Summary
- miHoYo replaced Ifa’s Japanese voice actor “due to various circumstances.”
- Fans suspect Showtaro Morikubo’s sudden removal may be politically motivated.
- Morikubo’s participation in the live reading of a book about the Uyghur genocide may have played a part in his removal, according to fans.
miHoYo, the Chinese developer of Genshin Impact, has released an official statement which asserts that the Japanese voice actor for the upcoming character Ifa has been replaced “due to various circumstances” (nice spot, Automaton).
Showtaro Morikubo was originally announced as the Japanese voice actor for Ifa before his sudden removal shocked fans. Morikubo is a prolific voice actor, active in anime, audiobooks, video games and more since the mid-90s. A couple of his recent notable roles include Gomah from Dragon Ball Daima and Lucas from Rune Factory 5. Ifa doesn’t currently have a release date, but regardless of when the character releases, Morikubo will no longer voice him.
Genocide and Gacha
While Morikubo has yet to give a statement on his removal, fans have already begun speculating that the entire affair may have been politically motivated. In August 2024, Morikubo participated in a live reading of Inochigake no Shougen (Life-Threatening Testimonies), a book by Japanese author Tomomi Shimizu. Inochigake no Shougen is a book about the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs, an ethnic group primarily found in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. The book contains testimonies from persecuted Uyghurs, with Shimizu labelling the Chinese government’s actions as genocidal.
Amnesty International describes the human rights abuses in Xinjiang as “crimes against humanity” and states that Uyghurs are subjected to “mass internment”, “torture”, and “systematised mass surveillance”. The non-governmental organisation describes Xinjiang as a “dystopian hellscape.”
Morikubo’s removal is still only a matter of speculation. In fact, Morikubo participated in the live reading two months before he was even cast as Ifa. It’s unknown if perhaps miHoYo caught wind of this event later and decided to remove Morikubo as a result, or if the two situations are completely unrelated. If Morikubo doesn’t give his own statement, we may never know the exact reason for his removal.
Genshin Impact is currently in its fifth version, with the release date for the upcoming patch 5.5 yet to be announced.
RPG
Action
Adventure
Gacha
Open-World
- Released
-
September 28, 2020
- ESRB
-
T for Teen – Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference