The death of Peter Cullen was a shock to many people. His work on the Transformers series, where he famously played the heroic and noble Optimus Prime for decades, gave him an undeniable place in the history of animation. While he didn’t take on many roles in anime dubbing over the years, he was the voice of anime for a whole generation of fans. Not because of any specific role but because he narrated the promotional bumps for many of the classic anime on the Toonami block, including Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, and, weirdly enough, Hamtaro.

These promos are never going to be what Peter Cullen is known for. He’ll always be Optimus Prime to many fans around the world; it is a role he played starting in the original The Transformers animated series in 1984 all the way through to the Michael Bay films. His final performance as the character was finally shown in cinemas around the world this week, more than 40 years after he first stepped into the booth as Optimus Prime. Even with that firmly being his legacy (and what a legacy it is), his impact on the anime fandom is surprisingly large considering he didn’t have a major anime acting role outside.

Back in the late 90s and early 00s, Toonami was a big player in the anime community. From 4 pm to 6 pm every weekday afternoon, Cartoon Network delivered the English dubs of some of the most popular anime of the era. This was where many American fans saw classic anime series for the first time. Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and multiple Gundam series all reached a much wider audience thanks to the Toonami block of programming on Cartoon Network, and during the commercial breaks, they would often advertise the new shows that were coming to the block. The narrator for those bumps was Peter Cullen.

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There is, of course, something inherently appealing about Cullen’s voice. It is so deep and powerful, with every line delivered with such intent that it makes even the silliest anime sound epic. For example, listen to the man talk about Hamtaro. This is an anime about an adorable hamster on adventures in his back garden and beyond. This is the most harmless, twee anime out there, but Peter Cullen, somehow, managed to give it an element of seriousness that made it fit right in among shows like Gundam Wing or Dragon Ball Z. That is skill and almost – almost – makes us forgive Toonami for airing the show in the first place.

He would do intros for most of the shows on Toonami during this era, with most fans likely never clocking that it was the voice of Optimus Prime they were listening to. He was the voice of Toonami for a time, and his commanding tone gave it an air of importance, telling the viewer that this was, in some way, different. Between quickly explaining the plot of Yu Yu Hakusho or hyping up the Buu Saga in Dragon Ball Z, Peter Cullen, almost by accident, became intrinsically linked to the rise of anime in the US.

This was at a time when anime was still finding its foothold in the US, so it was important that it felt different from what fans had seen before from Western animation. Peter Cullen’s anime intros on Toonami were a small but important part of the transition of anime from a niche interest of the ultra-nerdy into the pop culture powerhouse that it has become. Between all the years voicing Optimus Prime and all the other characters in his four decades as an actor, Peter Cullen also managed to introduce a generation to some of their favorite anime.

Rest in Peace, Peter Cullen, and thank you for everything.

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