule Mihawk | One Piece: Grand Battle | Christopher Collet | United States |
| 2005 | Lieutenant Banks | Pokémon the Movie: Lucario & the Mystery of Mew | Oliver Wyman | |
| 2006-2008 | Bookman | D.Gray-man | R. Bruce Elliott | |
| 2006-2010 | Count Mott | The Familiar of Zero | ¿? | |
| 2006 | Dr. Wily | Mega Man Powered Up | Dean Galloway | Canada |
| 2007-2008 | Toshio Koumura | Clannad | Todd Waite | United States |
| 2007 | King Piccolo | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | Christopher Sabat | |
| 2007 | Lopez (ep. 2) | El Cazador de la Bruja | R. Bruce Elliott | |
| 2007 | Dracule Mihawk | One Piece: Unlimited Adventure | John Gremillion | |
| 2009 | Ninja Murasaki | Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo | Duncan Brannan | |
| 2009-2010 | Kami (eps. 4-50) | Dragon Ball Z Kai | Christopher Sabat | |
| 2009 | Old Man Mole | Redline | Steve Kramer |