Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War sparks uproar with surprise recasting IMDBBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War sent shockwaves through the anime community with a last-minute recasting decision that ignited a heated Twitter debate. Bleach is perhaps one of the most popular anime series of all time. Based on the manga series of the same name by Tite Kubo, the original series aired from 2004 to 2012 and gained a devoted fanbase worldwide. Which is why fans were so excited when the manga\u2019s final story arc, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (TYBW), received an anime adaptation of its own. The second cour is still currently being broadcast in the United States, with fans looking forward to the release of the English dubbed version. However, they will now wait longer than anticipated due to a shock casting announcement on X\/Twitter. But what prompted this sudden change, and why has it stirred such strong reactions within the anime community? Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War controversy explained On October 7, 2023, Anairis Qui\u00f1ones took to X to announce that she had secured the role as the new voice for beloved character Yoruichi. Yoruichi, acknowledged as an iconic character symbolizing diversity in anime, generated immense excitement among fans who eagerly anticipated her portrayal by a woman of color. However, weeks later on October 21, the actress took to the social media platform to reveal that she had been replaced in the role \u2013 a move which triggered waves of anger and disappointment across various social media platforms. In the October 21 tweet, Qui\u00f1ones shared, \u201cHey yall! The studio & client decided to go in a different direction, so I am no longer voicing Yoruichi in Bleach TYBW and my recordings will be replaced. It meant a lot to take on such an iconic WOC. I appreciate all the love!! I\u2019ll still be voicing Hiyori.\u201d Qui\u00f1ones had initially stepped in to replace the former Yoruichi voice actor, Wendee Lee, as part of a cast update within the anime. The studios, Viz Media and Studiopolis, implemented similar changes for other characters. For example, Chad \u2013 a character of mixed Japanese and Mexican heritage \u2013 whose original voice actor, Jamieson Price, made way for Cuban-American actor Alain Mesa. However, the studios since reversed the decision to cast Qui\u00f1ones as Yoruichi, causing an outpouring of frustration and disappointment on X\/Twitter and other platforms. Original Yoruichi actor responds to uproar Wendee Lee, a veteran voice actor whose career has spanned over 40-years, has earned recognition for her significant roles in English-dubbed anime, including Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop and Kei in Akira. She had formerly voiced Yoruichi in the original English dub of Bleach from 2004 to 2012 and will now reprise the role for the upcoming season. The decision to reverse this casting choice has ignited a heated online debate about diversity in casting and the representation of characters of color in media. And Bleach\u2019s spot among anime\u2019s \u201cBig Three\u201d alongside One Piece and Naruto makes the recasting of Yoruichi even more contentious. Many fans are voicing support for Qui\u00f1ones\u2019s right to the role, and the wider importance of ensuring that voice actors of color have the opportunity to portray a wide range of characters. Others have taken to the Bleach Subreddit to argue that maintaining the character\u2019s original voice is essential for its consistency, regardless of who portrays them. Lee herself has received significant backlash over her social media reactions to the recasting of her Bleach character. In many of her (now deleted) posts, she actively defended her right to reprise her role as Yoruichi, an stance that many fans interpreted as toxic. In response to the controversy, she has since offered an apology to Qui\u00f1ones on X\/Twitter and welcomed her to the cast in her role as Hiyori. However, the reaction to Lee\u2019s comments speaks to a greater controversy around representation among voice actors for characters of color. And despite Qui\u00f1ones publicly acknowledging that Lee reached out to her, it appears that she hasn\u2019t accepted her apology. \u201cI haven\u2019t responded to Wendee privately as I have no energy or interest in participating in the situation than I already have,\u201d she tweeted on October 23. \u201cI am not ready to talk. Please respect that.\u201d As the online debate over representation and diversity in anime continues, Viz Media and Studiopolis \u2013 the studios that set all this in motion \u2013 have yet to issue official statements regarding the situation. How to watch Crunchyroll from outside your location in 2023 Crunchyroll is the world\u2019s best hub for streaming anime, whether it\u2019s One Piece, Attack on Titan, or Jujutsu Kaisen \u2013 and thanks to ExpressVPN, you can access the platform\u2019s full library even if you\u2019re outside the US. If you\u2019re abroad, here\u2019s what you need to do to access Crunchyroll\u2019s full selection \u2013 and it really is this simple: Sign up for ExpressVPN, which has ultra-fast servers and offers a secure, private connection wherever you are in the world. – Connect to a location anywhere in the US; Express VPN allows you to choose from 24 different spots, from New Jersey to Santa Monica. – Visit Crunchyroll online and start streaming all of your favorite animes \u2013 and perhaps some you\u2019ve never watched. – Accessing Crunchyroll\u2019s US roster makes a difference. For example, Hong Kong users only have access to less than 100 titles, while the US has nearly 1,000 movies and TV shows. You can also stream anime on Crunchyroll for free with an ad-supported plan. Or you can pay for a subscription \u2013 there\u2019s even a 14-day free trial if you can\u2019t quite make up your mind. In the meantime, check out our other anime coverage below: Beginner\u2019s guide to anime: Shonen, genres & more explained | 10 best horror anime series to watch this Halloween | One Punch Man Season 3: Everything we know | Dragon Ball Daima: Everything we know If you click on a product link on this page, we may earn a small affiliate commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War sparks uproar with surprise recasting IMDBBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War sent shockwaves through the anime community with a last-minute recasting decision that ignited a heated Twitter debate. Bleach is perhaps one of the most popular anime series of all time. Based on the manga series of the same name by Tite Kubo, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}