SADFACE :(

[luxken27]

Yoinked from sesskagura:

David Kaye, Sesshoumaru's dub voice actor, confirmed at TFCon that he is not going to be reprising his role in The Final Act. Full details are here. Still no word on who will be replacing him.

I can't get the link to work (looks like the board is being slammed), but there have been rumors of this pretty much ever since talk of an English dub began, so I'm not terribly surprised :-/

ETA: Starks broke/confirmed this particular rumor [Source]:

David Kaye not voicing Sesshoumaru for Final Act dub
Filed under: Chapters — Starks at 12:21 am on Tuesday, July 20, 2010

In a move that should really surprise nobody, David Kaye announced at TFCon that he will not be reprising his role for Final Act.

Over the past few years, David has pretty much retired from anime voice acting on moved onto sports, moving to California in the process. This development is a bit disappointing considering his intention to be a part of the dub as per a statement last July at Mechacon and does not bode well for the participation of other VAs like Willow Johnson (Kikyou) and Moneca Stori (Kagome).

I don't sympathize with the now-screaming Sesshoumaru fanbase, but I will admit that David Kaye is a great VA who was vastly underused.

Source: My good friend from GameFAQs and administrator of the "Behind the Voice Actors" website, Pokejedservo

Edit: Kelly Sherridan (Sango) remains the only confirmed voice actor.

Comments

[aamalie]

Ahh, I saw that and was wondering what the resident Sesshoumaru fangirl might think. ^^; Hopefully they'll find someone awesome to fill in!

[luxken27]

Well, it does make me sad, but at the same time...Narita Ken is pretty fucking awesome. I'd totally buy the season set if it came with the Japanese voice track like all the previous ones have.

All the same, Kaye will always be English!Sess to me. Guess I'll just have to make due with seven seasons and four movies worth of his work, LOL :P

[aamalie]

Seriously, I love the Japanese seiyuus. I would definitely approve the inclusion of Japanese voice tracks. As for the English VAs, the only one I really care for is Kirby Morrow (go figure), annnd... no word on that yet! =P

[luxken27]

I don't like Japanese!IY, but that's about it. I vastly prefer Japanese!Kagome to English, but otherwise, I have no strong opinions one way or the other. I'm just used to the dub, because that's what I watched first.

Pretty much ever since The Final Act aired last year there have been rumors about *if* there was even going to be a dub, and if there was, whether or not David Kaye would return. I dunno about Starks' reasoning being valid, so much as that he's doing so much Transformers-related stuff right now.

[landofthekwt.livejournal.com]

Rumic World posted a link to that announcement today. It was Kelly Sheridan the voice of Sango who first broke the news of the English dub so we know that she is there. I was hoping that they would replace Richard Cox and Monica Storii as Inuyasha and Kagome, but that is too much to hope for.

[luxken27]

*runs over*

Looks like they got the tip from Starks, whose website I cannot remember for the life of me at the moment (and, since I'm at work, I don't have my bookmark handy). Oh, Google. I <3 you.

I was hoping that they would replace Richard Cox and Monica Storii as Inuyasha and Kagome, but that is too much to hope for.

I must be in the minority for enjoying Richard Cox as IY (*dodges pelted fruit*), but I do agree we could lose Kagome's VA and be none the poorer. I'm guessing they have the original core group back, plus maybe Koga, and that the 'secondary characters' will be recast. A shame, really, but not a surprise considering its been so long since the original anime...

[kriscynical.livejournal.com]

I was hoping that they would replace Richard Cox and Monica Storii as Inuyasha and Kagome, but that is too much to hope for.

Exaaaaactly. If both of them were replaced, I might just consider giving the dub a try again out of morbid, masochistic curiosity.

[starzki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad about Kelly Sheridan. However, Kirby Morrow as Miroku is my favorite for the English dubs.

It's a shame about David Kaye. I thought he was very good as Sesshoumaru. Why does his non-participation mean that Willow Johnson and Moneca Stori might not commit?

[luxken27]

I have no idea how or why Kaye's decision has any effect on the other actors', I think that's basically Starks talking out his ass, as he's prone to do sometimes *eyeroll*

[piratequeen0405.livejournal.com]

Inuyasha is one of those anime where I absolutely couldn't stand the English dub and refuse to watch it, though David Kaye was not the reason. Sucks for fans of the dub, especially those of the Sesshoumaru fangirl variety.

[luxken27]

Are we taking bets on whether or not Dokuga has imploded? :P (Or maybe how many of them knew the show was originally in Japanese to begin with?)

[farawayeyes4.livejournal.com]

I started watching Inuyasha first in part because I saw Sesshomaru first, and second because the dubbed voice by David was so silky smooth. Of all of the English cast, I thought he suited his character the best. He seemed to get the essence of Sesshomaru down and brought him to life. I can't imagine how this will work out when they do pick a new VA. It's a shame, but then I've pretty much, if you want to call me a snob go ahead, watched almost all of my anime in Japanese for awhile now.

[luxken27]

LOLOL I think my f-list is full of sub snobs, so no worries there ;) I just <3 Kaye as Sesshoumaru, and am sad to have confirmation that he isn't returning. I can't imagine who they're going to replace him with.

