This week has been a difficult one for the Bleach fandom. A few days back, reports surfaced that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War was undergoing a last-minute casting change. Voice actress Anairis Quiñones revealed they were recast as Yoruichi, and reports later confirmed the character’s previous voice actor Wendee Lee would reprise Yoruichi. However, the situation that followed left Bleach trending globally.
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Controversy within the anime fandom began brewing after Lee posted replies on Quiñones’ tweet to other voice actors and fans about the cast change. The now-deleted messages were shared on social media for being crass in light of the news. These posts paired with a list of troubling likes on Lee’s page sparked debate in the Bleach fandom. And now, the two involved voice actors are speaking out.
The first to post about the situation was Lee as she replied to a post made by Quiñones about Yoruichi. You can read their apology below:
“Wishing Anairis the very best. I reached out and apologized. Mistakenly assumed my colleagues knew I originated the role and felt unsupported by the disappointment expressed in their comments re the cast change. Apologies and heartfelt well wishes to Anairis. Welcome to the cast”
Some hours later, Quiñones addressed the situation with their own response. You can read the actor’s thread below:
“When I was cast as Yoruichi earlier this year, I knew I had to mentally prepare myself for backlash. I was excited as someone who grew up watching Bleach, and excited for the POC community who had seen themselves in her. I was determined to do my best. I almost didn’t announce it. I didn’t want to “invite” the negative attention. But I knew it was a big deal and did it anyway. I did my very best to remind myself where some of it was coming from, and focused on all the love. And there was so much. Again, thank you.”
“A few days later, I received a phone call informing me they would like to give the role to WL. I was upset, most of all for the fans that were excited about the recast. It was a bizarre situation. It wasn’t my first time being recast, but definitely the strangest circumstance. [Wendee Lee], I recognize & appreciate you’ve reached out privately to apologize for how your replies made the situation “blow up.” But this started the moment I made my casting announcement. I understand where you’re coming from, but your words were unkind towards my peers. I haven’t responded to Wendee privately as I have no energy or interest in participating in this situation more than I already have. I am not ready to talk. Please respect that.”
Sadly, Bleach’s recent cast change has sparked discord within the fandom. At this point, Viz Media or its dubbing partner Studiopolis has not addressed this recasting controversy. And as for the English dub of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, you can find it streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
What do you make of this anime debacle? Are you keeping up with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
