Image: Viz Media
As Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, a continuation of the popular Bleach anime — one of the “Big Three” of shonen anime series — continues its run, viewers were excited to see fan-favorite character Yoruichi make her first appearance in the show. But that excitement soured as fans and voice actors argued on social media over who has the “right” to voice a character of color, invoking the specter of racism versus nostalgia in voice casting.
On October 7th, Afro-Latina voice actress Anairis Quiñones announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she had been cast to voice Yoruichi in Thousand-Year Blood War.
I’m the English voice of Yoruichi in Bleach – Thousand Year Blood War!! pic.twitter.com/rUQ5MaWAFh
— Anairis Quiñones Baldur’s…