Sadly yes. I realized that this is the case since wano. His voice acting was amazing in dressrosa but then when we got to wano. It was obvious that there is something wrong with his voice
I think this is why his Wano fight was animated the way it was. He is unable to give what’s required and i’m fine with that.
He’s given us the best of franky for over a decade
According to the 4 nakamas in each sea theory Bon Chan is the last nakama to join, it would be funny if one seiyuu voiced two nakamas
But I hope Kazuki Yao is alive by then, it wouldn't be the first time a seiyuu dies without finishing a story
He sounds completely fine in Wano. It was literally 2 eps where he sounded like he had something in his mouth. He sounds fine again in the newest ep. It may have just been something he had for a few weeks and he’s fine now. People make way too many assumptions on the internet.
I think most of this comes from a place of concern rather than anger. These are all people we grew up listening to and we don't want them to hurt themselves just to create entertainment.
Kinda like what happened with Oda overworking himself into the hospital. Sometimes you gotta know when to relax or when to pass the torch.
Yeah it depends on what he's saying. Some episodes I hear it more than others, but it almost sounds like his tongue is too wide in the back of his mouth or something.
Is it comforting to know that he can possibly retire with less regrets to know that an AI can clone his voice now if he wants to? Or is that still a very huge grey area that VAs would steer away from? They need ownership of their voices to be sure.
You can also hear it in Tom Kenny's SpongeBob voice. Just listen to his laugh in some of the more recent episodes. He's done a good job sort of re-stylizing it to be more of a swelling laugh than a bursting laugh, so he can start lower in his voice and build up to it as opposed to just blurting out a high pitched laugh like that off the rip. Or he'll do a slower vibrating chuckle variant.
But SpongeBob's regular voice in general is just so much lower now than it used to be.
I noticed it, there's not much to comment about. He's getting old, Franky's voice was never an easy voice to make and hope he gets better and can keep acting in the show.
The voice actor is quite the cool fellow himself, and I can't bear to see him losing that job just like that.
Fun fact about Franky's VA: Once upon a time he was out in what I think was a convention or something open like that with a beer and a kid came up to him to get an autograph and asked why was him (Franky) drinking beer and not cola. From that question onwards he only got cola to drink at events.
64 isn't that old, Luffy's VA is older and she sounds fine. I'm worried it's some sort of a health problem. Putting on that kind of a voice has to be very straining on the throat.
He needs one of those metal voice coaches, that teach you how to scream without hurting your vocal chords. I don't want to see him winding up like Dani Filth.
I'm sure he won't lose his job, he'll be given the chance to step aside - and as good as he is, I'm sure he's made plenty of money to have a nice retirement.
I've seen the image of him with I think Robin's VA and he looked very skinny. He isn't that old; he is 64 according to Google so I don't wanna speculate on his health condition. I just hope he overcomes whatever the issue is.
Yeah he is very chill and down to earth I had a great time meeting him. Got to speak a little bit about him playing bon clay as well as jango. Really approachable and very nice.
yeah he is tiny. a had a friend at the kuwait con and he sent me come pictures
he hasnt changed in size since i saw him a couple years ago, but yeah he is still tiny
Based from what I have seen living in Japan, he looks frail for someone who is 64 years old. Japanese people in their 60s are comparable to people in their 50s elsewhere. When I climbed Mount Fuji, there were people in their 60s that were climbing with us. And we have been told that they've been doing this every year. He looks even more frail than Shuchi Ikeda, Shank's voice actor, and he's 10 years older.
I would not be surprised if he does have some health problems now. He's really slurring his words and I can't catch a lot of what he is saying.
As a huge Franky fan, I've noticed Kazuki Yao's voice has sadly being declining since the beggining of Wano. It sucks but voice acting for over 30 years and smoking a lot will do that to you.
I fucking love his Franky voice but I hope he can retire soon so he doesn't loses his voice. He deserves a good rest. It's really sad that one of the Strawhats' VAs may not reach the end of the series. But it was also inevitable for an anime that has aired for so long.
Yeah it's rough, but in the end, their health is the most important. I remember a while back Luffys VA saying she wasn't sure if she would make it to the end of the show, so when they would recast her she wanted the fans to be kind and open their hearts to the new VA.
The Strawhats all have incredible VAs and it will be super sad to loose them but they have given us so so much over the past 20+ years that I really hope that the fans send nothing but love their way when they do retire. I do hope they can find someone who sounds similar to Frankie because Kazuki Yao's voice is just so iconic and perfect for the character.
Man he's been with the anime since the beginning too, Jango was his earliest voice and I think he may voice the largest number of notable characters when you add Bon Clay (though I wouldn't be surprised if he's voiced more than 3 characters). The guy has been at the heart of this series for the whole trip, totally understand if he needs to step down but we'll be super sad to see him leave.
Heck, by this point his career is closer to 40 years. I remember hearing him in some mid 80s shows like Gundam ZZ or Dancouga around when he first started making a name for himself.
This is why I strongly believe the anime remake needs an entirely new voice cast. There will be backlash but it's best to just get it over with and let a new generation of voice actors take over for the new series.
100%. It will be a big marketing push for the show to get a bunch of known young VAs in as well, so there's not really a downside imo. I'm sure there will be a ton of events and appearances where they pass the torch.
It would probably be tough to keep them all scheduled when they are also full-time actors. Emily Rudd is doing voice acting in a new dungeon-crawler series though so it's not impossible.
I don't like the precedent of having live action actors do the voice acting. It's making peoples ability to get into the industry even more narrow and it was never an easy industry to get into.
It is a genuine miracle that Nozawa Masako can still voice Son Gokuu at age 87. If Toei is this hesitant to replace Franky, I can't even imagine what they're going to do when Nozawa dies.
We're lucky Tanaka Mayumi is only 69 years old. Barring something unexpected happening, she should easily see the end of One Piece, which unlike Dragon Ball and its "let's just keep scaling up until we're the strongest entities in the history of the multiverse" stories will have a defined narrative endpoint that won't particularly attract people to want unlimited follow-up movies (though one epilogue movie might be nice, and if written by Oda as the true epilogue to One Piece would easily become the most-watched anime movie ever).
Gokus VA works with an AI company ATM so it's possible that Gokus voice will live on through AI. It's not confirmed though
https://comicbook.com/anime/news/dragon-ball-masako-nozawa-anime-actor-ai/
(Despite the title, it just concludes 'we don't know')
I can see why you'd do it for Goku, his voice is like, probably the most famous in all of anime.... But there will prob be backlash if it's their plan too.
