One Piece: Franky voice actor retires from role

65-year-old Japanese voice actor Kazuki Yao who is best known for voicing Franky in Toei Animation’s One Piece anime has recently announced retiring due to health issues from his role as the Straw Hat Pirates’ trusty shipwright. 

Kazuki Yao who started voicing One Piece’s Franky in 2005 will announce his retirement at Jump Festa 2025 on Dec. 22, 2025, where his replacement will also be announced, as reported by Crunchyroll. His replacement will have big shoes to fill due to Yao’s excellent voice acting and portrayal of Franky.

Fun fact: Yao also voiced Mr. 2 Bon Clay in the Toei Animation’s One Piece.

One Piece: Franky voice actor retires from role

One Piece fans took to several social media platforms including Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) and thanked Kazuki Yao for giving Franky an unforgettable voice and oozing character with sheer emotion.

Yao took to his official X account and wrote in Japanese garnering more than 200,000 likes and nearly 16 million views:

As translated by Crunchyroll: “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.”