Shuichi Ikeda takes off his hat and gives up one of his most important anime voice roles. But, the all-clear for One Piece fans: For now, this only applies to the Gundam character Char. But the worries are definitely justified because Shuichi Ikeda also voices Shanks in the One Piece anime. The adaptation may soon have to look for another speaker for the popular role.
One Piece: Voice Actor quits Gundam role and he is also Shanks' voice
That's what it's about:Shanks is one of the coolest, most mysterious and most popular characters in the manga and anime series. Even though he doesn't get a lot of screen time so far, he still plays an extremely important role. But soon we may have to get used to a new (Japanese) voice in the anime series (via:GameRant).
Gundam role is abandoned:Shuichi Ikeda voices a lot of different characters in the anime industry, including Char from the Gundam universe. But he is now apparently giving up exactly this role. The reason for this could have something to do with the age of the now 75-year-old.
This is what else he said:Anyone who watches anime series in the original Japanese will definitely have heard the voice of Shuichi Ikeda. He has been working in this field since the 1970s and was involved in the following anime, among others.
- Mobile Suit Gundam (since 1979)
- Bubblegum Crisis (1987)
- Arc the Lad (1999)
- One Piece (since 1999)
- Detective Conan (2001)
- Naruto (2005)
- Hunter x Hunter (2011)
What about Shanks' role?That is not yet certain. But if Shuichi Ikeda completely withdraws from the anime business and really retires, he will hardly be able to continue voicing Shanks.
Sooner or later it will happen anyway,that the people behind the One Piece anime need to find a new voice actor for Shanks. After all, it will probably be a few years before the series comes to an end and Shuichi Ikeda will almost certainly retire by then.
What do you think when anime or animated series eventually introduce new voice actors for well-known roles? Do you even watch One Piece in the Japanese original?
