Following popular voice actor Toru Furuya's public scandal, Bandai announced that they are “strongly considering” reprising his role as Amuro Ray from Mobile Suit Gunma. The actor gave up his role as Sabo in One Piece and Furuya Rei (aka Tooru Amuro) in Detective Conan.
After the 70-year-old voice actor publicly admitted to assaulting a fan 37 years his junior, with whom he had an affair, Furuya quit his two main roles in One Piece and Detective Conan, causing fans wonder if he will do the same with his role as the main character in Mobile Suit Gundam. According to Yahoo News, Bandai Namco (owner of the Mobile Suit Gundam production studio, Sunrise Nippon) responded to questions about changing the role of Amuro Ray after the Furuya scandal.
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Longtime anime voice actor Amuro Ray could be replaced following a recent scandal
In its response, Bandai Namco stated, “At our company, we attach great importance to the characters appearing in our works and their worldviews. Regarding this issue, we want to consider and respond carefully, so we will not comment at this time.” Furuya has been the voice of Amuro Ray since Mobile Suit Gundam came out in 1979, in the anime series that launched the entire Gundam franchise into the successful franchise it is today. Although the recent Gundam films do not feature Ray as the main character, the character appears frequently in Gundam video game adaptations, as well as several cameos in modern Gundam works. .
Regardless, Ray holds a vital part in the foundation of the series, making finding a replacement voice actor an important decision for GTA and Bandai Namco as GTA's owner . Although Bandai did not confirm or deny the replacement, it is clear that the company is considering making a change. After Toei (the animation studio behind One Piece) and TMS Entertainment (the animation studio behind Detective Conan) quickly set a precedent by replacing the voice actors for his previous roles, Atlus, the studio behind the upcoming game Metaphor: ReFantazio, quickly removed him from his role.
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The voice actor behind a character has a certain level of trust in the fanbase to portray that character accurately and carefully. In his public statement, Furuya specifically apologized to his fanbase, saying, “I cannot apologize enough for betraying the trust of all the fans who have supported me over the years, disappointing them, hurting them, and tarnishing my character.”
Mobile Suit Gundam
Original title: Kidô senshi Gandamu. During the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, a young and inexperienced crew finds themselves aboard a new spaceship. Their best hope of overcoming the conflict is Robot, a giant humanoid robot, and its talented teenage pilot.
Release date April 7, 1979
Creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate
Cast Hirotaka Suzuoki, Tôru Furuya, Toshio Furukawa, Kiyonobu Suzuki, Michael Kopsa, Brad Swaile, Cathy Weseluck, Chris Kalhoon
Seasons 1
Creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate
Production company Nagoya Broadcasting Network (Nagoya TV), Sotsu Agency, Sunrise
Episodes 43
Main actor Tóru Furuya, Shûichi Ikeda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Yô Inoue, Brad Swaile, Michael Kopsa, Chris Calhoon and Alaina Burnett
Extend
Source: Yahoo News