One Piece anime replaces Kaido's voice actor due to health issues

Modified Jul 27, 2024 18:05 GMT

One Piece anime replaces Kaido's voice actor due to health issues (Image via Toei Animation)

Thursday, July 25, 2024, saw One Piece anime voice actor Genda Tessho, who plays the role of Kaido in the incredibly popular anime series, announced an alternate voice actor would replace him. Tessho cited some health issues as the reason for the switch, saying he “was not feeling well,” but did not offer any specifics on his health at that time.

The news comes ahead of a cameo for the character in the One Piece anime, in the form of a flashback to his younger, pre-Yonko days as a member of the Rocks Pirates under Rocks D. Xebec. Tessho voiced Kaido for the entirety of the post-time-skip up to this point, with the character being a central antagonist through the Wano arc’s events until his loss to protagonist Monkey D. Luffy.

One Piece anime’s voice of Kaido set to be replaced in the role due to ongoing, ambiguous health issues

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Fans can expect the specifics of Tessho’s health to remain ambiguous at this time, especially since Tessho himself did not share an update on his status when initially announcing the switch. The One Piece anime and its staff have likewise not announced who Tessho’s replacement voice actor will be, with production staff likely taking their time in this selection. While Kaido does have an upcoming cameo, it is far from imminent, albeit on the series’ horizon.

Likewise, while Kaido does have an upcoming cameo in the series, it’s a somewhat minimal role, pending any anime-original scenes Toei Animation decides to make with him involved.

In turn, this also suggests that Tessho’s health issues are somewhat serious, or at least deal specifically with his voice in a way that inhibits him from performing even a few lines of dialogue. However, this is speculative and not confirmed as of this article’s writing.

The news of Tessho’s replacement has also been swirling in the fanbase because of Kaido’s unknown status in the contemporary anime series. While many fans took the news to mean that Kaido would be returning in the series’ current timeline, this is unfortunately not the case. As of this article’s writing, Kaido’s status following his defeat at Wano is still totally unknown, as is that of Big Mom, who was also defeated at Wano alongside him.

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The One Piece anime serves as the television anime adaptation of author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s original manga series of the same name. Oda’s manga began serialization in July 1997 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, which is ongoing and progressing through its Final Saga.

Toei’s anime adaptation of Oda’s manga began airing in October 1999 as a weekly anime series and is still released in this format today. Netflix and Wit Studio recently announced a remake of the anime series titled THE ONE PIECE, but no further information on it is available at this time.