After Bringing Public Attention To China’s Persecution Of Uyghurs, Japanese Voice Actor Abruptly Recast In ‘Genshin Impact’, ‘Arknights’, And ‘Onmyoji’
Seemingly out of nowhere, veteran Japanese voice actor Showtaro Morikubo has been replaced in his respective roles in Genshin Impact and Arknights – and though the games’ respective developers are keeping coy about the situation, fans speculate this development was the result of his drawing attention to China’s ongoing persecution of their Uyghur population.
Perhaps best known for lending his voice to such characters as Shikamaru in Naruto/Shippuden and the titular fighting robots in the 2001 Kiakaider-01: The Animation anime OVAs and the Mega Man X video game series, Morikubo made his debut as the Saurian veterinarian Ifa in Genshin Impact‘s 5.1 update, as released in October 2024, appearing as a NPC ahead of his upcoming release as a playable character.
But on March 12th, the game’s Shanghai-based developer miHoYo suddenly informed players (or ‘travelers’ as they’re referred to in-game) that the voice “has had to withdraw due to various circumstances.”
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to all related parties,” wrote the devs, as machine translated by ChatGPT. “Additionally, we deeply apologize to all Travelers for any trouble or concern this may bring. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to all related parties.”
Two days later, a similar announcement was made by Arknights’ like-wise Chinese developer Yostar, who informed their player base that the Elysium voice actor “will be stepping down due to various circumstances.”
“We sincerely apologize to all players and related parties for any inconvenience or concern this may cause,” they added, likewise declining to provide any specifics regarding the development. “Details regarding the replacement of existing voice lines will be announced separately once finalized. We kindly ask for your understanding in this matter.”
And in delivering the hat trick, NetEase games announced later that same day that in regards to their fantasy RPG Onmyoji, “After careful evaluation, the production team has decided to terminate the collaboration with the voice actors of the Shikigami [Akashita] and [Garuda] starting immediately.”
“The related voice lines will temporarily be adjusted to silent mode,” they added. “We have activated an emergency plan and are actively reaching out to new voice actors who fit the character designs to complete the voice replacement update as soon as possible.”
“We sincerely apologize for the impact this adjustment may have on the experience of our Onmyoji players. We will continue to keep you informed of the latest developments at the earliest opportunity. Please stay tuned for further official announcements. Thank you for your understanding and support.
However, despite the three developers’ silence regarding exactly why Morikubo had abruptly stepped away from their respective games, Japanese players have speculated that it may have had something to do with one of the actor’s recent livestreams.
As highlighted by such local X users as @akamasaW and @gingami114514, as well as Automaton’s Verity Townsend, back in August 2024, the voice actor performed a live-reading of Tomomi Shimizu’s Inochigake no Shougen (Eng. “Life-Risking Testimonies”), the contents of which center on the Chinese communist government’s ongoing abuse of the Uyghurs living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
Per organizations like Amnesty International, China’s leadership is accused of engaging in the ongoing persecution, mass internment, torture, and general suppression of the ethnic minority due to their Muslim beliefs.
While the government claims these actions are being done to fight terrorism, they represent another example of the country’s continued war on all non-state approved religions, as the Communist government believes their existence will only serve to only undermine their party’s values.
To this end, despite the insistence by Hypergryph, miHoYo, and NetEase Games that Morikubo had stepped down voluntarily and the possibility that he was asked to leave for other reasons, many Japanese X users were adamant that China was to blame for this development.
“I see, so your resignation was influenced by your appearance in the reading play,” @takosensei2019 insisted. “There should be no political pressure on creative activities, and we need to take a stance that protects freedom of expression,”
“It’s about the Uyghurs,” adamantly insisted @taku__crypto. “If this game is based on affirming the real-life mass murders in China, it might be time to stop playing Genshin.”
“Is this an era where voice actors also face China risk, or where they will lose their jobs if they don’t appease China?” @imokuri3taro asked.
@_NoAudio proposed, “Japanese people who play this game should wake up. Chinese games are not afraid to involve politics. Paying for this game is like funding China.”
In terms of Genshin Impact, going forward Ifa will now be voiced by Junta Terashima (Hyōga Yukimura in Inazuma Eleven Go).
The character had been mentioned by others across the Natlan storyline in Genshin Impact before being heard (but not seen) in Version 5.1 during a flashback in the Archon Quest Chapter V, Act IV, but Ifa will finally make his full appearance, with his new voice actor Terashima, when Version 5.5 launches on March 26th.
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