One Piece is enjoying all the success in the world after the live-action became a massive hit. The manga will enter the Elbaf arc from the next chapter, while the anime is featuring the Egghead arc. The fans are overjoyed with the success of the franchise and are eagerly waiting for WIT Studio’s The One Piece, which is a remake of the original series.
Netlfix’s One Piece Live Action had Eiichiro Oda working behind the curtains, so the casting was perfect. The series even exceeded everyone’s expectations. But with the remake, it might not be the same since it will be impossible to replace the original voice actors. The original voice actors are too old to be two-timing both series.
The One Piece Might Face A Massive Problem
When WIT Studio announced The One Piece, everyone was excited since it would showcase the anime in a seasonal format with better animation and without fillers. It was a clever way for the new generation anime lovers to get hooked on it.
But most people had overlooked a particular problem that might take half the fun out of it. The original voice actors, like Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, etc., are old and won’t be able to feature in two anime consecutively.
Netflix’s One Piece Live Action somehow got the pass marks in this regard since Eiichiro Oda was present behind the curtains. He handpicked the cast, so there was never any margin for error. When it comes to The One Piece, WIT Studio is most likely to hire new voice actors for every role. They might not be able to live up to the expectations of the fans. The bar set by the original voice actors is pretty high.
Some fans even believe that the emotion behind Mayumi Tanaka’s voice carries half of Monkey D. Luffy‘s personality. They can only listen to the voice and identify whether it is a funny situation or a serious one without even looking at the screen. For the past 25 years, fans have been accustomed to a particular set of voices, and changing them suddenly might cause them to abandon the remake.
Fans React To The Voice Actor Problem
The Straw Hat Pirates have a particular voice actor who has been giving them voices for the past 25 years. Changing them would be like changing a daily habit for anime lovers. There is always the option of making the voice actors work double, but it might not be ethical considering their age. Fans took up the issue on social media and shared their views on the matter.
Eiichiro Oda might also be helpless in this situation. He worked tirelessly with Netflix’s One Piece, and the result was the massive success of the series. For the moment, there has been no news on the casting of the voice actors. The remake is still under production, and more might be revealed in the future. It will be interesting to see how things fold out in the future.
One Piece is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