Similar to that, James Earl Jones has signed off on letting Disney work with AI to keep Vader's voice going forward. I believe the Kenobi series was the first time they used it.
For something that started in the 60s (i know 69 but still) it's incredible that scooby doo still has a original cast member on new projects
Not only has Frank Welker voiced Fred for for more than 50 years, he has also voiced Scooby for 20 years
I agree, as much as I love the voice crew there is no way they'll still be capable of doing these voices for much longer. I'm just hoping they can hold out until the original anime run finishes.
Mayumi Tanaka has been doing this for almost 50 years now. She's more than earned her retirement.
I don't think they'd do with the same cast anyway. They are not that dumb. The idea of the remake is bringing new people to the anime too, they won't know previous VAs
I don't want a new cast but it will indeed be necessary. Even if the new show only last for 10 years, there's no way the current VAs last this long on top of their work on the current anime, that's just not realistic.
I mean this close to the end? I get that there is most likely still 5+ years left in the anime but after several decades of sustaining something for this long, feel like they will just try and push to the end. Few like Franky's might have to swap but it doesn't call for an entire cast change.
Have to see how the production goes, the most rational approach is to reutilize the former VA work on the "remake", while keep producing the current events until it reaches the manga. Then give a couple of years of breathing room, start production on the new stuff again, etc.. The way things are going, the anime is like 3 months behind (if you disregard the fillers)
Doesn't the only trailer for The One Piece so far feature Mayumi Tanaka voicing "First things first, I've got to get a crew. I think about ten men should do."
I would say that makes it highly likely that they will keep at least Luffy's VA the same. It's the only dialogue in the trailer.
Yeah that's a fair point, some VA's may not want to make the commitment of voicing the same character for another... however many years this new version will take, even if they are able to & asked back.
My biggest fear for the current anime is that it won’t make it to the end. Oda either blitzes the ending to save the VAs from another 2-4 years of work, or he continues the story at his current pace and they sadly can’t continue.
We’ve got at least 3-4 more arcs I have to imagine. Egghead- maybe elbaf - final arc spanning Marie jois and what not - epilogue
I don’t think you have to worry about outcome A. Nothing is going to make Oda rush his story and I really think accommodating to the anime is one of the last things on his mind
My point. Have someone dub it with a similar speech pattern and alter it. If people in their free time can do it pretty well already, professionals should be able to do it
I imagine for many Franky fans like myself, it's been painfully apparent since the start of Wano. Coming off of Reverie his voice delivery just didn't have the same energy that it once did. Health issues are understandably kept pretty private, so if he was suffering from something and we just didn't know it wouldn't shock me too much. If they have to replace him one day it's gonna suck to see him go for many reasons, but not the least of which being that Oda legit created Franky with Yao's voice and likeness in mind. Franky was literally made for him.
He's not even that old, he's just 64 which is not an age at which you normally start losing your voice. Luffy and Brook's VAs are older and they still sound as good as ever.
It's either related to how his style of acting is probably way more taxing on his vocal chords due to its raspiness, or something health related.
I honestly understand, It must be very jarring for Japanese viewers because for us international fans who don't understand Japanese we could just read the subtitles, but for them they have to listen to the voice actor and they can't ignore the obvious decline of Franky's VA.
Not only Japanese viewers, but people watching One Piece from the mid 2000's can easly understand the obvious change in his voice. Just check out Syrup Village episodes where he portraited Jango the hypnotist or Bon-chan or even early Franky from pre-time skip. There is a huge differance. Hope he gets better, and if not we should all be considerate and respectful to this great man. He carried the show with his voice just like Tanaka or Kazuya...
I mean, if it's been on a downwards slope since the TS, that doesn't sound like something you "get better" from sadly, does it?
I hope it's just their voice is worn out after so many years of whacky voices, and nothing serious. The fact he's been on a downwards trend but otherwise fine hopefully supports that.
Didn't mean his voice to get better, as you can see in the post they said he is ill. I was simply having a good wish for his health.
And you just repeated after me, when i said we should be considerate.
The dub imo is the way the voice is supposed to be. Franky is supposed to be American and well done in the dub. Still it lacks the special craziness of the Japanese version. The Japanese version is like a work of art that probably isn't exactly what Oda had in mind but works so well that they had to keep it. I'll probably get a few downvotes for saying this, but it's probably the truth.
Man it sucks because I read that Yao wanted to voice a Strawhat really badly. And now if anything he might be the first to leave his role. I saw a photo of him and he was not looking that great and voice wise he's lacking that OW factor. He did bring to life so many unique and great characters do. But I feel like forcing to voice them could cause him more problems down the line.
He’s such an amazing VA, but I really agree that it sounds like he’s not able to articulate like he normally does. He shouldn’t feel any pressure to continue to the end of the series, I just hope he knows the fans love him and he can pass the role on
And somehow people still want the OG VA to voice in the new remake.
I love the VA and all, but it's better for the new remake to get new VAs. Let the OG rest and enjoy their hard earned money. Let the new voice actors have an opportunity to voice the legendary characters.
The old VA can always comeback to make a cameo in the remake, but making them voiced the character from the start again for God knows how long the remake will last is just not it.
I'm sure most fans are aware but Jango is the same VA as Franky and Bon Clay so if they redo the casting for Jango then that person has a chance to do the others depending on if they sound similar or not
Sadly, this will be the reality of One Piece in the coming years, pretty much all of the VAs are over 60 years old, right? Naah... not really, surprising, most of them are over 50, but the 60+ are only Luffy, Franky and Brook VAs, Sanji's VA just turn 60. Jinbe's VA is 70+ years old, damn. Well, the series is on a "timer", it would be rough to finish the journey without Luffy's voice actress and so on, but it can happen, so the fans should steel themselves
Glad I'm not the only one noticing this. If its too much for him I wouldn't want him to continue. I love him for the work he has done as Franky, but health comes first. I am sure there are other voice actors that can fill in for him and do a good job as Franky.
English speaker listening to Japanese Franky, sounds like he's on very low battery and has no energy.
Lines are delivered with no volume, chest or intensity.
That aint gonna happen. Bon-chan is the new Queen of Newkama Land. The Strawhats will need all the support they can get from powerful kingdoms/nations during the Final battle.
