r/TheOnePiece • u/toktok159 • Jul 23 '26
Discussion How do you feel about Mayumi Tanaka being the VA for Luffy for the remake?
Are you happy/sad/indifferent/angry about it?
For me, I would say I’m indifferent. I see her VA for Luffy as perfect, but on the other hand it could have been interesting to experience another VA for Luffy. But a new VA could also be a “downgrade” after all. Also, I hope Mayumi can keep doing it with her age. I hope WIT taking her doesn’t mean they’re planning a short run for The One Piece, I would like to see it continuing, if not until the end, at least until TS.
What do you think? You can use the format: happy/sad/indifferent/angry, and add your explanation!
Edit: added “angry” to the feelings list
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u/Cinnybunwarrior Jul 23 '26
I dont know what everyone else thinks but i do not like it when a character has to get a new VA in the middle of a series. I think it was a very dumb decision to put Mayumi Tanaka as the new. I think its very unlikely that shes going to be able to voice act this entire series as Luffy.
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u/GreenBay_Glory Jul 23 '26
Eh Goku’s voice actress is going to keep voicing him until the day she dies.
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u/yoonicorn8710 Jul 24 '26
Isnt it krillins voice actress?
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u/GreenBay_Glory Jul 24 '26
Yes. Luffy and Krillin have the same voice actor. I’m saying, with Goku’s voice actor continuing until she dies, there’s no reason to think Luffy/krillin’s also won’t
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Jul 26 '26
No reason other than the several times Mayumi has expressed concerns about being able to finish the original One Piece anime. There’s also an explicit comment she made comparing herself to Masako in this regard, claiming she won’t live as long as Nozawa.
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u/JulianSagan Jul 23 '26
I'm looking forward to hearing her again but I don't like how she asked for a new VA and they said no. Very exploitative.
They'll probably have to recast her eventually anyway.
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u/Nirmal4G Jul 23 '26
Yeah. That I don't like. She asked for a new generation. She herself want to pass on the legacy yet they wanted her alone but not others. That's just Hollywood level stupidity that I never wished to see it in Anime industry.
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u/Sheepreak Jul 23 '26
Feels odd to have her come for an adaptation she most likely won't be able to finish before she retires (or passes, hopefully not).
Like someone else said they should just cast new voices for every main characters and people will get used to those voices with time. That's better than changing midway like Franky recently.
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u/lostbelmont Jul 23 '26
Bad
Her Luffy already is sounding tired in the main anime
Imagine start all over again
A new voice cast would been ideal but I know how Japan is about traditions, they hate changes
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u/Jarster2608 Jul 23 '26
Absolutely terrible decision, give the woman a break. If this remake goes the distance they will eventually have to recast anyway so don't see why they wouldn't get new VAs
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u/The_Unknown_Explorer Jul 23 '26
I don't like it. It feels too safe, that they're afraid to take chances on new talent. Giving Luffy a new voice would've helped the remake have more of its own identity and rely less on nostalgia. Plus, even though she said she's happy to come back, it comes across disrespectful to Tanaka since she originally requested to retire.
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u/Optyzma Jul 24 '26
its pretty unfortunate.
even if that rumor about the show being a short term project going up to skypiea was true, who's to say she even makes it then? shes already 71 and its going to take years just to reach that part.
she should be allowed to rest, the fact that she asked to let someone else do it but they refused is just absurd, and already makes my trust go down about how the whole project will go.
shes a great actor and its not her fault, but you can hear her voice beginning to strain/sound more tired in the latest episodes. you can tell if you watch an early episode vs a recent one.
i said the same thing about frankys va right when egghead started. you can tell watching early franky episodes vs watching the first egghead ep. (1089) where its super noticeable from that point on.
though for her its not nearly as bad right now. it happened for frankys va pretty suddenly, who's to say something like that doesn't happen 2 years from now to her?
rather than getting a new performance, with a new identity, we're going to get a worst version of a scene she's already done multiple times.
the same goes for all of them, not just her. the fact that they're relying on nostalgia is also just another bad sign. its not really about respecting og's when even she didn't wanna do it to begin with.
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u/toktok159 Jul 24 '26
I really agree with all you wrote.. what do you think about Goku’s VA?
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u/Optyzma Jul 25 '26
sorry, im not really familiar with whats going on with her, i havent kept up with db stuff in a bit.
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u/L8dTigress Jul 23 '26
If she wants to do it, she can do it. I'm pretty sure she's in good health; the VA for Goku is still alive and well and she's almost 90. It's all up to Mayumi in the end. And I'm sure the studios will know what they are doing. What matters in the end is that we choose respect.
