Fans of Fairy Tail, alongside enjoyers of everything from Haikyuu!!, Golgo 13, Vinland Saga, SK8 the Infinity, and many more are more than familiar with David Wald's voice acting. However, as of recent developments, Wald will soon be stepping away from some of his most popular roles, and according to his X (formerly Twitter) , his departure is not just from Fairy Tail, but Crunchyroll Studio, citing abuses "far too numerous to list" on the platform. As this is a continuously developing story, with Wald previously posting about the company's alleged acts of mail fraud.

Wald originally mentioned the concern after discovering that any private mail sent to him, care of Funimation and Crunchyroll "over the past five years" had been opened, with its contents distributed among Crunchyroll's staff. Four days later, Wald even posted a lack of apology given by Crunchyroll, and as of today, November 11, 2024, no resolution has been found. Wald is thus making his exit from Crunchyroll, with plans to reveal more allegations of the company's abuses on his Twitch , previously citing cases of various forms of discrimination, union busting, and more

David Wald Among the Latest Voice Actors Departing Crunchyroll Studio

A Key Fairy Tail Actor Departs a Beloved Role Among Others

With David Wald exiting Crunchyroll, he quickly clarified that it wasn't the employees but the management's decisions resulting in the distribution of package contents addressed to him. However, as many aware of the situation can understandably guess, this isn't the end of the alleged abuses from the company, with years of allegations including "gay discrimination, medical discrimination, union busting, a culture of fear, or the hostile workplace environment." With Wald's walk-out being based on said abusive practices and hostile work environment, this is likely only the beginning of the bigger story.

Anime fans may similar issues resulting in other departures, such as Kyle McCarley not reprising his role of Shigeo Kageyama or "Mob" in Mob Psycho 100 due to Crunchyroll's prior hesitation to negotiate with his union, SAG-AFTRA. With McCarley even willing to provide non-union work on the production in exchange for said proceedings, this was a telling instance of Crunchyroll's anti-union public perception. McCarley made his stance known on his YouTube channel, and other similar stories were covered in a February 20, 2023 In These Times article.

Anime Fans May Still Hear Wald's Voice in the Near Future

Other Voice Actors Reach out with Their

As David Wald continues to comment and clarify for fans, his voice may be heard in other projects hosted on Crunchyroll, but nothing that has been recorded at their studio henceforth. As other professionals in his community reach out with their , including Zeno Robinson, Hannah Alyea, and Abigail Blythe, among many others, it's clear that his stand on this matter will be recognized as a major opportunity for the streaming giant to observe these issues and properly address them.

As Wald shows his appreciation for the many fans, colleagues, and press reaching out to him, these developments, while sad for Fairy Tail fans, are necessary. With Wald set to announce his live stream later to detail said concerns, it'll be best to watch his X to see the latest updates. As many Fairy Tail viewers voiced their in light of Wald's exit, it's clear that his stream will be an illuminating and important one for the anime voice-acting community.

Sources: Kyle McCarley on YouTube, David Wald on X, In These Times, David Wald on Twitch