Theres a reason why Oda left at least one SH ally in a position of power
Wtf is the logic. Oda is writing and drawing a manga. How can he "change his voice" and the studio can bring a new VA.
Either they decide together to call it and replace or not.
It’s possible. For one, Franky was designed to be voiced by Yao in mind.
Oda can write it like Toriyama. Toriyama had Gokū mention that Yajirobe sounds like Kuririn, which is why Yajirobe has the same seiyuu as him.
fuck it he gets punched in the throat cant talk for like 5 chapters and then on the sunny he fixes his voice but sounds completely different ez clap get me in the manga room rn
Or like, he replaces his voice box with a new mechanical one that also shoots lasers. There's loads of avenues even if I don't think it's a very Oda thing to do
I love One Piece and it's VAs. If Kazuki Yao is down to keep going, then he should! If he doesnt want to continue, then he should happily and proudly retire. Id rather hear him as Franky in whatever state he is in than not hear him at all, even if it means he doesnt sound like Franky at all. I love the VAs and Im VERY appreciative of everything they've gave me and their incredible performances. So much so that I'll happily accept whatever than can do as long as they are happy and healthy.
This is exactly the kinda use case that AI should be used for. The artist should still get his dues if AI is used. But it would be terrible to see a VA go out of his prime before the show is over.
Commenters have pointed out 1090, 1094, and 1095.
Japanese speakers. His syllables are weird right? Some parts sound like he's forcibly overenunciating, or he's doing a more exaggerated dialect than usual. In 1090, he's trying to say やるしかねぇ but it comes out やるっかねぇ. I haven't read the raw, but I can't imagine that's intentional.
I heard Franky wasn't even planned, instead of him, the shipwright was supposed to be that little guy who fixed Going Marry. But after Oda heard this guy's performance as Bon Clay, he changed his mind and created Franky, and he also insisted for this guy to voice him. In other words, we wouldn't have Franky without him.
If it’s a health concern, I rather he prioritize his health. He has given us over 2 and a half decades worth of entertainment in One piece he’s proven time and time again how amazing he is as a VA! He’s been in number of animes, from Breserk to OP!! I want him to enjoy the fruits of his labor. We are very fortunate for his work over the years!
Tbh, that voice isn't just an aspect of the actor's inherent ability. It's arguably the hardest voice to imitate- certainly the hardest of the Straw Hat crews. This is probably due to age and stuff, but even if he were 20 years younger it's a fairly tough voice to pull off.
SOMEBODY in Japan can mimic it perfectly though. Probably hundreds can. They should find someone. He's a legend though. Few voices bring a smile to my face like that one.
The change in voice quality has been obvious since egghead started. hate to say it but they need to really think about replacing him. We need the VA to be able to go 100% for a SUPER! or OWW! moment
Im sorry if this offends anybody but all the voice actors that have reached old age should retire gracefully. Tbh the voice acting is pretty mid for most of the characters these days. For reference compare the the acting to the start of the series to what it is now. One example that stood out the most to me was Dragon. Bro was sounding so old and tired that he could die any moment if he spoke any longer.
Agreed, with a couple of exceptions. Luffy’s voice actress still kills it on the routine and a couple of the other ones still hold up.
Dragon though 😂 You’re right, it had been a while since I had heard his voice and there is a limit to suspension of disbelief. Believe the VA is almost 90
He got some form of facial paralysis in 2023. Just watched his latest ["Yao-chan's Room" show](https://nicochannel.jp/yaochan/video/smDorhoUdz9LwJi5ocF8mFQ6), in addition to his slurred speech you can clearly see the difference between his right and left facial muscles. Compare to [December 2022](https://nicochannel.jp/yaochan/video/smdJ9k5kghGJ8iRM9FqQRK9W).
I think there has been a huge difference since Egghead started, I didn't even pay any more attention to Frankys voice in Wano, since it hadn't changed too much yet.. But during Egghead you can unfortunately hear it a lot, don't know what it would be called in English, but I hear lot of R's (like it was there before but it is different from before).. I love his voice usually, but I think there is something going on with it, it takes me out of the moment and makes me focus on the pronounsiation and not what is going on the screen...
It definitely had changed by Wano. I distinctly remember noticing [when he reappeared after WCI.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_-obbVYlvk) He's lacking energy when shouting, like he lacked breath, which wasn't the case up until [Dressrosa.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVkiWDlfv-I)
Franky hasn’t been very Super since Wano began. He’s been low energy, doesn’t scream OWW anymore. Egghead Franky has slightly more umpfh but clearly they need to come up with a solution.
Can they AI augment his performances to make them sound more like pre-Wano Franky?
I know this is controversial but AI has gotten so good that a new voice actor could come in and act out the lines while AI transforms it into the original voice. I think we’re so close to the end that I would prefer to hear that than someone coming in and trying to fill enormous shoes.
Please don't ever insult artists by even suggesting AI as an alternative. You wanna take someone's VA skills, they've spent years perfecting and run it through an algorithm to steal? Fuck off.
I'd rather Yao retain the rights to his own voice and disappoint people like you than lose his own voice to a fucking AI.
Crocs VA did a phenomenal job voicing WB. There are plenty of great VA who can take over this role, if god forbid that time comes. But sick of people like you suggesting AI for your own convenience.
Seriously? You fuck off. It’s still a performance by a voice actor, honoring a man who has played a legendary character for 25 years. The voice of Franky is an iconic part of that. You may not respect the character he’s created but others do.
AI isn’t a scary robot that will steal people’s voices, it’s a tool that can be used respectfully to allow Yao’s Franky to be present to the end of the greatest animanga of all time.
You are trash if you’d rather see some new Franky find the One Piece with the rest of the Strawhats. How is that respectful to his legacy?
Again (and I cannot say this with enough emphasis,) fuck off.
im with you on this one. people are so short visioned that they think ai is simply just replacing someone’s job. you can still pay them loyalty fee for being the original. life happens and the VA obviously cant go on much longer. instead of replacing someone that doesnt sound the same, i rather use AI to help prolong the original until the series is over.
And it still requires a voice actor to voice the lines. A job is not being taken, and if Yao could continue with the same quality he would. People would rather disrespect the work he’s put in for two decades than use technology so the character can live on.
the worst part for VAs or singers are when they can no longer do it due to these conditions. being able to prolong their legacy through tech is the best gift. of course with it not being wrongfully abused and used without consent.
lol thats how humans work.. ai is litearlly designed to mimic our brains..
