Caesar Clown is definitely one of the weirdest and most terrifying characters in all of One Piece, which is an impressive title to bear considering this series is a literal sea of bizarre characters. Caesar is a mad scientist who dresses up as a clown, has deadly poison gas powers and even tortures children on a regular basis, an antagonist so wicked and despicable that he could only be brought to life by the one and only Ryusei Nakao.
Some readers may have never heard that name, but they definitely heard his voice, especially if they’ve been watching anime for many years. Nakao has been working in this industry for more than sixty years, so it should be no surprise that he has become one of its most legendary and beloved Japanese performers. With his incredible talent and his signature high-pitched voice, he has portrayed numerous characters in other shows, but the following eight are the most important and interesting ones of his extensive career.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi In Bleach
He Basically Voiced Caesar Clown Twice (Or Thrice?)
Bleach
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- 2004 - 2012-00-00
Before he was cast as Caesar Clown in One Piece, Ryusei Nakao voiced yet another mad scientist with an over-the-top and cruel personality and poison-based powers who wears striking makeup on his face: Bleach's very own Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The only difference between these two shockingly similar characters is that the captain of the 12th Division actually works for the good guys of the story (for now).
Nakao’s performance as Kurotsuchi is everything one would expect from this voice acting legend, as he makes him sound unnerving, untrustworthy, cruel and even a little bit funny. Not only did he do an excellent job in the original Bleach series , but he came back for the recent Thousand-Year Blood War adaptation and, despite his old age, his voice sounds pretty much the same as it did ten years ago. Weirdly enough, Nakao voiced yet another anime character that fits this oddly specific description, as he was cast as Doctor Indigo in One Piece Film: Strong World.
Frieza In Dragon Ball
The Single Most Iconic Villain In Shōnen Anime
Dragon Ball Z
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- 1989 - 1996
- Network
- Fuji TV
That’s right; Ryusei Nakao has been voicing Frieza since 1990, a role so recognizable, important and influential that it single-handedly redefined the Japanese voice acting industry. Curiously enough, this is not his first role in the Dragon Ball franchise (seeing as he also voiced Tambourine in the original series) but this is the one that put him on the map.
Frieza is infamous for being absolutely irredeemable, as he’s cruel, slimy, egotistical, power-hungry and bigoted. The high-pitched voice and the exaggerated demeanors that Nakao uses when voicing him fit the character perfectly and make him easier to hate, while also cementing him as an undeniable anime icon. Most importantly, with this role, Nakao demonstrated that action anime villains don’t need to have gruff or deep voices in order to come off as intimidating.
Vaccine Man In One Punch Man
A Clever Parody Of His Previous Works
One-Punch Man
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- October 5, 2015
One Punch Man as a whole is a parody of both American superhero comic books and the Japanese action shōnen genre, so it makes sense that its story would literally open with a character that’s a blatant Dragon Ball reference. Despite looking like Piccolo, Vaccine Man acts and sounds more like Frieza, which is why Nakao himself was chosen to voice him.
But there are actually two references in one, because Vaccine Man is also a parody of Baikinman, the main antagonist of Soreike! Anpanman, whom Nakao has been voicing for over thirty years. At the end of the day, his role as Vaccine Man was very brief (since he was defeated by Saitama in literal seconds) but Nakao still managed to make him sound surprisingly strong and intimidating. Fortunately, he came back to reprise this role in numerous One Punch Man video games.
Tanji Washijo In Haikyu!!
One Of The Best Antagonists In The Sports Genre
Haikyu!!
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- 2014 - 2020-00-00
- Network
- TBS, MBS, CBC, BSN, tys
Antagonists like Frieza or Caesar Clown are over-the-top characters living in bizarre fantasy worlds, but when Ryusei Nakao voiced Tanji Washijo in Haikyu!!, he successfully proved that he can also take on more realistic and subdued roles. As the head coach of Shiratorizawa Academy's volleyball team, Washijo is a surprisingly interesting antagonist for the seemingly mundane sports genre.
