Episode 556 (Spoilers)
did you hear Kogoro Mori voice ? i mean WTF why they replace Akira Kamiya or whatever who was
Wait -- what?! Catching up with it right away and I'll get back to you. I'm not liking the change already....
Wait, I just started episode 553 and I think they changed the voice actor in this ep if not sooner. Mouri Kogorou sounds different already in ep 553.
Sokka: My first girlfriend turned into the moon.
Zuko: That's rough, buddy.
That sucks ! the new voice is so bad can't believe they did this :!
What's the word on *why* they did it? At the beginning of 553 I just thought Mouri had a cold -- but the classic Mouri cackle and his "Yooooko-chan!" sound terrible.
Sokka: My first girlfriend turned into the moon.
Zuko: That's rough, buddy.
The replacement caused quite a controversy in Japan
when Akira Kamiya stated he was dismissed in his blog on September 18.
He claimed the details should not be disclosed, and
"I can only say it's about contractual issue,
and a matter of trust, loyalty, and moral."
But he also wrote "After all, it's my fault."
Since he didn't clarify the exact reason,
there were lots of speculations floating on the net.
The popular theory was the money must be the reason.
Kamiya is one of the highest-paid voice actors in Japan today,
and some Japanese TV shows (not anime shows, though) already replaced expensive talents
because of lowered budget, due to the bad economy these days.
Another speculation was he might have some health issue (he's 60 years old).
In response to such, Kamiya added some explanation in his blog a few days later,
He claimed that during the contract negotiation (for the new season I presume),
"a person in a responsible position" in the production company
leaked confidential information "with malicious intent"
to the people in anime industry, including his fellow actors.
He was upset about this 'betrayal' and terminated the negotiation,
which he claimed "nearly agreed".
However, soon he thought it over -
It's foolish to quit from the show he loves so much only because of such a nasty guy.
So he asked another person to fix this issue, but the attempt failed.
There's no chance for him to return.
He wrote he regreted the incident and hoped it would not harm the show in any way,
his love for the show would never change,
and asked the fans to keep supporting the show.
He also wrote "whoever it will be, I hope my successor will do well."
After several episodes without Kogorô,
Rikiya Koyama showed up as the new Kogorô.
IMO, Koyama's best work in anime so far is Takamura in "Hajime no Ippo".
Not a bad choice, I think. But it's a difficult task for anyone
to replace Kamiya who had been identified with the character for 13 years.
Especially when the fans know it's against his will.
(Personally, while I miss Kamiya too,
it seems I have accustomed to Koyama's rendition in recent episodes.)
Thank you very much, Jado. I'm disappointed I won't get to hear any new versions of Kogouro's antics but of course I'll still watch the show. I'm not giving up after over 550 episodes!
Sokka: My first girlfriend turned into the moon.
Zuko: That's rough, buddy.