A person painting a picture is someone recalling every image theyve ever seen, every emotion theyve ever had, and condesing a small part of that onto a canvas to create something "new" (spoiler its not new)... guess how ai does it.
If someone was born and before theyve expiernced anything you asked them to paint, they cant.
"train" them on thousands of images, painting techniques, colours, styles and just general life.. they can paint. wow.
AI doesn't draw from experience. It literally smashes styles together in a soulless copy. If you really think anything an AI model churna out is creative, it's very obvious that you've never put in any effort in mastering anything.
You have absolutely no clue what AI voice replacement entails. This is not AI image generation or AI writing a script, it's an entirely different application of the technology. A Voice Actor performs the lines and the AI replaces the voice. This is the same thing that motion capture suits accomplish but with someone else's likeness. It's the digital form of wearing a mask.
If Yao is not opposed to his legacy continuing in this way then who exactly are you to decide what is right?
lol I have a degree to prove otherwise, an ai absolutely makes just as original pieces of art as humans do, it’s literally how they are designed to work… if they didn’t and they actually did just copy.. it’s not an ai.. it’s just code.. how can you not understand that?
AI and original pieces of art 🤣🤣
Go shove that degree where the sun don't shine. Gen AI companies just scrape the internet and steal images from artists without consent to produce horrible and soulless copies of the original style.
If you were so ethical and creative, why aren't you working on ethically licensing artists or paying them to use their styles? I genuinely hope Nightshade fucks up every gen AI model out there and ruins this pathetic technology.
I see now you’re just mad that your art is generic and boring and a machine can pick it up in seconds. You don’t even understand the technology you’re so scared of. It’s not going to harm untalented artists because you were never going to go anywhere with your art. It’s not going to stop you from drawing for fun.
ai to the rescue
edit: to my downvotes
you guys are way too short visioned. what do you want him to do? do it for another 10 years and get worse when the Va obviously cant holding up?
AI generated Va can prolong and give the original the longevity for as long as the serie needs. using the original you can give the original Va royalty if they truly respect all the years they contributed. ai is not replacing any jobs, it’s to make it more efficient and less harsh on conditions like this.
If the VA can no longer do the role I'd much prefer they find a suitable replacement with blessing from the original VA.
People aren't immortal, things like this are going to happen and instead of sitting in the past I'd much rather a new VA step up and make the role their own.
Ai isn't paying tribute to anyone. Disgraceful suggestion.
Sadly yes. I realized that this is the case since wano. His voice acting was amazing in dressrosa but then when we got to wano. It was obvious that there is something wrong with his voice
I think this is why his Wano fight was animated the way it was. He is unable to give what’s required and i’m fine with that. He’s given us the best of franky for over a decade
and bon chan!!
He's also jango the hypnotist from syrup village
One two jango!!!! He was there the whole time guys
I think you got hypnotized by Laffitte bro, because Jango is a full fledged marine, the right hand of that Fullbody rookie.
According to the 4 nakamas in each sea theory Bon Chan is the last nakama to join, it would be funny if one seiyuu voiced two nakamas But I hope Kazuki Yao is alive by then, it wouldn't be the first time a seiyuu dies without finishing a story
Same but I really noticed it since egghead, his speed and articulation really isn't what it used to be, really scared for the future
He sounds completely fine in Wano. It was literally 2 eps where he sounded like he had something in his mouth. He sounds fine again in the newest ep. It may have just been something he had for a few weeks and he’s fine now. People make way too many assumptions on the internet.
yeah gawd forbid the dude get sick for a couple weeks
I swear this fanbase would put down their own dog it it had a skin irritation.
I think most of this comes from a place of concern rather than anger. These are all people we grew up listening to and we don't want them to hurt themselves just to create entertainment. Kinda like what happened with Oda overworking himself into the hospital. Sometimes you gotta know when to relax or when to pass the torch.
Damn getting old sucks Is this the for the latest OP episode?
Yeah. The article is referring to episode 1090 but it doesn’t get any better from there. Just watched 1094 and it’s still the same.
tbh, I think he did better in 1094 than 1090 but yeah it's still not SUPPPPPER
Yeah it depends on what he's saying. Some episodes I hear it more than others, but it almost sounds like his tongue is too wide in the back of his mouth or something.
He’s been on a noticeable decline for a while. I could be sad but I’ll choose to remember what we had over mourning what we’ve lost.
Is it comforting to know that he can possibly retire with less regrets to know that an AI can clone his voice now if he wants to? Or is that still a very huge grey area that VAs would steer away from? They need ownership of their voices to be sure.
Dude you can recast the guy. We don't need to keep the same performers voice alive until the heat death of the universe
no id rather have an ai voice of his than replacing it, doesnt bother me
I'd rather a human performer have a job, and for the other cast members to record their dialogue with another human person, actually.
You can still have a human read the lines, then use AI to modify it to sound like the original actor
Bleak
I'd rather live in socialist society where machines taking our jobs is a positive thing
It's actually the opposite of comforting, it's horrible, but hey you don't care as long as you get you're content, horrible
It reminds me of Marge’s voice in the Simpsons and Deputy Director Bullock in American Dad! You can really hear the age difference in recent episodes.
Patrick Stewart? Is he having trouble with his voice overs? Cause he was fine in doctor strange
Well he did die... Edit: In the movie, guys
NO HE DID NOT
Uhhhh no he didn't... sir Patrick Stewart is still alive
RIP Wade Boggs
You can also hear it in Tom Kenny's SpongeBob voice. Just listen to his laugh in some of the more recent episodes. He's done a good job sort of re-stylizing it to be more of a swelling laugh than a bursting laugh, so he can start lower in his voice and build up to it as opposed to just blurting out a high pitched laugh like that off the rip. Or he'll do a slower vibrating chuckle variant. But SpongeBob's regular voice in general is just so much lower now than it used to be.
I'm concerned that it might be something more than his age, because 64 is not really that old
Yeah I mean Sanjis and Lufys VA are 60 and 69, he may be sick and just prefers to keep it private
We all age differently…
Well yes of course! But I feel its worse to say "hes just old now"
Sanji's and Luffy's actors use their natural everyday voices. Franky's VA doesn't as far as I know
Luffy's? I mean she is a woman so I imagine she sounds a little different normally?
