Mayumi Tanaka, the voice actor of Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece, might have found the perfect replacement who can take over her role as Luffy. Tanaka has been voicing Luffy for almost thirty years, and she has done a great job portraying the character over the years.
However, as she is getting old and the series is still a little far away from the conclusion, the creators might have to find someone else who could do justice to the character of Luffy. This has also become a major concern for Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece. Oda never imagined that the series would go on for so long.
In an interview, Oda talked about how Masako Nozawa, the character who voiced Dr. Kureha in One Piece, offered to take Tanaka’s role as Luffy’s voice actor in One Piece. While she was joking about it, she actually might be the best candidate for it.
Masako Nozawa is Willing to Take Over Luffy’s Role in One Piece
In 2022, Oda gave an interview with Gosho Aoyama, the creator of Detective Conan for Weekly Shonen Jump 34, which was shared by @Orojapan1 on X(Formerly Twitter), where they discussed the contribution of voice actors in the anime series. Oda pointed out that voice actors like Mayumi Tanaka have given so much to Luffy and One Piece.
Oda stated:
“I didn’t think the anime would continue for this long and the voice actors are also getting old. The other day Tanaka Mayumi(Luffy) said worried “What will happen if I die” and Nozawa Masako (Kureha) told her “If you die i will take your role” (laughs), they have to stay healthy.”
According to Eiichiro Oda, Tanaka was worried about what would happen to Luffy’s character if she died. Masako Nozawa was also present there during the discussion, and she jokingly offered to take over her role as Luffy. Although she said it humorously, she would be the perfect candidate to follow in the footsteps of Tanaka.
Masako Nozawa’s Journey in the Anime Industry
Nozawa has been working as a voice actor for over 60 years. She has voiced many prominent characters, but she is known for playing Goku, Gohan, and Goten in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series. She has been voicing Goku since the beginning of the Dragon Ball franchise.
She has also voiced characters like Doraemon from the popular children’s animated series, Dr. Kureha in One Piece, Dukemon in Digimon, Masamune in Pokémon: Advanced, Kaigyo in Tsubasa Chronicle, Ryuuzoku Zokuchou from Rage of Bahamut, and many more. She is a legend in the Japanese anime industry.
Besides anime, Nozawa has also worked in theatrical animations and video games, where she has mostly played characters that are related to Goku in one way or another. Interestingly, she has also played the roles of Goku’s father Bardock, his fusion form Vegitto, and Black Goku, the antagonist from Dragon Ball Super.
You can watch One Piece on Crunchyroll.
