On Dec. 7th, 8:38 PM Eastern, One Piece’s official Twitter (now X) reported that Franky’s Japanese voice actor, Kazuki Yao has retired. Yao has grown cautious about his well-being after voicing the cola-loving Iron Man for almost two decades.
Who is Kazuki Yao?
Since 1983, Yao has voiced over 200 anime character roles in his lifetime. He originally wanted to be a drama action star and got his start in Tuesday Suspense Theater a year earlier. Yao quickly rose into voice acting for his perceptive attitude and a wide range of pitches. Here are a couple of his roles you may recognize.
Hefner (Captain Tsubasa)
Hefner is one of the main rivals in the Captain Tsubasa series. Representing U-13 West Germany, Hefner is a top-tier goalie. He was once seen as impenetrable but his soccer defense is spot on. Until he faced Hyuga who went under Tsubasa’s training, Hefner was determined to practice new defense strategies.
Mobile Suit Gundam
Yao was one of the earlier cast members of Mobile Suit Gundam. He began as Earth Federation Lieutenant Gates Capa for Zeta Gundam. He was recruited again for Gundam ZZ for his first protagonist role as Judas Ashta. Yao would continue to show his loyalty and gratitude to the series in the SD Gundam Mk series.
Yoki (Fullmetal Alchemist)
One of the few villain roles Yao is Fullmetal Alchemist’s lowly former 1st lieutenant, Yoki He abused his military duties to conduct get-rich schemes including taxing the town of Youswell. He was removed from his position after Edward and Alphonse Elric tricked him into passing down ownership. He later became a henchman for Scar to spy on the military and find sources of illegal alchemy practices.
With a promising career ahead of him, Kazuki Yao soon struck big when he joined One Piece in 2005.
Becoming Franky
Kazuki Yao joined the One Piece Japanese voice cast as Cutty “Franky” Flam. Before becoming a Straw Hat Pirate, Franky was one of Tom’s Workers and head of the Franky Family. Luffy and the Straw Hats first met him in the Water 7 arc. Viewers learned that the blue-haired pompadour became a cyborg when he crashed into the Puffing Tom. Franky’s arms could no longer function and couldn’t walk normally. His skeleton was also replaced with an endoskeleton that took on his body mass.
Franky became a part of the Straw Hats after being involved with the Enies Lobby Arc. After a fierce battle with CP9 to rescue Franky and Robin on the Rocketman, the Going Merry could no longer sail after the battle. In return for their kindness, Franky would depart from the Franky Family and offer his ship, the Thousand Sunny. From then on, he became worth 44 million Belly.
A Concern For Yao’s Health
In February 2024, Franky fans grew concerned about Kazuki Yao’s health. Viewers noticed something strange in the Iron Man’s voice during the Egghead Arc. They noticed he couldn’t articulate his words well. There was a noticeable strain in Yao’s throat almost as if he had grown exhausted. The One Piece community has kept a close eye on the voice actor since 2020 when Redditor Impsterr pointed out the specific details:
“Anyone noticed the lack of energy? Franky’s voice requires some of the most dynamic voice work of the Straw Hats, but the actor doesn’t seem to have the vocal power anymore to do it. Many of the actors are getting old and I suspect some recasts may be necessary if One Piece wants to continue another decade.”
It shows that those who love Yao’s incredible talent wanted him to rest. He is now 65 years old and his latest line deliveries were enough to make them understand his upcoming retirement. Voice acting is also a job that demands attention to details in a character’s voice. It’s also a task that requires stamina as actors to stand for hours in a sound booth until the recordings are finished. A character like Franky needs all the action sounds in his voice to show he is the muscle and brain of the Straw Hats.
Yao Planned Franky’s Successor
悲しい別れが来てしまった
四半世紀近く共に人生を歩んで
きたヤツとの別れが…
幽体離脱とでも云うのか、俺の
理想としてるフランキーとの
間に溝が出来てしまった…ので
俺が一旦サニー号を降りる事に
した。悔しい！哀しい！！
マジでゴメン🕴️で
ス〜パ〜な後釜を用意した！
12/22のJFを楽しみに♬— 矢尾一樹 (@yaochan_defu) December 8, 2024
At the time of his retirement announcement, Kazuki Yao sent an apology to Franky on his Twitter (now X) account. The translation says:
“A sad farewell has come to me […] to the man I’ve spent a quarter of a century with…Maybe it was an out-of-body experience, but a gap has formbed between me and the ideal Franky. So I decided to leave the Thousand Sunny.”
In the same post, Yao knew he couldn’t leave Franky empty-handed. He announced he will be participating in JUMP FESTA on Dec. 22nd. He will be revealing Franky’s new voice actor who will revive the Iron Man’s spunk and courageous energy.
