Yao announced he was graduating from role earlier this month
© 尾田栄一郎／集英社・フジテレビ・東映アニメーション
The Jump Festa ’25 event on Sunday revealed that Subaru Kimura (Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Aoi Tōdō, BEASTARS‘ Free, Assassination Classroom‘s Ryōma Terasaka, Doraemon‘s Gian) will take over for Kazuki Yao in the role of Franky in the One Piece franchise. Kimura voiced young Buggy in previous episodes of the anime.
Yao said in the event he helped choose Kimura.
The anime’s staff had announced on December 8 that Yao will step down and “graduate” from the role of Franky. The event on Sunday served as a “graduation ceremony” for the voice actor.
Yao stated earlier this month, “A sad farewell has come, a separation with a person I have spent nearly a quarter of a century with.” He added that a gap has now opened up between his “ideal” Franky and himself, and so he decided to “depart from the Thousand Sunny for now.” He expressed his sadness and frustration, and apologized, but added that a “su~per~ replacement” is being prepared.
The X/Twitter account for the franchise had announced in October that Wataru Takagi was replacing Yao as the voice of Jango in episode #1,121, due to Yao’s poor health. Yao voices Franky, Jango, and Bon Clay in One Piece.
In mid-October the franchise announced that the current Egghead arc of the anime would pause to “recharge,” and then the arc will continue in April 2025. The anime is currently airing One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga, a 21-episode abridged version of the Fish-Man Island arc of the anime, with reshot scenes, retouched art, and other improvements.
The official X/Twitter account of Bandai Namco Entertainment and Sunrise‘s Mobile Suit Gundam: U.C. Engage smartphone game revealed on September 24 the game’s new story titled “Crossover UCE,” with voice actor KENN credited as the voice of Judau Ashta, instead of Yao. The account later explained that KENN was substituting as the voice of Judau due to production schedule issues.
Source: Jump Festa ’25 livestream
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