Kazuki Yao, the voice of Franky in the One Piece anime series, has retired from the role. The announcement was made on the official One Piece social media account.
"Yao Kazuki, who is currently playing the role of Franky in the TV anime "ONE PIECE", will be graduating from the Straw Hat Pirates," the translated tweet reads. "The decision was reached after lengthy discussions."
Kazuki Yao has been voicing Franky in One Piece since the character's debut in 2005. He has also voiced Jango, Mr. 2 Bon Clay, and Mounblutain in the anime. His replacement will be announced on December 22nd at Jump Festa 2025.
Yao also took to social media to share the following statement (translated):
The time has come for me to say a tearful farewell to a guy I've spent nearly a quarter of a century with. It's like an out-of-body experience, but I feel a gap has formed between me and my ideal Franky, so I've decided to disembark Sunny for now. It's frustrating! It's sad!! I can only apologize… however! We're preparing for a suuuuppeeerr successor to be revealed at Jump Festa on December 22. Look forward to it~♬
The One Piece anime is currently in the midst of a lengthy hiatus. In October, it was announced that the series will be taking an extended break and won't return until April 2025 with the debut of Egghead Arc Part II.
While fans will have to wait for new episodes of the series, they can currently tune into the new version of the Fish-Man Island Saga. Titled "One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga," this special edited version of the original arc presents Fish-Man Island in an abridged 21-episode story with enhanced contemporary visuals. This spin-off saga debuted in early November and is currently on its sixth episode. You can watch it on Crunchyroll with subtitles.
Speaking of Crunchyroll, the streaming platform recently announced that certain arcs of the One Piece anime will soon be gated behind a Premium Membership. Beginning later this month, a number of episodes will require a subscription to the streaming service. While the first 206 episodes -- the East Blue to Sky Islands arcs -- will remain free, every arc thereafter will be moved behind the paywall in phases beginning December 23rd.
Toe Animation's One Piece is based on Eiichiro Oda's manga series of the same name. Netflix also recently released the first season of its live-action series adaptation which has also been met with enthusiastic responses from critics and fans alike. We're currently gearing up for the show to return for its second season at some point next year.