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A day ahead of One Piece episode 1047’s release, the series’ official website announced that Hiro Shimono is set to join the anime’s cast. The voice actor is best known for his roles as My Hero Academia’s Dabi, Black Clover’s Nacht Faust, Attack on Titan’s Connie Springer, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s Zenitsu Agatsuma.
Shimono will be joining the One Piece anime cast as the voice of the adult version of Kozuki Momonosuke. While the character is initially introduced as a child, recent events in the series have created a situation where he has aged as a means to usher in a greater end.
One Piece anime casting Shimono as adult Momonosuke hints that the child version of the character is gone for good
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With the news coming just one day before One Piece episode 1047’s official release, fans can expect the upcoming episode to be Hiro Shimono’s debut in the series. The fandom is excited to see Shimono join the cast, praising his aforementioned roles in various other smash-hit series, such as his recent performances as Dabi in My Hero Academia season 6.
Momonosuke’s adult version is slated to debut in the upcoming installment, following the recent few episodes that saw the child Momonosuke beg Shinobu to forcibly age him. This aging process is achieved by Shinobu’s Paramecia-type Ripe-Ripe Fruit, which allows its users to mature and decay anything they touch, including one’s body and age.
The voice actress for the child version of Momonosuke was Ai Orikasa, who has voiced him since his initial appearance in 2013 during the anime’s Punk Hazard arc. Orikasa has expressed hope that fans will continue to enjoy Momonosuke’s growth and personality despite the changing voice and age of the character.
Meanwhile, Shimono has commented on how he’s been an avid reader of One Piece since its original “Romance Dawn” one-shot pilot (not to be confused with the arc of the same name). The voice actor has also mentioned that he aims to keep Orikasa’s portrayal of the character in mind as he “puts all his effort” into playing this latest adult version of the character.
The anime’s current story arc is centered around Momonosuke’s desire to liberate Wano and avenge his father, Kozuki Oden, who died at the hands of Yonko Kaido. The arc is currently seeing the battle against Kaido’s forces reach its climax as lesser threats are dealt with and the focus shifts to the grander fights yet to be resolved.
Momonosuke is an essential character in this arc, both narratively and as a war asset, somewhat putting pressure on Shimono as the voice of a brand new version of him. However, given the voice actor's extensive experience and highly-acclaimed roles, it’s a safe assumption that he will do as good a job with the character as Orikasa had done for years prior.
Follow along for more One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