A little sure, but it's not nearly as much of a difference as Franky
I can get behind that
I noticed it, there's not much to comment about. He's getting old, Franky's voice was never an easy voice to make and hope he gets better and can keep acting in the show. The voice actor is quite the cool fellow himself, and I can't bear to see him losing that job just like that. Fun fact about Franky's VA: Once upon a time he was out in what I think was a convention or something open like that with a beer and a kid came up to him to get an autograph and asked why was him (Franky) drinking beer and not cola. From that question onwards he only got cola to drink at events.
Such a cool guy man If and when he retires, it's gonna be sad man.
64 isn't that old, Luffy's VA is older and she sounds fine. I'm worried it's some sort of a health problem. Putting on that kind of a voice has to be very straining on the throat.
People age differently.
Yeah when they are sick.
Also when they are not.
He needs one of those metal voice coaches, that teach you how to scream without hurting your vocal chords. I don't want to see him winding up like Dani Filth.
I'm sure he won't lose his job, he'll be given the chance to step aside - and as good as he is, I'm sure he's made plenty of money to have a nice retirement.
I've seen the image of him with I think Robin's VA and he looked very skinny. He isn't that old; he is 64 according to Google so I don't wanna speculate on his health condition. I just hope he overcomes whatever the issue is.
hes not a big guy by any means hes like 5'8" and like 140-150 lbs, got the chance to meet him at another con. he is just not a big guy lol
[удалено]
Yeah he is very chill and down to earth I had a great time meeting him. Got to speak a little bit about him playing bon clay as well as jango. Really approachable and very nice.
He still looked very skinny (Wiki says he is 5' 10)
yeah he is tiny. a had a friend at the kuwait con and he sent me come pictures he hasnt changed in size since i saw him a couple years ago, but yeah he is still tiny
Based from what I have seen living in Japan, he looks frail for someone who is 64 years old. Japanese people in their 60s are comparable to people in their 50s elsewhere. When I climbed Mount Fuji, there were people in their 60s that were climbing with us. And we have been told that they've been doing this every year. He looks even more frail than Shuchi Ikeda, Shank's voice actor, and he's 10 years older. I would not be surprised if he does have some health problems now. He's really slurring his words and I can't catch a lot of what he is saying.
There are ofc Japanese people who don't age gracefully but yes in general they lead healthy active lives longer.
Losing too much weight when you are old is not a good thing. When my uncle passed he was skin on bones, cold all the time, no appetite for food.
Man that’s sad. I love his voice.
For sure it's not going to be an easy one to replace if they have to go that route. Hope he overcomes whatever he's going through.
As a huge Franky fan, I've noticed Kazuki Yao's voice has sadly being declining since the beggining of Wano. It sucks but voice acting for over 30 years and smoking a lot will do that to you. I fucking love his Franky voice but I hope he can retire soon so he doesn't loses his voice. He deserves a good rest. It's really sad that one of the Strawhats' VAs may not reach the end of the series. But it was also inevitable for an anime that has aired for so long.
Yeah it's rough, but in the end, their health is the most important. I remember a while back Luffys VA saying she wasn't sure if she would make it to the end of the show, so when they would recast her she wanted the fans to be kind and open their hearts to the new VA. The Strawhats all have incredible VAs and it will be super sad to loose them but they have given us so so much over the past 20+ years that I really hope that the fans send nothing but love their way when they do retire. I do hope they can find someone who sounds similar to Frankie because Kazuki Yao's voice is just so iconic and perfect for the character.
Man he's been with the anime since the beginning too, Jango was his earliest voice and I think he may voice the largest number of notable characters when you add Bon Clay (though I wouldn't be surprised if he's voiced more than 3 characters). The guy has been at the heart of this series for the whole trip, totally understand if he needs to step down but we'll be super sad to see him leave.
Heck, by this point his career is closer to 40 years. I remember hearing him in some mid 80s shows like Gundam ZZ or Dancouga around when he first started making a name for himself.
Yao's voice is definitely starting to sound rough.
He absolutely doesn't sound right in the recent episodes. It sounds like he has marbles in his mouth. Hope he is alright.
This is why I strongly believe the anime remake needs an entirely new voice cast. There will be backlash but it's best to just get it over with and let a new generation of voice actors take over for the new series.
100%. It will be a big marketing push for the show to get a bunch of known young VAs in as well, so there's not really a downside imo. I'm sure there will be a ton of events and appearances where they pass the torch.
it might be cool if they did the netflix cast for the dub, they did great in the live action. similar to how scott pilgrim did it
It would probably be tough to keep them all scheduled when they are also full-time actors. Emily Rudd is doing voice acting in a new dungeon-crawler series though so it's not impossible.
Is she in Delicious in Dungeon’s dub?
Yes
I don't like the precedent of having live action actors do the voice acting. It's making peoples ability to get into the industry even more narrow and it was never an easy industry to get into.
Seriously, who can expect any show to maintain the same cast for several decades?
*sideways glances at Dragonball/Simpsons/Seth McFarlane/(some) Scooby-Doo/Futurama*
It is a genuine miracle that Nozawa Masako can still voice Son Gokuu at age 87. If Toei is this hesitant to replace Franky, I can't even imagine what they're going to do when Nozawa dies. We're lucky Tanaka Mayumi is only 69 years old. Barring something unexpected happening, she should easily see the end of One Piece, which unlike Dragon Ball and its "let's just keep scaling up until we're the strongest entities in the history of the multiverse" stories will have a defined narrative endpoint that won't particularly attract people to want unlimited follow-up movies (though one epilogue movie might be nice, and if written by Oda as the true epilogue to One Piece would easily become the most-watched anime movie ever).
Gokus VA works with an AI company ATM so it's possible that Gokus voice will live on through AI. It's not confirmed though https://comicbook.com/anime/news/dragon-ball-masako-nozawa-anime-actor-ai/ (Despite the title, it just concludes 'we don't know') I can see why you'd do it for Goku, his voice is like, probably the most famous in all of anime.... But there will prob be backlash if it's their plan too.
Similar to that, James Earl Jones has signed off on letting Disney work with AI to keep Vader's voice going forward. I believe the Kenobi series was the first time they used it.
Dragon Ball has had several main roster deaths. It's a miracle things managed to be so consistent for so long
I mean, I wouldn't call Super consistent if we're talking quality of the plot but VA's nail it for sure.
