‘One Piece’ Voice Actress Reveals Weird Secret About The Manga

It is an unwritten rule in the anime world that you must read the manga if you are a fan of any anime adaptation. In most cases, a manga series tends to be a lot better than anime, given its intricate detailing and elaborate story writing. It doesn’t matter how long or elaborate the manga is. Your fellow fans would command/advise you to read them all. This is especially true in the One Piece manga fandom.

Luffy’s Voice Mayumi Tanaka Reveals Her Seven Life Values

Yet, there is someone closely associated with the anime series who doesn’t actually read the manga. Mayumi Tanaka, who is popular for voicing the One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, recently revealed that she doesn’t read the manga series.

[Source: YouTube]

Last week, during an interview with Kansai Television’s program 7 Rules, the voice actor revealed this big secret. The show distills its guest’s philosophies and values down to seven major points. As per Sora News 24, one of Tanaka’s practices attracted attention from the fans.

She spilled her secret during the interview and stated, “I don’t read the One Piece manga.”

[Source: YouTube]

“I don’t read the manga. It might actually be better if I did, but my style is to do my performances while still holding onto that fresh feeling of surprise and going ‘Whoa, so this is what happens!’ that comes from reading about it in the script for the first time and seeing the artwork [for the anime] for the first time too.”

One Piece Voice Actor Reveals Real Reason She Doesn’t Read Manga

No doubt, this is a logical argument made by the voice artist for producing an authentic-sounding dialogue during the recording process. After all, the story’s characters do not know about their future in advance. This adds a sense of surprise to the actor’s voice as well. Knowing a lot from the storyline in advance can subconsciously seep into the actor’s voice and affect the performance. The end result might not sound as accurate as it should be, maybe even a bit bland.

[Source: YouTube]

Tanaka has been Luffy’s voice in the anime for 25 years and has developed pretty solid instincts related to the aspiring pirate king’s tone and personality. The 67-year-old is also comfortable in her role and has successfully honed her acting skills through the years. She knows the best ways to approach her script and voice the character accordingly to the situation and mood of the story.

One Piece Fans React To Tanaka’s Unique Choice

Twitter users reacted to Tanaka’s unique take about not reading the manga.

https://twitter.com/7rules_ktv/status/1557009302652522496

One fan commented, “What an awesome philosophy. It’s like she’s having the adventure together with Luffy!”

“I’ve heard the same thing about Masako Nozawa [voice of Dragon Ball’s Goku] and Rika Matsumoto [voice of Pokemon’s Satoshi/Ash]. They don’t read the manga or play the games for their series,” mentioned another.

A third chimed in, “Yeah, I think if you read the manga, your feelings about what’s going to happen later on will start mixing into how you’re speaking the lines now.”

The rest of Tanaka’s seven golden rules of life includes things such as bringing something to eat when going to the recording studio. She also keeps a stock of anime merchandise at her home. The voice actor also has her own special drink that comprises throat lozenges and black tea.

[Source: YouTube]

Another secret of hers is that she keeps the medicine in her dressing room as a good-luck charm. She and her husband share the household duties. Moreover, the recording artist also flaunts the spirit of a young boy in her heart to do her job in the perfect way.

What do you think of Tanaka’s secret? Do you think she should read the manga? Share your thoughts in the comments!