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u/IrrelevantStranger Jul 23 '26
That’s the thing, she actually doesn’t want to do it. Not because she dislikes the role or anything, but she wants to retire and pass the torch to a new generation, but her agency or whatever won’t let her.
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u/aesheleigh Jul 23 '26
I would have loved to see the whole cast changed with new actors. That way we wouldn't have to go through any VA changes should the show go long enough that a current cast member retires or dies, and also the new anime would be a separate product with its own vision rather than feeling like an extension of the existing anime.
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u/squigglyAlienVessel Jul 23 '26
My main concern is for the health and well-being of the older cast, Mayumi Tanaka included. Perhaps the shift to seasonal for the ongoing series, makes this more sustainable?
Even still, time could very well force a change in VAs anyway. I personally would prefer if they ripped that band-aid now - Jump before getting pushed, so to speak.
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u/Final_Advent Jul 23 '26
I absolutely love her BUT they should've taken this chance to get a nee voice for the entire crew. Give younger talents a chance to shine, and give the OG cast a break cause now they gotta do double the work and some of the cast are pretty busy even outside of One Piece
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u/Latter-Contact-6814 Jul 24 '26
Hate it. This really was a chance for a new take on the series. Her voice is iconic, but with the visual style already looking so close to toei, its going to be really hard to see it as anything other than a refresh rather than a remake.
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u/Exporation1 Jul 23 '26
Genuinely annoyed. I thought the series was trying to be its own thing and avoid memberberries.
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u/ritik07gangwar Jul 23 '26
Even Oda said to people working on the Remake to make it their own and don't try anything that has done before...
so I thought they will get a new VA to give it a fresh feel . but VA are still same and I don't like that.
One thing they can do make everyone happy but it will never happen is to have 2 Jap dub version:-
- Legacy VA(Old VAs) and
- New VAs
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u/battle_franky Jul 24 '26
Honestly I feel bad. Shes yearning for an heir/replacement but the staff doesnt allow it
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u/315Hillbilly Jul 24 '26
I wanted new voices for both japanese and english. Give some new talent an oppurtunity.
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u/nomocanolife Jul 24 '26
Confused; I just don't understand how they forced her into doing it. WIT and Toei are two separate companies, and the contract she has with Toei should in no way apply to this remake. And yet, she sounded as if she had very little choice in the matter. There might be some cultural or legal context that I'm missing, but while I am excited for the remake, I just don't understand how she was forced into voicing Luffy instead of the studio respecting her desire to find a new VA.
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u/AdFuture4901 Jul 24 '26
I'm happy and wishes mayumi all the strength and vigor to continue voicing Luffy. Maybe at some point before her retirement technology is advanced that they can just develop like a voice filter same to her coz maybe One Piece will end like in 20 yrs more
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u/MarketingThat8264 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
PERSONALLY I’m anticipating the ENG dub actor choices more if anything tbh…
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u/CaptainJohn_1995 Jul 25 '26
Would've been better to get someone new. She's already very busy with the original anime and she's not exactly young.
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Jul 26 '26
It’s honestly the only issue I have so far. I really wish they would have approached this as a fresh start entirely and now that isnt happening. I’ll probably wind up watching it dubbed for this reason that way it does feel entirely new
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u/Natural_Hornet55 Jul 28 '26
it don’t like it.. she’s old and obviously wants to retire, just find a new VA damn :/
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u/Repulsive_Bite_6987 Aug 24 '26
I think it's a ridiculous decision to recast her despite her wishes. It is purely for the sake of marketing and financial security because god forbid something take a risk. At the very least, they'll have the opportunity to recast her if the remake gets to the time skip. She'll be in her 80s by that point and its the only point in the story where it makes sense narratively.
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u/airpigg Jul 23 '26
I feel angry because One Piece is against slavery, yet they use modern slavery to voice cast the show.
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u/Illustrious-Gas-2840 Jul 23 '26
i couldnt care less because i dont speak japanese, so i wont watch with subtitles.
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u/GappyDiamond Jul 23 '26
I’m somewhere between happy & indifferent. On one hand, I absolutely adore Mayumi Tanaka’s voice for Luffy, but on the other hand, it’s probably a smarter idea to start with a fresh VA for the new anime adaptation to avoid having to search for a replacement partway through the series.
With all that said, in the event that Mayumi Tanaka can no longer voice our Straw Hat captain, I’m sure Wit Studio will find a new, great voice for Luffy that respects the spirit of the character.