The One Piece character Franky will soon no longer have his Japanese voiceovers provided by Kazuki Yao. The franchise’s official Japanese X account has a new announcement tweet stating that the veteran voice actor will “graduate from the Straw Hat Pirates.”
Kazuki Yao was born in June 1959, so he is 65 years old as of the end of 2024. However, he has notably taken fewer works in the early 2020s. Most of his voiceover works in the period were reprises of his past roles for anime movies and games, such as Franky in One Piece and Horrorman in Anpanman. The impending graduation will thus relieve him from voiceover roles in future One Piece games.
The veteran voice actor is also best known for his role as the Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ protagonist Judau Ashta. However, a scheduling issue for an episode in the mobile game Gundam U.C. Engage in late 2024 has set up KENN as the eventual new voice actor for the character. Most recently in 2024, Kazuki Yao reprised his role as a middle-aged version of the Initial D character Koichiro Iketani in the anime adaptation of MF Ghost.
Toei Animation will announce the new Japanese voice actor who will succeed Kazuki Yao to provide voiceovers for Franky in One Piece at the Super Stage Red event in Jump Festa 2025 on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The same event will also feature a graduation ceremony for Kazuki Yao.
Published: Dec 9, 2024 09:00 am