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INTEREST: Chinese Kizuna Ai Fans Revolt Amid Rumors that the Original Voice Actress is Being Phased




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Engineering Nerd



Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 898
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:06 pm Reply with quote
I commend Chinese fans avid and passionate protests (via comment section and unsubscribing) , but I do have to wonder if Activ8 is ever gonna listen as original VA of Kizuna Ai has not been active in the channel for quite a while.
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Birriaman



Joined: 24 Jul 2015
Posts: 94
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:40 pm Reply with quote
Yeah. I used to enjoy her videos, but without quite knowing why I slowly began shying away from them. It just didn’t feel funny anymore. Then I realized that the voice actress(es) was different. The alters are just not on the same level as the original Ai...
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1545
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 3:15 pm Reply with quote
Lately I had only been watching a few videos, but whenever the old voice was together with one of the new, it showed a lot. No matter how much you try, you can never perfectly emulate someone else's quirks and mannerisms, and the original one had those in spades. Kizuna Ai managed to rise to fame through her afterall.

What surprises me is that something like this wasn't attempted way earlier. The amount of content they output had me wondering where the hell they even get the TIME to do all that. Taking some time off and getting a different person to interact with in multiplayer games is all good.
But well, it's one thing to get help, it's a whole different one to get replaced.
IMO Kizuna Ai is only as good as the original actress. If the actress has to retire, then so should Kizuna Ai.
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Niyari



Joined: 02 Apr 2011
Posts: 341
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 4:57 pm Reply with quote
similar situation is happening with the Game Club. original voice actors are being phased out (with no word, obviously) after they voiced their problems with management power harassing them. it's a unique situation. even more so than anime characters, replacing a voice actor for an already established virtual personality isn't something that shouldn't be allowed barring some kind of medical problem or unrealistic contract demands.
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KabaKabaFruit



Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Posts: 1870
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:24 pm Reply with quote
I always wondered why Upd8 felt the need to do a series of videos showing multiple Kizuna Ais as such a maneuver created holes in the character's legacy if her earlier 2016-17 videos were any indication. I mean, back then, Kizuna Ai complained about being lonely and having no friends in her white space but fast forward to now and it turns out there were multiple Kizuna Ai's working with her behind the scenes since day one? WTF?

But, if this is really about her original VO needing to step down from the role, then maybe it is high time to retire the character with only the character needing to pop up again from time to time for special occasions.

Let's make no mistake about it: Kizuna Ai had a great run! A PHENOMENAL run! Her presence on YouTube set the stage for a great movement of virtual anime personalities that had exploded in 2017-18. But, Ai's material is starting to become stale and while her gaming videos are also a blast to watch, it honestly seems like she's really trying to keep pace to the best of her ability.

Kizuna Ai already has a great set of successors who can continue the virtual legacy such as Siro, Mirai Akari and HIMEHINA with the former being able to put out a video roughly each day(!)

While I will miss Ai-Chan, I won't pout over it. All good runs have to come to an end so if it's the best decision in the interests of the VO to step down, then so be it.
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qashairy



Joined: 05 Nov 2008
Posts: 54
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 9:33 pm Reply with quote
I already lost interest of her in Youtube, but still keeping her Spotify album list. Arrow
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