Graha Voice Actor Change?

[RedLolly]

Honestly I'm only disappointed people are saying the VA we had is trash because it sounds like a different actor. Not actually any critique on sound quality or skill, literally just "It's different so it sucks."

But then this is likely exactly why SE hasn't made any announcement about a change. Some of y'all would dogpile the guy before he could even break into the role.

[peachsyder]

Honestly I'm only disappointed people are saying the VA we had is trash because it sounds like a different actor. Not actually any critique on sound quality or skill, literally just "It's different so it sucks."

But then this is likely exactly why SE hasn't made any announcement about a change. Some of y'all would dogpile the guy before he could even break into the role.

I have yet to see anyone use the word "trash". Even so, people have every right to be disappointed with this change, even if "just" because it's different, considering it's a character that has been a major part of the story for nearly seven years now and Bailey happens to deliver an absolutely stellar performance that is the very reason many enjoy the character so much.

Like KiraRavens said before, seeing a character be changed into someone that feels completely different is not much better than seeing the character retired for good or killed off—in a lot of ways it's even worse. It's entirely understandable to see people have strong reactions to a potential recast like this.

In matters of proper critique, G'raha's voice lines in 7.4 lack the cadence and inflection that were so characteristic to him. His intonation is noticeably lispy, his accent is inconsistent, and the pitch of his voice is noticeably higher. Moreover, the voice just lacks the bassy tone and, for lack of a better descriptor, smokey-ness of Bailey's voice, and it is *fine* to be disappointed by that.

Glad you liked the performance, genuinely wish I could say the same, but defending SE's lack of respect for the players by making a hypothetical strawman that fans would "dogpile" a new VA is what's really unfair here. Replacing a 6+ year long voice actor of a major character with no announcement while intentionally obscuring the replacement (i.e. omitting G'raha's voice line in the trailer) is entirely unethical and disrespectful not just to players but to the voice actors themselves. Especially because they would never do this to a JP voice actor.

[UmbralZef]

Glad you liked the performance, genuinely wish I could say the same, but defending SE's lack of respect for the players by making a hypothetical strawman that fans would "dogpile" a new VA is what's really unfair here. Replacing a 6+ year long voice actor of a major character with no announcement while intentionally obscuring the replacement (i.e. omitting G'raha's voice line in the trailer) is entirely unethical and disrespectful not just to players but to the voice actors themselves. Especially because they would never do this to a JP voice actor.

Agreed, and I feel like it's both disrespectful to the players *and* to any new VA for them to stay silent, tbh. If SE really were concerned that a new VA would be 'dogpiled', then all the more reason for them to come out in full support of them, announcing them (or allowing them to announce themselves) and welcoming them to the team. The way they're doing things, staying quiet and even obfuscating the change in the trailer, makes it look like they're embarrassed to admit to it, which is really unfair for anyone taking on the role.

[paradisea]

Honestly I'm only disappointed people are saying the VA we had is trash because it sounds like a different actor. Not actually any critique on sound quality or skill, literally just "It's different so it sucks."

But then this is likely exactly why SE hasn't made any announcement about a change. Some of y'all would dogpile the guy before he could even break into the role.

Surely even if you liked the performance of the 7.4 VA better you believe the ethical thing to do would be to give Jonathan Bailey, who has voiced G'raha for seven years and who even through sickness and simultaneous teather, cinema, and streaming projects, always made time to come in and record his voice lines, a proper sendoff and a proper explanation as to why he's leaving, considering they've previously only replaced single VAs in the case of death? And to give his replacement a proper introduction? Instead of whatever this silence and the intentional omission of Raha's voice line in the 7.4 trailer only in English is?