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

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, Genda Tessho, the voice actor of Kaido in the widely acclaimed anime series One Piece, made an announcement regarding his replacement by another actor. Citing health concerns, Tessho stated that he was not feeling well, but did not disclose any further details about his condition.

This announcement precedes a special appearance by the character in the One Piece anime, where he will be featured in a flashback to his past as a member of the notorious Rocks Pirates under the leadership of Rocks D. Xebec. Tessho has been the voice behind Kaido since the post-time-skip era until now, portraying him as a major adversary in the Wano arc until his defeat by the main character, Monkey D. Luffy.

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

Despite initially announcing the switch, Tessho has not shared any updates on his status, leaving fans to speculate about his health. The production staff of the One Piece anime has also not yet revealed who will replace Tessho as the voice actor. It is likely that they are taking their time in selecting a replacement. Although Kaido is set to make a cameo, it is not expected to happen anytime soon and is still on the horizon for the series.

Similarly, although Kaido will make a cameo appearance in the series, his role will be relatively small, unless Toei Animation chooses to create anime-original scenes featuring him.

This also implies that Tessho’s health problems are quite significant, or at the very least, they affect his voice to the point where he is unable to deliver even a few lines of dialogue. However, this is merely a speculation and has not been confirmed at the time of writing this article.

This news of Tessho’s replacement has caused speculation among the fanbase due to Kaido’s uncertain fate in the current anime series. Despite some fans interpreting the news as a potential return for Kaido in the current timeline, this assumption is not accurate. At the time of writing this article, both Kaido and Big Mom’s statuses following their defeat at Wano remain unknown.

The One Piece anime is the televised version of Eiichiro Oda’s manga series of the same name. Oda’s manga has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since July 1997 and is currently ongoing, with the story progressing through its Final Saga.

Toei’s anime adaptation of Oda’s manga has been airing as a weekly series since October 1999 and continues to do so today. However, Netflix and Wit Studio have recently announced a remake of the series titled THE ONE PIECE, although no additional details have been revealed at this time.

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