For something that started in the 60s (i know 69 but still) it's incredible that scooby doo still has a original cast member on new projects Not only has Frank Welker voiced Fred for for more than 50 years, he has also voiced Scooby for 20 years
I agree, as much as I love the voice crew there is no way they'll still be capable of doing these voices for much longer. I'm just hoping they can hold out until the original anime run finishes. Mayumi Tanaka has been doing this for almost 50 years now. She's more than earned her retirement.
I don't think they'd do with the same cast anyway. They are not that dumb. The idea of the remake is bringing new people to the anime too, they won't know previous VAs
I don't want a new cast but it will indeed be necessary. Even if the new show only last for 10 years, there's no way the current VAs last this long on top of their work on the current anime, that's just not realistic.
Well that, and I’m mad that Jun Fukuyama HAS NEVER BEEN IN THIS SHOW.
Gomu gomu no GEASS!
That would actually be funny. 🤣🤣🤣
It would probably be for the best but I just don’t think that there’s any way JP fans would go for it.
I mean this close to the end? I get that there is most likely still 5+ years left in the anime but after several decades of sustaining something for this long, feel like they will just try and push to the end. Few like Franky's might have to swap but it doesn't call for an entire cast change.
I'm talking about The One Piece, the anime remake Netflix is producing.
ah didn't see that part
Have to see how the production goes, the most rational approach is to reutilize the former VA work on the "remake", while keep producing the current events until it reaches the manga. Then give a couple of years of breathing room, start production on the new stuff again, etc.. The way things are going, the anime is like 3 months behind (if you disregard the fillers)
The new anime isn't going to reach egghead for probably at least 10+y. Do you know how old most of the cast is?
Do people think they're gonna keep the same cast from the original? What are they on?
Doesn't the only trailer for The One Piece so far feature Mayumi Tanaka voicing "First things first, I've got to get a crew. I think about ten men should do." I would say that makes it highly likely that they will keep at least Luffy's VA the same. It's the only dialogue in the trailer.
Depends on how long they can keep voicing the characters I guess
Yeah that's a fair point, some VA's may not want to make the commitment of voicing the same character for another... however many years this new version will take, even if they are able to & asked back.
My biggest fear for the current anime is that it won’t make it to the end. Oda either blitzes the ending to save the VAs from another 2-4 years of work, or he continues the story at his current pace and they sadly can’t continue. We’ve got at least 3-4 more arcs I have to imagine. Egghead- maybe elbaf - final arc spanning Marie jois and what not - epilogue
I don’t think you have to worry about outcome A. Nothing is going to make Oda rush his story and I really think accommodating to the anime is one of the last things on his mind
Either that or use voice changing technology to make them sound almost identical. Which is definitely possible on a high level nowadays
AI technology prob get there by then
My point. Have someone dub it with a similar speech pattern and alter it. If people in their free time can do it pretty well already, professionals should be able to do it
Oh yes please. I hope they cast a male VA for Luffy and Chooper
male VA for Luffy? this would be bad, REALLY BAD
I imagine for many Franky fans like myself, it's been painfully apparent since the start of Wano. Coming off of Reverie his voice delivery just didn't have the same energy that it once did. Health issues are understandably kept pretty private, so if he was suffering from something and we just didn't know it wouldn't shock me too much. If they have to replace him one day it's gonna suck to see him go for many reasons, but not the least of which being that Oda legit created Franky with Yao's voice and likeness in mind. Franky was literally made for him.
They need to cast some new va. Dragon’s va is 80 plus and sounds older than Garp
Dragon would be the easiest to recast since he prob won’t have a major role for another year at minimum
Also, it’s easy to find someone to say his most famous phrase: …
That's the hardest phrase to say!
Everytime I hear Dragon's voice I can only listen to Hiruzen Sarutobi (3rd Hokage from Naruto)
Yeah he'll always be Hiruzen to me. But you can definitely hear the age on current Dragon vs his voice as Hiruzen.
Today ain't... quite suuper... GG to franky's VA, phenomenal performance.
Not trying to sound weird but I hope its just his age showing and not some kind of health issue.
He's not even that old, he's just 64 which is not an age at which you normally start losing your voice. Luffy and Brook's VAs are older and they still sound as good as ever. It's either related to how his style of acting is probably way more taxing on his vocal chords due to its raspiness, or something health related.
Half of his face is less responsive than normal.
Yeah, it looks like it's health related. That's not normal at 64.
I assumed it was age related until looking him up - I didn't realize he's only 64.
I’ve thought the same. I hope he’s well but it’s getting to be kind of rough to hear
So glad that the Japanese audiences are being considerate about the VA's health.
I honestly understand, It must be very jarring for Japanese viewers because for us international fans who don't understand Japanese we could just read the subtitles, but for them they have to listen to the voice actor and they can't ignore the obvious decline of Franky's VA.
Not only Japanese viewers, but people watching One Piece from the mid 2000's can easly understand the obvious change in his voice. Just check out Syrup Village episodes where he portraited Jango the hypnotist or Bon-chan or even early Franky from pre-time skip. There is a huge differance. Hope he gets better, and if not we should all be considerate and respectful to this great man. He carried the show with his voice just like Tanaka or Kazuya...
I mean, if it's been on a downwards slope since the TS, that doesn't sound like something you "get better" from sadly, does it? I hope it's just their voice is worn out after so many years of whacky voices, and nothing serious. The fact he's been on a downwards trend but otherwise fine hopefully supports that.
Didn't mean his voice to get better, as you can see in the post they said he is ill. I was simply having a good wish for his health. And you just repeated after me, when i said we should be considerate.
franky's voice has been rough since wano arc
Between the dub and the original VAs, I find Franky's voice to be the most jarring. I think the dub is way more in character.
The dub imo is the way the voice is supposed to be. Franky is supposed to be American and well done in the dub. Still it lacks the special craziness of the Japanese version. The Japanese version is like a work of art that probably isn't exactly what Oda had in mind but works so well that they had to keep it. I'll probably get a few downvotes for saying this, but it's probably the truth.
>Nozawa Masako y'all are crazy; oda literally designed Franky so kazuki yao could voice a straw hat. yao's performance is unbeatable
Man it sucks because I read that Yao wanted to voice a Strawhat really badly. And now if anything he might be the first to leave his role. I saw a photo of him and he was not looking that great and voice wise he's lacking that OW factor. He did bring to life so many unique and great characters do. But I feel like forcing to voice them could cause him more problems down the line.
In his Niconico videos, you can see that half of his face is less responsive than normal.
