◣News Årc 3: Luffy's VA◥
ONE PIECE: LUFFY'S ACTRESS ONCE FEARED THEY'D DIE BEFORE THE ANIME ENDS
One Piece has been on the air for decades now, and it is reaching an important apex week by week. It will not be long before the show hits 1,000 episodes, and fans are still in shock over the hit series' reign. No one is more surprised than the cast who works to bring the Straw Hats to life, and one of its stars admits they weren't sure they would live to see the anime finish.
Over on Twitter, One Piece fans were reminded of the fact when an interview with Mayumi Tanaka surfaced. The actress is a veteran in the anime industry, and she has voiced Monkey D. Luffy since day one. Fans cannot imagine the anime without her, and Tanaka said she worried at one point whether she should find a successor just in case One Piece outlived her.
Mayumi Tanaka (Luffy's Voice Actress)
"I never thought One Piece would be this long. Every year, Oda told me, "Mayumi-san, it'll end in 10 years." I don't know if I'll be alive when One Piece ends... If I choose a replacement now, maybe One Piece fans will accept it (when I die)," she said (via blondemarimo).
In the interview, Tanaka even says Masako Nozawa could replace her, but the Dragon Ball actress is also up there in years. Fans are as protective of Nozawa as they are Tanaka, so Luffy's actress said it would be a moot point there.
As you can imagine, this interview has drummed up some conflicting emotions are One Piece fans are sending the actress all the good vibes. Thankfully, Tanaka appears to be in good health, and she still performs her role as Luffy with the vibrancy she did in episode one. At age 65, the actress has mastered the art of leading the Straw Hats into battle, and fans are confident the actress will command the crew until One Piece comes to its eventual end.
Author Kizray
Article by Megan Peters (November 8, 2020)
Tanaka actually spoke about who might replace her should the series continue after she passes. Noting that series creator Eiichiro Oda joked that the series could take long, Tanaka remarked, "I might not even be alive by the time it ends. When the time comes, I hope that One Piece fans can accept the person I choose as my successor."
Tanaka's son was also in attendance along with another prominent voice actress, Masako Nozawa, and he joked that Nozawa should take over, "The only person I can think of who could possibly replace you is Masako Nozawa." But Tanaka cheekily shot down this idea, "What's the point if it's someone older than me?" Tanaka, who is 62 at the time of this writing, is a lot younger than Nozawa, age 82. But that won't stop Nozawa, who joked that she could continue acting at least until 100, or even age 128.
Fans of anime should recognize Nozawa's work as she performs the voice of Dragon Ball's Goku, and is the voice of Doctor Kureha for One Piece too. If there does come the day where Tanaka has to pass down the role of Luffy, fans probably wouldn't mind Nozawa taking over the role. But with more seriousness in mind, there will probably be a lot more consideration paid toward taking on Luffy in full.
With Tanaka's words, it's clear that she has no problem passing on the Luffy mantle if the series does continue past the point where she's not able to perform for the character anymore. It's just a matter of whether or not the fans would accept it. That's tough to say for now, of course, but maybe it's something fans might have to face for One Piece's 40th anime anniversary.
Author Kizray
Article by Nick Valdez (August 4, 2019)
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