One Piece anime's Egghead Arc proves the voice actor issue can no longer be avoided

One Piece has been a phenomenon since 2024 started, as Egghead Arc keeps impressing fans in every way possible. After every episode, new characters were introduced, and the hype is on the roof regarding this arc for the One Piece fans.

But fans have been introduced to something in the recent episodes regarding one of the voice actors that is a little heartbreaking. The voice of Kazuki Yao, who voices Franky in One Piece, has been noticeably affected since the start of the Egghead arc.

He can hardly speak long sentences, and fans speculate this is due to his advanced age. One Piece fans noticed this issue before, during the Wano arc, so this might be a sign that the original voice actors of the series are now reaching a retiring age.

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Franky's voice acting in the Egghead arc reveals why the One Piece voice cast is now reaching retiring age

Franky as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Episode 1086 of One Piece marked the start of Egghead Arc, the first arc of the final saga of this series. The arc will take place on Egghead Island, which is home to Dr. Vegapunk, the smartest person alive in the series. So far, two girls are claiming to be Vegapunk, with fans confused about the identity of this person.

When the Straw Hats arrived near Wano, Luffy, Chopper, and Jinbe got separated from everyone as a considerable shark attacked Sunny. After a while, a huge robot arrived before Sunny, revealing a girl who called herself Vegapunk.

Franky initially showed confusion (as he was expecting Vegapunk to be a man), but he later told how big of a fan he is of Vegapunk. During this dialogue, Franky's voice sounded strained to most fans. The fans could hear Kazuki Yao, the voice actor of Franky, straining himself to speak long sentences, which is a concern.

Interestingly, fans have noticed this issue in the previous arc and with the same voice actor. Franky and some other characters took time off-screen after the Zou arc as Luffy and some other Straw Hats went to Whole Cake Island to bring Sanji back.

Fans speculate that during this time, Kazuki Yao started to lose grip on his iconic voice due to aging, so his voice started to sound strained since the Wano arc.

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A major One Piece voice actress is in her old age

Kazuki Yao is not the oldest voice actress in this series, as the voice actress of one of the major characters exceeds his age. And that is, of course, Mayumi Tanaka, who voices Monkey D. Luffy. She is 69 years old as of 2024, whereas Kazuki Yao is 64 years old at the moment.

A few years ago, during a radio show, Mayumi Tanaka revealed that she would love Masako Nozawa (the voice actress of Goku from Dragon Ball) to replace her as Luffy if she embraces death before the climax of One Piece.

It is interesting to note that Masako Mozawa is older than Mayumi Tanaka (currently 87 years old), so this chat was just a way to appreciate the professionalism of Masako Nozawa, who is showing no signs of slowing down despite now reaching her 90s.

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Why does Franky sound different?

Concerns regarding Kazuki Yao's health have been seen since the release of One Piece Film: Red and were again highlighted during the Wano Kuni arc. Many fans noticed that Yao was slurring his dialogue and many of the lines were barely intelligible. Although there were no announcements made by either Toei or Kazuki Yao regarding the latter's health, fans still thought something was amiss.

On October 4, 2024, the official X handle of One Piece announced the stepping down of Kazuki Yao from playing Django citing health reasons. This confirms the fears of many fans and casts a shadow of uncertainty regarding his portrayal of Franky.

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Final thoughts

Replacing voice actors in an anime is a massive change as voices become iconic to their character, and when they are changed, fans' feelings for that character also change. But the animation studio of the series has to think of some countermeasures before it's too late.