Graha Voice Actor Change?

[CosmosNovaRose]

Everyone is tired of arguing this, so I'll just encourage you to read that and everyone else to move on.

Adding that the new character at the end of 7.4 in JP casted by SAORI HAYAMI, a very established, talented, and popular actress who has big roles in popular media and anime. Square also can afford Yuma Uchida as G'raha in JP, who is an even bigger star and is also a singer.

To say that the JP cast is full of popular and talented actors is putting it lightly. To say that Bailey is too big for FFXIV is a very uninformed slap in the face to the hard work Bailey put in for FFXIV when he was at his busiest. There's no good excuse for Square to say Bailey is now too expensive when he isn't priced under the US guidelines. And even then, they can shell out enough money to hire well-regarded actors.

[claustromania]

What argument could possibly exist against it when Yoshida himself touted the game's limited budget over everyones heads back when the mare ban happened
And even cited it as a reason Occult Crscent sucked. We're well past the content they'd have set aside made before Dawntrail even launched, anything recorded for the setup of 8.0 is likely far newer.

I'm just tired of this "Bailey is too big for XIV" debate like having such a big name among your cast is a detriment and not a boon SE ought to be clinging to. Imagine hitting a goldmine like this before his breakout and instead of trying to keep your treasure you hit yourself over the head with the pickaxe.

^^My personal favorite response from this thread to "muh budget" concerns.

[Nakashima3192]

Hi,
this is my first post ever here in the forum. I registered myself, because I thought it is very important to voice this topic. And since there is a whole thread about ... that's amazing!
I am a very big fan of the game, I love it! G'raha is (with other characters) my favourite. If I have to decide, it would be him, because he is such an amazing, important and wonderful written character and soooo important for the story. Not only his story, his behaviour or looks - his voice is one of the biggest parts of him, what makes him himself! Jonathan Bailey gave him such an unique way of speaking, he brings him to life - in my opinion - like no one else ever could; at least not like JB does. Even imitating the way he speaks (his speaking patterns, emotions - all of it); all of this is not easy to imitate. And as we saw in the recent update: it's as good as impossible to replace JB. At least not without losing the uniqueness of what makes G'raha G'raha.
Of course there are so many talented voice actors out there and I don't mean it in a bad way and I am not about to complain, no. It is just ... I am so very sad. I don't want to have another voice actor for this amazing character - not if not necessary. JB has such a unique way of speaking him, bringing him to life. And that makes G'raha the wholesome amazing character he is. I know, I repeat myself, but ... The uniqueness ... everything. JB is the one and only voice for G'raha for me, he just lives this character. Replacing him - whatever reasons that could be - would make the whole game different for me. It would be like a giant punch in the face - and in the feelings of course. So ...
I read a lot of your comments and I am totally with you! And I spoke a lot with my bestie about this too. It is just so sad and unsettling to think about future patches and expansions without having our G'raha the way he always was and is.
If there is no other choice, of course we have to move on with it as it is - but if there is ANY chance, that there will be a revoice of the recent patch and/or JB will be back to be our amazing G'raha ... So please, don't leave us hanging in there
That's it, just some honest and worried thoughts about the recent changes.

[CosmosNovaRose]

Adding that the new character at the end of 7.4 in JP casted by SAORI HAYAMI, a very established, talented, and popular actress who has big roles in popular media and anime. Square also can afford Yuma Uchida as G'raha in JP, who is an even bigger star and is also a singer.

To say that the JP cast is full of popular and talented actors is putting it lightly. To say that Bailey is too big for FFXIV is a very uninformed slap in the face to the hard work Bailey put in for FFXIV when he was at his busiest. There's no good excuse for Square to say Bailey is now too expensive when he isn't priced under the US guidelines. And even then, they can shell out enough money to hire well-regarded actors.

Somewhere along the way I forgot the point I wanted to make:

If we already know who voices a new character in JP, why is the EN audience not allowed to know who voices a pre-established character in the same patch?

[TeresaFortell]

Snip

Yeah. Though, this patch really just feels like something might be going on in the background when JB recorded, if he did.

[Bantochan]