It sucks that the cast won't be reunited for the final season, if only for continuity's sake. But then, I can't say I watch a lot of anime, so I have no idea how much this happens (VA casts changing between seasons) anyway *shrug*

[farawayeyes4.livejournal.com]

I tried to watch Ranma 1/2 in English. It was awful. I couldn't do it. I HAD to go watch it in Japanese. Most of the cast there carried over to Inuyasha, much the same way that a lot of the core character group did from English Ranma to English Inuyasha. David is in the Ranma cast as well, but damn, the rest were just so bad I couldn't do it. I also love him as Sesshomaru, so it'll be weird to watch the dub and not hear his voice, especially considering how much screen time Sess gets in the Final Act.

[luxken27]

Well, as I said upthread, I'd be willing to buy this season set if it came with dual English/Japanese voice tracks, like all the other season sets have. I watched Final Act subbed (minus the last two episodes, I guess I should rectify that someday :P) so now I'm 'used' to those voices again.

Narita Ken is pretty much awesomesauce personified, so I'm certainly not weeping over the idea of being "forced" to listen to him if I can't have David Kaye...but the English VAs have added a lot to my personification of the characters, whatever good or harm that does. I like the idea of hearing Kaye's voice in my ear when I'm writing for Sess.

[farawayeyes4.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the Final Act yet, to be honest. I just haven't had time. I can't imagine that it'll be released without both tracks, not if all the other sets did so.

I have to agree. Narita Ken IS awesome. I really should make time to rewatch the series anyways. After awhile, the voices DO influence you as you write in how you characterize how their voices sound.

I just wonder, as long as we're talking anime, I wonder if the new series by Takahasi will get its own anime series.

[landofthekwt.livejournal.com]

It is my understanding that Kaye does not want to Inuyasha because VIZ is using the Ocean studios in Vancouver to to dub IY whereas he make his home in Los Angeles. His website shows him very active doing everything from Transformes (both Megatron and Optomus Prime) to Scooby Doo. I had to grin at the reference in his bio about appearing as Inyasha's evil brother, Sesshoumaru. It shows what he thinks about his character. His animation offerings to potential employers are from Stoker and Hooch and Ratchet and Clink (video game)

[luxken27]

I had to grin at the reference in his bio about appearing as Inyasha's evil brother, Sesshoumaru. It shows what he thinks about his character.


LOL, he knows what side his bread is buttered on! :P

[beermoney5.livejournal.com]

That makes me sad. I love David Kaye as Sesshomaru, and I like the English dub better than the Japanese version. The only voice I don't care for in the English dub is Kikyo's. I think Lex Lang would make a good Sesshomaru.

[luxken27]

Who else has Lex Lang voiced? I'm not familiar with him.

[beermoney5.livejournal.com]

Lex Lang has done a lot of voice acting, but the only ones I can think of right now are: Hankyo ( the king of En ) from The Twelve Kingdoms and Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin. Hankyo from The Twelve Kingdoms is one of my favorite characters and I LOVE his voice. Even though I would rather David Kaye voice act for Sesshomaru, if they used Lex Lang or even someone like Dan Woren ( Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach ) I would be happy.

[langus-fiction.livejournal.com]

Well that's disappointing *pouts*

I hope Kirby stays. I really enjoyed his voice for Miroku. It had such a nice rich tone to it. And I'm with you on Inuyasha's VA. I actually rather like him. I've met him in person and he's quite a fabulous guy. Kouga's English VA is also made of win. Cowboy had and all.

But who knows, this might just turn out okay. My hope is that they don't butcher any new VAs coming in. Either way I'm pretty stoked for the dub to come out. Subs are fine for Inuyasha but I always found his Japanese VA annoying so it was hard to stomach for 50-some ought episodes.

[luxken27]

I hope Kirby stays. I really enjoyed his voice for Miroku.

Hehe, me too. He's another that's really influenced how I think and write about Miroku.

Subs are fine for Inuyasha but I always found his Japanese VA annoying so it was hard to stomach for 50-some ought episodes.

Ahahaha, you are in good company for that ;) But apparently that's blashphemy about "real" sub fans or something, IDK. Suffice to say, there's a HUGE Kappei following that I have yet to understand o.O

[langus-fiction.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the sub snobs, personally. Granted there are some animes (like Bleach and Naruto) where the English VAs are so terrible you have to watch the subs to save your ears. But for some others, especially ones with the right casting like Full Metal Panic! and Inuyasha, sometimes the English VAs can be better than the Japanese ones. For me this was especially true of FMP.

But the whole "I ONLY watch subs" attitude while looking down on others who watch English dubs has never appealed to me. It screams of insecurity and a general lack of cultural understanding.

[landofthekwt.livejournal.com]

The person I cannot stand in the Japnaese VAs is Kappei Yamaguchi. I know that
RT is a fangirl of his and that he did Ranma for her before Inuyasha, but several of the scenes in the anime were rewritten so that he could yell an attack. In the Final Act Windscars were added in the Peaceable Meal and the Trap of Darkness which made no sense.

[madmiko.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that. Of the English dubs, the two voices I liked the most were Sesshoumaru and Miroku's. I would LOVE for them to recast Kagome, though. Ugh!