Why did Sabo's voice actor change in the One Piece anime? Explained

Modified Aug 25, 2024 06:30 GMT

Why did Sabo's voice actor change in the One Piece anime? Explained (Image via Toei Animation)

In the latest episodes of the One Piece anime, fans saw the beloved character and Revolutionary Army second-in-command Sabo return after seemingly being killed by the Mother Flame. Thankfully, this was not the case, as fans saw him return to Revolutionary Army headquarters in the present, where he immediately went to meet with Emporio Ivankov and Monkey D. Dragon.

However, One Piece anime fans also noticed something off about the character in these last two appearances, with many claiming that it felt like his voice actor had changed. This is indeed the cast, with Miyu Irino taking over the role of the original voice actor Toru Furuya from episode 1116 of the anime.

One Piece anime fans are likewise curious as to why Furuya was replaced in the role, especially ahead of a major return for the character which fans were looking forward to. Unfortunately, the change stems from a scandal that broke which Furuya was involved in, leading to the seiyu stepping down from the role voluntarily in June 2024.

One Piece anime’s Toru Furuya voluntarily steps down from role as Sabo after news of scandal broke

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As mentioned above, Furuya’s replacement as Sabo in the One Piece anime came about as a result of the reveal of a scandal he was involved in. May 22, 2024, saw Furuya post to his X account acknowledging a recent report by the Weekly Bunshun magazine. This report exposed an ongoing affair he had been involved with for four and a half years, with the partner in the affair specifically being a female fan.

Furuya claimed that the affair began when he became attracted to her earnest support of him and contacted her likewise. Furuya also admitted that, during their relationship, he had raised his hand to strike her once during an argument they were having, and also caused her to have an abortion.

One month later, on June 22, Furuya stepped down from his ongoing roles as Sabo in the One Piece anime and Toru Amuro in the Detective Conan anime. This was jointly announced by Furuya himself and the Aoni Production talent agency, with the latter group adding that it asked Furuya to step down. Furuya himself apologized for the great burden he caused for all involved in the same notice.

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As a result of Furuya stepping down during a lengthy period when Sabo had been offscreen, Toei Animation was forced to hire Irino in the role before Sabo’s return. This can be compared to the Takahiro Sakurai scandal, news of which broke after his dubbing as Suguru Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 had been completed. Given this, MAPPA Studios elected not to recast the role during the season and use Sakurai’s performance.

While Irino may be new to the One Piece anime series, he’s far from a rookie in the anime voice-acting industry, meaning Sabo is undoubtedly in good hands. Irino’s credits include Haku in Spirited Away, Shoya Ishida in A Silent Voice, Sena Kobayakawa in Eyeshield 21, Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi in Anohana, Koshi Sugawara in Haikyu!!, and Sora in the Kingdom Hearts video game series.

In summation

Sabo is in good hands following Irino's arrival to the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In the anime, Sabo’s voice actor changed from Toru Furuya to Miyu Irino due to the former’s involvement in an affair scandal, news of which broke in May 2024. Furuya stepped down from the role voluntarily in June 2024, with Irino debuting as Sabo in episode 1116 which aired on August 18, 2024.