Voice actor Banjou Ginga (pictured far right) will succeed Ichirô Nagai as the voice of Chairman Netero in the Hunter x Hunter anime. Nagai passed away on January 27 at the age of 82.

Ginga plays Giren Zabi in the Gundam franchise, while Nagai played Giren's father Degin Zabi, so Mantan Web described their Hunter x Hunter succession as passing the baton from "father" to "child." Ginga also played Souther in Fist of the North Star and Harada in Touch. He dubbed the voice of Michael Clarke Duncan into Japanese in overseas films, and he also does narration for numerous variety shows and news programs.

Netero is the head of the Hunter Association, and plays a crucial role in the current Chimera Ant arc. He is also critical to Hunter × Hunter -The Last Mission-, the film now playing in theaters.

Fuji TV announced last week that 52-year-old voice actor Chafurin succeeded Nagai as the voice of Sazae-san's father Namihei Isono, and Chafurin's first Sazae-san episode just aired on Sunday.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web

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