What was Mike McFarland's first major anime role? Career highlights explored amid his glioblastoma diagnosis

Mike McFarland is an American voice actor, script writer, ADR director, and line producer. In 1997, he was hired by FUNimation Entertainment to do English voice-overs for Japanese anime. McFarland is widely recognized as the English voice of Master Roshi a.k.a. Kame Sennin and Muten Rōshi, from Dragon Ball Z. A few other characters he voiced over in the same series include Pui Pui, Mez, Yajirobe, and Android 8.

Michael McFarland's early career was heavily involved with Japanese anime. He was also the voice of Tora and Toolo in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku (2000). Another major role that McFarland had in Japanese anime is working as an ADR director, ADR scriptwriter, and ADR Producer on One Piece. On One Piece, he was the voice behind Buggy the Clown, Richie, Eyelash, Masshikaku, Yokozuna, as well as Helmeppo, from episode 68 onwards.

Besides an extensive work history related to anime, Mike McFarland also voiced Fennec Albain and Mayor in the American animated web series RWBY. He was also the voice of Master Roshi in many of the Dragon Ball Z films.

Updates on Mike McFarland's glioblastoma diagnosis

Mike McFarland did not post much about his glioblastoma diagnosis. However, he has given his friends the freedom to share and talk about it on their own accounts. A friend of McFarland, John Michael Tatum a.k.a. J. Michael Tatum, shared on his Instagram feed on August 23.

He wrote:

"As many of you know, Mike McFarland suffered a health emergency earlier this year. He’s given his dear friends the go ahead to share the following"

He continued:

"Mike had a tennis ball-sized brain tumor removed in January. The diagnosis was, unfortunately, Glioblastoma. This image is of his initial tumor. The surgeon was able to remove it. However, Glioblastoma is a deeply rooted kind of cancer. Removing a tumor does not guarantee that the 'roots' of the cancer in his brain will not produce another 'bloom' or tumor. He has been following all of his medical teams' advice and working very hard on recovery! And so far, the help you've all given has gone a long way."

But Tatum shared the reality of things and said:

"But the reality is that sooner or later palliative care will become a necessity, and the expense is no joke. So we’ve got the keep this up. Please help Mike and his loved ones be prepared."

Tatum's partner, Brandon McInnis, has organized a GoFundMe page for Mike McFarland, and so far, they have reached 94% of their goal. The target is set at $240K, and at the moment, they have managed to raise $225,992 so far.

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Mike McFarland, who is best known for the voice of Master Roshi in Dragon Ball Z, is currently battling glioblastoma and underwent surgery earlier this year. His friends and fans have rallied around him, starting a GoFundMe campaign raising nearly the full amount of its $240K goal.

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