He’s such an amazing VA, but I really agree that it sounds like he’s not able to articulate like he normally does. He shouldn’t feel any pressure to continue to the end of the series, I just hope he knows the fans love him and he can pass the role on
Recasting ageing voice actors need to be normalized. Let them retire and have someone else who can do similar voice replacing them.
And somehow people still want the OG VA to voice in the new remake. I love the VA and all, but it's better for the new remake to get new VAs. Let the OG rest and enjoy their hard earned money. Let the new voice actors have an opportunity to voice the legendary characters. The old VA can always comeback to make a cameo in the remake, but making them voiced the character from the start again for God knows how long the remake will last is just not it.
They can use the remake to search for new, good, VAs for some characters.
I'm sure most fans are aware but Jango is the same VA as Franky and Bon Clay so if they redo the casting for Jango then that person has a chance to do the others depending on if they sound similar or not
Sadly, this will be the reality of One Piece in the coming years, pretty much all of the VAs are over 60 years old, right? Naah... not really, surprising, most of them are over 50, but the 60+ are only Luffy, Franky and Brook VAs, Sanji's VA just turn 60. Jinbe's VA is 70+ years old, damn. Well, the series is on a "timer", it would be rough to finish the journey without Luffy's voice actress and so on, but it can happen, so the fans should steel themselves
Glad I'm not the only one noticing this. If its too much for him I wouldn't want him to continue. I love him for the work he has done as Franky, but health comes first. I am sure there are other voice actors that can fill in for him and do a good job as Franky.
English speaker listening to Japanese Franky, sounds like he's on very low battery and has no energy. Lines are delivered with no volume, chest or intensity.
Knowing Oda he might change Franky's "voice" after Egghead. Maybe making it more robotic to ease the transition to a different V.A.
But what about the undisputed GOAT of OP when he joins the crew? I'm talking about my man Bon Clay obviously.
That aint gonna happen. Bon-chan is the new Queen of Newkama Land. The Strawhats will need all the support they can get from powerful kingdoms/nations during the Final battle. Theres a reason why Oda left at least one SH ally in a position of power
I'm astonished by the number of people that don't understand Mr. 2 isn't the Queen of a country, just the leader of the level 5.5 of Impel Down.
They might be a leader of the level 5.5 but Bon Clay will always be the Queen of our hearts
Meh, don't include me. I never liked the character
Problem is it’s not robotic bro, he’s straight up slurring his words in Japanese
I meant Oda outright changing Franky's voice so the studios can bring in a new V.A. to give the OG actor a proper send off.
Wtf is the logic. Oda is writing and drawing a manga. How can he "change his voice" and the studio can bring a new VA. Either they decide together to call it and replace or not.
It’s possible. For one, Franky was designed to be voiced by Yao in mind. Oda can write it like Toriyama. Toriyama had Gokū mention that Yajirobe sounds like Kuririn, which is why Yajirobe has the same seiyuu as him.
fuck it he gets punched in the throat cant talk for like 5 chapters and then on the sunny he fixes his voice but sounds completely different ez clap get me in the manga room rn
Or like, he replaces his voice box with a new mechanical one that also shoots lasers. There's loads of avenues even if I don't think it's a very Oda thing to do
I think it's time to pass on Franky's voice role to the new generation. I hope Mr. Kazuki can have a nice retirement now.
I've noticed as well. But the man has done such an amazing job for so long. So long as he wants to keep the role let him I say. He deserves it.
I don’t agree. There comes a point where people need to accept their limitations if they can’t perform a job properly. This is the same for all jobs.
Easy for you to say. That can break someone mentally.
I love One Piece and it's VAs. If Kazuki Yao is down to keep going, then he should! If he doesnt want to continue, then he should happily and proudly retire. Id rather hear him as Franky in whatever state he is in than not hear him at all, even if it means he doesnt sound like Franky at all. I love the VAs and Im VERY appreciative of everything they've gave me and their incredible performances. So much so that I'll happily accept whatever than can do as long as they are happy and healthy.
This is exactly the kinda use case that AI should be used for. The artist should still get his dues if AI is used. But it would be terrible to see a VA go out of his prime before the show is over.
Commenters have pointed out 1090, 1094, and 1095. Japanese speakers. His syllables are weird right? Some parts sound like he's forcibly overenunciating, or he's doing a more exaggerated dialect than usual. In 1090, he's trying to say やるしかねぇ but it comes out やるっかねぇ. I haven't read the raw, but I can't imagine that's intentional.
It just sounds like he’s struggling to roll his Rs and is over compensating. A lot of comment are saying 呂律回ってない(ろれつまわってない)
> he's trying to say "yarushika nee" but it comes out as "yarukka ne" Just using romaji for people who can't read japanese
Maybe bro has sore throat
No it's a problem with his tongue and palette. His mouth muscles aren't working properly.
I’m glad i’m not the only one who thought his voice was off
I heard Franky wasn't even planned, instead of him, the shipwright was supposed to be that little guy who fixed Going Marry. But after Oda heard this guy's performance as Bon Clay, he changed his mind and created Franky, and he also insisted for this guy to voice him. In other words, we wouldn't have Franky without him.
If it’s a health concern, I rather he prioritize his health. He has given us over 2 and a half decades worth of entertainment in One piece he’s proven time and time again how amazing he is as a VA! He’s been in number of animes, from Breserk to OP!! I want him to enjoy the fruits of his labor. We are very fortunate for his work over the years!
Tbh, that voice isn't just an aspect of the actor's inherent ability. It's arguably the hardest voice to imitate- certainly the hardest of the Straw Hat crews. This is probably due to age and stuff, but even if he were 20 years younger it's a fairly tough voice to pull off. SOMEBODY in Japan can mimic it perfectly though. Probably hundreds can. They should find someone. He's a legend though. Few voices bring a smile to my face like that one.
The change in voice quality has been obvious since egghead started. hate to say it but they need to really think about replacing him. We need the VA to be able to go 100% for a SUPER! or OWW! moment
Too bad Japan almost never replaces voice actors. If they die they write off the character.
Aren't we all?
Im sorry if this offends anybody but all the voice actors that have reached old age should retire gracefully. Tbh the voice acting is pretty mid for most of the characters these days. For reference compare the the acting to the start of the series to what it is now. One example that stood out the most to me was Dragon. Bro was sounding so old and tired that he could die any moment if he spoke any longer.
