Legendary One Piece voice actor retires after 24 years

Kazuki Yao, the talented voice actor who voices Franky (and many other characters) in the Japanese version of One Piece, recently announced on his personal Twitter/X account that he’s stepping down from his most iconic role after many years.

In this bittersweet announcement (which @newworldartur translated into English), Yao explains that it’s finally time to say goodbye to Franky after spending over a quarter of a century with him and that he “decided to get off the (Thousand) Sunny.” He also revealed that, even though he feels frustrated and sad over this decision, Toei Animation has already found a “SUPER” replacement who will be revealed on December 22, during the upcoming Jump Festa 2025. The official One Piece account also revealed that this was a decision that Yao made after “lengthy discussions” and that Shueisha would hold a graduation ceremony for him during said event.

This is a very sad announcement for One Piece fans, who flooded Yao’s social media with pictures of his characters and thank you messages, but this wasn’t much of a surprise for most of them. Back in October, the official One Piece accounts announced that the anime was recasting the character of Jango for one episode due to concerns regarding Yao’s health.

While he didn’t specify why he decided to step down from the role of Franky, it’s most likely that he had to do it due to these aforementioned health concerns, especially after many fans noticed that the character’s voice had been sounding more strained in the past few years. It’s important to keep in mind that the One Piece anime is currently airing a remastered version of the Fish-Man Island Arc while the current Egghead Arc is on hiatus, so we won’t get to hear Franky’s new voice until April 2025.

Kazuki Yao’s departure from One Piece is more important than you think

Images via One Piece/Twitter and Crunchyroll/YouTube

While it’s nice that Kazuki Yao is able to retire without straining his voice any further, his departure from the show is quite sad. After all, One Piece fans were hoping that all the members of the main cast would be able to reach the show’s long-awaited conclusion together. This situation is especially unfortunate for Yao because, unlike most other Japanese voice actors, the series’ author, Eiichiro Oda, created Franky specifically for him to voice.

Yao began working in One Piece back in 2000 when he portrayed the hypnotist Jango during the Syrup Village Arc. He later went to voice one of the most bizarre and beloved One Piece characters, Bon Clay, who debuted during the Arabasta Arc and made multiple subsequent appearances after that. But, when it was time to design the future shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates, Oda created Franky with Yao’s unique voice in mind, which is a testament to his talent and how perfectly he fits the series’ goofy and lighthearted tone.

Franky was created specifically for Yao, not to mention that he also brought two other iconic characters to life, so his departure from One Piece is even more unfortunate and important than you may initially think. While his replacement is most likely going to do a great job in the role, this show won’t be the same without Kazuki Yao, and all fans will certainly miss him.

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