Hi,
this is my first post ever here in the forum. I registered myself, because I thought it is very important to voice this topic. And since there is a whole thread about ... that's amazing!
I am a very big fan of the game, I love it! G'raha is (with other characters) my favourite. If I have to decide, it would be him, because he is such an amazing, important and wonderful written character and soooo important for the story. Not only his story, his behaviour or looks - his voice is one of the biggest parts of him, what makes him himself! Jonathan Bailey gave him such an unique way of speaking, he brings him to life - in my opinion - like no one else ever could; at least not like JB does. Even imitating the way he speaks (his speaking patterns, emotions - all of it); all of this is not easy to imitate. And as we saw in the recent update: it's as good as impossible to replace JB. At least not without losing the uniqueness of what makes G'raha G'raha.
Of course there are so many talented voice actors out there and I don't mean it in a bad way and I am not about to complain, no. It is just ... I am so very sad. I don't want to have another voice actor for this amazing character - not if not necessary. JB has such a unique way of speaking him, bringing him to life. And that makes G'raha the wholesome amazing character he is. I know, I repeat myself, but ... The uniqueness ... everything. JB is the one and only voice for G'raha for me, he just lives this character. Replacing him - whatever reasons that could be - would make the whole game different for me. It would be like a giant punch in the face - and in the feelings of course. So ...
I read a lot of your comments and I am totally with you! And I spoke a lot with my bestie about this too. It is just so sad and unsettling to think about future patches and expansions without having our G'raha the way he always was and is.
If there is no other choice, of course we have to move on with it as it is - but if there is ANY chance, that there will be a revoice of the recent patch and/or JB will be back to be our amazing G'raha ... So please, don't leave us hanging in there
That's it, just some honest and worried thoughts about the recent changes.

I also have never posted on the forums and came here because it’s the first time I really felt compelled to do so. SE needs to know how much this means to some players.

[KiraRavens]

Just a quick note re people calling others "crazy" for caring about this - or two actually.

1. It has been scientifically proven that it's rather difficult, sometimes almost impossible, to distinguish between real-life connections and fictional ones, and the longer you "interact" with a specific set of fictional characters, the harder it gets. When people think about their favourite characters, the same areas in their brains light up as when thinking about friends and RL people they like. This doesn't mean that we cannot understand the difference on a logical level - but emotionally, losing someone fictional we care about, or seeing them altered, very often feels exactly the same as if that was happening to an actual person in our circle. That's not "being crazy", that's just a fun fact about the human brain that is, in no small part, responsible for us loving and craving stories as much as we do in the first place. The entire entertainment industry wouldn't work without this little human pecularity.

And 2., for anyone who'd still argue this is crazy - or claims it's exclusively the writing that makes a character: Does anyone think Indiana Jones would have felt the same if Rick Moranis or Adam Sandler had played him? Even with the exact same script? And just to drive in the point about the impact of the voice specifically: Image Darth Vader being voiced by Jonathan Bailey. Same impact? I think we can agree on a resounding no. A character's voice matters. A lot.

[Doopliss]

+1 to this thread. Even as somebody who doesn't hold any particular passion toward G'raha anymore, I think this issue is objectively worthy of transparency and explanation from SE. At first I had presumed it was Bailey with voice strain, but the collected information brought to this thread has really made me consider otherwise and understand it as a more important matter.

And, I'm sorry, I know I frequently more than likely sound way too aggravated while posting, but holy shit is it ridiculous how many new people have felt the need to come to the forums this expansion to beg SE for literally any communication whatsoever on countless issues now. It just keeps happening and they just keep ignoring people and continue to do questionable bullshit. I know realistically it's 100% not done with malicious intent or anything, but taking G'raha's voiced lines out from only the ENG trailer feels seedy at best, given how closed off they've become in FFXIV's more recent years.

Please, even if you don't like G'raha or care about Bailey, at least consider supporting this to continue pushing for more transparency from SE.

Also, although I said I don't hold any passion for G'raha myself anymore...I get it. I'm a lifelong Tales Of fan who never got over Yuri Lowell's lame voice splicing or Lloyd Irving's entire VA change to this day... I'm hoping for the best.

[Emerest]

Don't get me wrong, I get that a potential recast for a beloved character is something that can be disheartening.

But also I feel I've gotta urge a lot of you to tone it down a bit. Analysing every facet of this guy's life in a bid to prove it's not because he's busy is a dangerously high level of obsession, well into the territory of being parasocial. Same with clamouring for a response from SE when they are, unfortunately, under no obligation to give any at all. As for the thing about how he's not taking questions about XIV, that's pretty common? Busy guy possibly under an NDA doesn't want to engage with a site that routinely farms drama for clicks, wowee. Finally, voice lines aren't recorded the literal day of the patch. We've no idea how far back this was recorded, the conditions and so on.

Y'all need to chill out a bit. Like, genuinely, I'm saying that from a place of good faith.

[Doopliss]

People don't need the most base of online armchair psychoanalysis as a counterargument in these threads. When quality isn't up to expectations in a product (especially one that is paid for monthly...) the company absolutely should be expected to give a response in regards to it. Also it's not hard to find googleable information about a guy who is literally, nationally famous. I apologize for sounding aggressive but it's tiring to see people in every other thread basically telling others who want to see the game get better or the team's reputation improve to shut up actually and continue taking the status quo.

Does that really, truly sound like the reasonable response to you? In one of the most contentious states of the game to date? People have to speak up; perhaps even "whine"--god forbid--for things to change.