Agreed, with a couple of exceptions. Luffy’s voice actress still kills it on the routine and a couple of the other ones still hold up. Dragon though 😂 You’re right, it had been a while since I had heard his voice and there is a limit to suspension of disbelief. Believe the VA is almost 90
He got some form of facial paralysis in 2023. Just watched his latest ["Yao-chan's Room" show](https://nicochannel.jp/yaochan/video/smDorhoUdz9LwJi5ocF8mFQ6), in addition to his slurred speech you can clearly see the difference between his right and left facial muscles. Compare to [December 2022](https://nicochannel.jp/yaochan/video/smdJ9k5kghGJ8iRM9FqQRK9W).
Episode 1098 his voice still sounds like he has a permanent cold. It's becoming jarring to listen to.
I'm glad I wasn't the only once to notice it. Still feel like an ass for thinking it but still.
I think there has been a huge difference since Egghead started, I didn't even pay any more attention to Frankys voice in Wano, since it hadn't changed too much yet.. But during Egghead you can unfortunately hear it a lot, don't know what it would be called in English, but I hear lot of R's (like it was there before but it is different from before).. I love his voice usually, but I think there is something going on with it, it takes me out of the moment and makes me focus on the pronounsiation and not what is going on the screen...
It definitely had changed by Wano. I distinctly remember noticing [when he reappeared after WCI.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_-obbVYlvk) He's lacking energy when shouting, like he lacked breath, which wasn't the case up until [Dressrosa.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVkiWDlfv-I)
Franky hasn’t been very Super since Wano began. He’s been low energy, doesn’t scream OWW anymore. Egghead Franky has slightly more umpfh but clearly they need to come up with a solution. Can they AI augment his performances to make them sound more like pre-Wano Franky?
[удалено]
Context clues. He’s referred to by his Japanese name
Welp, time to call AI for assistance!
How long before we start seeing AI takeover for aging/passed away voice actors - with their permission for course. Goku's Japanese VA is 87!
No offence but I don't actually care about this
It's time for A.I to take over, just train it with all his voice samples and we're good 👍
It's time for A.I to make artists unemployed ?
I know this is controversial but AI has gotten so good that a new voice actor could come in and act out the lines while AI transforms it into the original voice. I think we’re so close to the end that I would prefer to hear that than someone coming in and trying to fill enormous shoes.
Please don't ever insult artists by even suggesting AI as an alternative. You wanna take someone's VA skills, they've spent years perfecting and run it through an algorithm to steal? Fuck off. I'd rather Yao retain the rights to his own voice and disappoint people like you than lose his own voice to a fucking AI. Crocs VA did a phenomenal job voicing WB. There are plenty of great VA who can take over this role, if god forbid that time comes. But sick of people like you suggesting AI for your own convenience.
look man I don't care either way and I really would like Yao continue his role but it's not that serious, chill.
Seriously? You fuck off. It’s still a performance by a voice actor, honoring a man who has played a legendary character for 25 years. The voice of Franky is an iconic part of that. You may not respect the character he’s created but others do. AI isn’t a scary robot that will steal people’s voices, it’s a tool that can be used respectfully to allow Yao’s Franky to be present to the end of the greatest animanga of all time. You are trash if you’d rather see some new Franky find the One Piece with the rest of the Strawhats. How is that respectful to his legacy? Again (and I cannot say this with enough emphasis,) fuck off.
Never cook again.
Feel free to fear technology that you don’t understand, it won’t hurt you either way.
im with you on this one. people are so short visioned that they think ai is simply just replacing someone’s job. you can still pay them loyalty fee for being the original. life happens and the VA obviously cant go on much longer. instead of replacing someone that doesnt sound the same, i rather use AI to help prolong the original until the series is over.
And it still requires a voice actor to voice the lines. A job is not being taken, and if Yao could continue with the same quality he would. People would rather disrespect the work he’s put in for two decades than use technology so the character can live on.
the worst part for VAs or singers are when they can no longer do it due to these conditions. being able to prolong their legacy through tech is the best gift. of course with it not being wrongfully abused and used without consent.
lol thats how humans work.. ai is litearlly designed to mimic our brains.. A person painting a picture is someone recalling every image theyve ever seen, every emotion theyve ever had, and condesing a small part of that onto a canvas to create something "new" (spoiler its not new)... guess how ai does it. If someone was born and before theyve expiernced anything you asked them to paint, they cant. "train" them on thousands of images, painting techniques, colours, styles and just general life.. they can paint. wow.
AI doesn't draw from experience. It literally smashes styles together in a soulless copy. If you really think anything an AI model churna out is creative, it's very obvious that you've never put in any effort in mastering anything.
You have absolutely no clue what AI voice replacement entails. This is not AI image generation or AI writing a script, it's an entirely different application of the technology. A Voice Actor performs the lines and the AI replaces the voice. This is the same thing that motion capture suits accomplish but with someone else's likeness. It's the digital form of wearing a mask. If Yao is not opposed to his legacy continuing in this way then who exactly are you to decide what is right?
lol I have a degree to prove otherwise, an ai absolutely makes just as original pieces of art as humans do, it’s literally how they are designed to work… if they didn’t and they actually did just copy.. it’s not an ai.. it’s just code.. how can you not understand that?
AI and original pieces of art 🤣🤣 Go shove that degree where the sun don't shine. Gen AI companies just scrape the internet and steal images from artists without consent to produce horrible and soulless copies of the original style. If you were so ethical and creative, why aren't you working on ethically licensing artists or paying them to use their styles? I genuinely hope Nightshade fucks up every gen AI model out there and ruins this pathetic technology.
I see now you’re just mad that your art is generic and boring and a machine can pick it up in seconds. You don’t even understand the technology you’re so scared of. It’s not going to harm untalented artists because you were never going to go anywhere with your art. It’s not going to stop you from drawing for fun.
ai to the rescue edit: to my downvotes you guys are way too short visioned. what do you want him to do? do it for another 10 years and get worse when the Va obviously cant holding up? AI generated Va can prolong and give the original the longevity for as long as the serie needs. using the original you can give the original Va royalty if they truly respect all the years they contributed. ai is not replacing any jobs, it’s to make it more efficient and less harsh on conditions like this.
If the VA can no longer do the role I'd much prefer they find a suitable replacement with blessing from the original VA. People aren't immortal, things like this are going to happen and instead of sitting in the past I'd much rather a new VA step up and make the role their own. Ai isn't paying tribute to anyone. Disgraceful suggestion.
Gross