- Kazuki Yao has stepped down from the role of Franky due to health issues.
- Subaru Kimura has joined the cast of Straw Hats to lend his voice to Franky.
- Subaru will play Franky in the upcoming episodes of the Egghead arc in 2025.
Kazuki Yao was the man behind the iconic voice of Franky, the shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates, for around 25 years. There was no way fans wanted to separate Kazuki from Franky, but his age and health concerns took a toll on the voice actor. Therefore, he announced his retirement from the One Piece anime series recently. The One Piece fandom was heartbroken over this unexpected news, but they continued to wonder who would pick up the baton from Kazuki Yao as Franky.
Over the weekend, the new voice actor of Franky was revealed at the Jump Festa 2025 event. If you are curious, the new voice actor of Franky is none other than Subaru Kimura who lends his voice to iconic characters, such as Aoi Todo from JJK, Hanamichi from the First Slam Dunk movie, etc.
Subaru has a much coarse voice than Kazuki but he can totally match the vibes of Franky’s energetic character, just as he did with Todo. He was trending for his “besto frendo” voice back then, and he is going to get viral with his version of Franky’s SUUUUPERRRRR!
how to explain to someone who doesn't watch one piece im crying over a man leaving some underwear on a stage pic.twitter.com/YGNS5JI96L— rion (@peronyawns) December 22, 2024
Kazuki Yao teaching Subaru Kimura how to say "SUUUUPPPEEEEER!" pic.twitter.com/Pok54X2LO3
— Pookie Piece (@PookiePiece) December 22, 2024
In the X posts above, we can see Yao passing on Franky’s underwear and legacy to Subaru. Next, we see Subaru learning how to say Franky’s iconic “SUUUUPEEEERRR” line from the animanga series. It seems like the new voice actor is going to do just fine when we see him in action when the anime is back from its hiatus in April 2025. He is an interesting addition to the Straw Hat cast, so let’s see how his performance will be when the anime makes its comeback.
That said, what do you think about Toei Animation casting Subaru Kimura as Franky in One Piece? Let us know in the comments below.
