On October 4, the agency Aoni Production announced
through its website that Tooru Furuya will stop voicing Yamcha, one of
the recurring characters in the ' Dragon Ball ' series,
starting with the premiere of the new series 'Dragon Ball Daima' on October 11.
In the statement, the agency reported, " Tooru Furuya, who has
voiced Yamcha for a long time in the 'Dragon Ball' series, will be replaced
starting with the first episode of 'Dragon Ball Daima .'"
The official website for the new series also confirmed
this information, mentioning that Ryouta Suzuki, known for his roles as
Yuu Ishigami in 'Kaguya-sama: Love is War' and Ryusui Nanami in 'Dr. Stone',
will take on the role of Yamcha in this new installment of the franchise. 'Dragon
Ball Daima' is one of the most anticipated projects of the year and will
premiere on Fuji TV's anime programming block.
The cast change comes after a scandal involving Tooru
Furuya, who in May 2024 admitted to having an extramarital affair with a fan
for over four years. The incident was widely covered by Weekly
Bunshun magazine, prompting Furuya to issue a statement apologizing for his
behavior, mentioning that on one occasion the situation escalated to a physical
altercation. This scandal also cost Furuya other major roles, such as
Tooru Amuro in 'Detective Conan' and Sabo in 'One Piece'.
The new actor, Ryouta Suzuki, has a distinguished
career in the anime world, but the fan community has reacted with mixed
feelings to the news of Furuya's replacement:
- " Oh really? ".
- « Yamcha! ».
- " I
wonder if he'll retire altogether… "
- « Sabo
too, but I don't want them to change Amuro and now Yamcha too… ».
- « Is
Yamcha even in the new series? »
- « With
Suzuki as a replacement… in a way, this is exciting .»
- « Wow…
At least I got to listen to it one last time on Sparking Zero ».
- « What!?
Even Yamcha? I didn't think they would change him .»
- " It
seems like they are going to erase Furuya's existence completely ."
- « It
seems that Amuro will also be changed… ».
With this voice change, an important stage for the
character of Yamcha, who has been played by Furuya since the beginning of the
franchise, comes to a close. Fans are expressing sadness and nostalgia
for this change, although some are excited for the future of the series with
Suzuki in the role.
Source: Otakomu