While he’s quite strict with his players, he’s also passionate about the sport and appreciates hard work. On this occasion, Nakao utilized his iconic high-pitched voice to bring Washijo to life, but he kept it at a consistently low volume in order to make him come off as cold and intimidating as possible, only raising his voice again in key moments during the volleyball matches.
Hashibami In Demon Slayer
This Voice Acting Legend Is Not Too Big For Smaller, Comedic Roles
Demon Slayer
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- April 6, 2019
- Network
- Adult Swim
Ryusei Nakao has worked on many classic shōnen anime — like Dragon Ball, One Piece or Bleach – but he has also lent his voice to a few modern shows, with Demon Slayer being one of the most remarkable examples. Nevertheless, his role in Ufotable’s masterful adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge’s original manga is surprisingly small, but very funny at the same time.
Nakao voices Genya Shinazugawa’s Kasugai crow, Hashibami, who’s notorious for dismissing everything and everybody with a loud “Whatever!” And not getting alone with other crows, like Tanjiro Kamado’s Matsuemon. The fact that Nakao accepted this role and still gave it his all to make this little crow sound so goofy is proof that he doesn’t take himself too seriously and that he’s clearly comfortable voicing more unimportant comedic characters.
Him In Powerpuff Girls Z
He Has The Perfect Voice For This Reinterpretation Of A Classic Animated Villain
In his performances as Frieza and Caesar Clown, Nakao showcased his ability to voice more feminine, over-the-top and creepy antagonists, which is why he also voiced the villainous Him in Powerpuff Girls Z. After all, the original version of this character is highly regarded as one of the most disturbing villains in western animation, so it makes sense that Toei Animation would choose a voice acting legend like Nakao to portray his anime incarnation.
Anybody who watched the original Powerpuff Girls back in the day shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the anime version of Him acts very similarly to Frieza: both villains may seem funny and/or harmless at first, but they can quickly switch attitudes from one moment to another and reveal their true selves: evil, egotistical, manipulative and extremely powerful. Needless to say, Nakao’s performance as Him did not disappoint at all.
Alice Stilza In Gachiakuta
A Very Small (But Very Memorable) Recent Role
Gachiakuta
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- July 6, 2025
- Network
- TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
Ryusei Nakao’s impressive knack for voicing gender-nonconforming characters often goes unnoticed by most anime fans. For example, this voice acting legend recently appeared in episode 3 of Studio Bones’ adaptation of Gachiakuta, where he voiced the famous doctor of the Ground, Alice Stilza, who chastises Ludo for mistaking her for a man.
Just like her relatives, Alice is an extremely loud and temperamental individual, but she’s still willing to treat anybody who can pay for her medical services. Hearing Nakao’s recognizable voice coming out of her mouth made her introductory scene all the more entertaining and memorable and, fortunately, this will not be Alice’s (and by extension, Nakao’s) only contribution to the show's plot.
Roco Bonnaro In Cowboy Bebop
The Most Distinct Role In His Entire Career
Cowboy Bebop
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- 1998 - 1999
- Network
- TV Tokyo, WOWOW Prime
- Showrunner
- Shinichirô Watanabe
In case it wasn’t obvious already, Ryusei Nakao is well-known for his work as bizarre and over-the-top characters with distinctive high-pitched voices, and his career has thrived for decades because of that ability. However, in Cowboy Bepop (one of the most critically-acclaimed anime ever made), he was cast as Roco Bonnaro, an episodic character who feels like the complete opposite of every other role in his career.
Roco is a very kind young man who stole a rare plant species from a criminal organization in order to cure his sister’s blindness. Additionally, he wants to become Spike’s unofficial apprentice, so the dynamic between the two is surprisingly endearing and was elevated even further by the excellent performances of their voice actors. Hearing Nakao’s iconic voice coming out of Roco is very weird at first, but it immediately becomes evident that he was comfortable with this role and was able to make him come off as a truly sympathetic and tragic hero. Roco Bonnaro appeared in just one episode, and yet he still is highly regarded as one of the best characters in Cowboy Bebop thanks (in part) to Nakao’s amazing and emotional performance.