The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, was so impressed by one of his voice actors from the anime that he wrote a main role specifically for him.
Which voice actor was that good? The voice actor Kazuki Yao today voices the role of Franky, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. But it wasn’t always that way. Originally, he voiced the hypnotist Jango in the anime and later the Baroque agent Mr. 2.
Yao befriended the creator of One Piece after he saw his impressive performance in those two roles. The two became close and often went out together with their wives as a group of four.
One day, Oda called Yao and asked him what role he would like to have. Yao simply replied:
I only had simple wishes, like: “He should be male and muscular.” Additionally, I had enough of feminine characters. I had already had enough of that with Bon-chan. There was a scene where I had to scream “Mugi-chan!!!” for 30 minutes straight, and I thought I was going to die (laughs).
His responses influenced the planning around the Water Seven arc, and thus Franky the shipwright was eventually created. Particularly funny: Yao admits that he dresses somewhat similarly to Franky at home. However, he wonders how Oda knows that.
Passed the baton to the successor
What about the current situation? Yao has spent about 20 years in this role. However, since April 2025, another voice actor, Subaru Kimura, has been heard in the role of Franky. The last episode featuring Yao aired in October 2024.
The reason for this is Yao’s retirement. He has not stated an official reason for stepping down from the role of Franky. However, we know today that the voice actor continues to live on in the role itself, as he was specifically created for him.Â
Little is known about the families of the Straw Hat crew. We also don’t know much about Franky’s family. However, the team behind One Piece may have revealed who Franky’s father is: The team behind One Piece might have revealed Franky’s father – and you could have seen it much earlier
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